Like a fine wine or a great cigar, those who know their coffee are extremely discriminating.  I count myself among them.  Coffee is something I take very seriously.Technorati: VA2TJVJYZX67

Depending on the style of coffee, completely different factors come into play when determining the quality.  For example, if I were to rate a cup of American coffee, I would talk about the perfect blend of Arabica beans that, in my opinion, would include carefully proportioned percentages of beans from Ethiopia, Central America, and Sumatra.  

The beans would have to be roasted with a specific profile, to a certain darkness, and it would be brewed between 24 and 48 hours of roasting by a specific machine at just the right temperature.  But all of the rules that apply to American coffee mean nothing when it comes to espresso.  So I thought I would jot down what I have learned when it comes to one of Italy’s most celebrated exports.

The Standard of Quality

To begin, what does a great cup of espresso look and taste like? I’ll start by saying that it is universally accepted that the best espresso can be found in Naples, Italy.  To contrast that, I can honestly say that have have never had an even remotely acceptable espresso in the United States.

Keep it Short

You may be used to the concept of a ‘Single Shot’ or ‘Double Shot’ of espresso.  Even the most coffee-challenged Italian will tell you that what we consider to be a ‘single shot’, is far too much.  An espresso should measure in a standard espresso cup roughly 1 1/2 fingers.  While you may think that such a short cup will be too strong, the truth is that when the espresso is pulled, that is were the flavor is.  If you were to pull the cup away after 1 1/2 fingers, then place another cup in, the remainder of the coffee that comes out is extremely bitter.  In fact, the perfect espresso will be strong, but never bitter.

It Should Be Creamy and Silky

When you sip an espresso, let it roll on your tongue fo a second.  A good espresso will almost coat your taste buds as it goes down.  The flavors will be very complex and while it is very thin, it will have a very creamy texture to it.  The perfect expresso will have flavors and sensations that almost contradict one another.  A bad espresso will feel like extremely strong and bitter American coffee; it will completely lack texture and complexity.

Don’t be Fooled by Crema

We have been conditioned to believe that if the espresso has a thin layer of froth, it must be good.  While a great espresso will always have the crema, the crema does not mean it is good.  Most modern espresso machines are designed to produce crema no matter what.  It has become a marketing thing for them… Produces great crema! But the coffee may still be trash.

What You Drink it In is as important as What You Drink

Drinking espresso out of a paper or plastic cup is no different than eating a Filet Mignon with plastic utensils on a paper towel.  You may do it if you are desperate, but it certainly is never your choice.  Plastic and paper cups completely change the flavor, such that even the best espresso will taste like junk.  A ceramic cup is the most common and widely accepted container, but it is not optimal.  The perfect espresso is served in a shot glass.  Believe me, it really does make a difference.  When you are in Italy, you will almost always have your espresso served in a ceramic cup, but utter two magic words when you order, and you will not only get it in a shot glass, but you will likely get a nod of respect.  The two words are ‘Al Vetro’.  Simply say ‘Caffe Al Vetro’ and you will get it in just about any bar in Italy.

How the Perfect Espresso is Made

So far I have talked about what to look for and pitfalls to avoid, but what makes an espresso from one bar better than another?  Or why is espresso typically better in Naples than Rome?  There are several factors:

The Beans

Remember when I said that the best American coffee is made with Arabica beans from certain countries?  The rules are different for espresso.  The other type of coffee bean is called Robusta.  It is actually a very cheap bean that is considered to be very low quality.  However, while it is only present in the worst American coffees (Folgers, Maxwell House, etc.), it must be in the blend for espresso.  Without it, your espresso will be missing all of its kick.

The Roasting

Roasting a bean for espresso is a very delicate process.  What we consider a very dark roast is still too light for espresso.  But if you ever have the opportunity to watch coffee beans roast, there is a critical moment, during which the beans go from extremely dark to burned.  It is almost a split second, but the moment it goes too far, the coffee loses all of its flavor.  Because of this, it is very easy to get a bad roast.  So high quality espresso comes at a premium because of the difficulty, and low quality is very common.

The Delay

Coffee goes bad very quickly, no matter how much you freeze it, vacuum pack it, or otherwise.  A high-volume bar that gets good locally roasted coffee will always have an advantage.  The stuff you get at Starbucks has long since gone stale.

The Machine

No matter how muh you try, no matter how much you spend, and no matter how fancy your home espresso machine is, it will never make a great espresso, period.  You can spend $10,000 on a professional grade machine, and you will still get substandard espresso.  It is all about how much it is used.  A bar that pulls 1,000 espressos a day will always have an advantage over one that pulls 500, so your fancy machine that pulls one or two a day doesn’t stand a chance.  Of course water temperature and pressure are major factors that will make a huge difference for those of you that spent $10,000 on the professional machine, but you better be ready to turn it on an hour early and prime it for a while before pulling an espresso to drink

The Water

Now here is a place where a small thing you can do will make a world of difference.  I often wondered why espresso was so different from city to city in Italy.  I finally asked a professional roaster, and he told me that if he would take the same machine and the same coffee, it would always be significantly better in Naples, more bitter in Rome, less full-bodied in Florence, etc.  Then he proceeded to tell me every nuance of the water in these places.  But since I only really cared to know why Naples was so good, it all boiled down to the fact that the water in Naples is slightly effervescent and has a high mineral content.  He told me that if I were to buy naturally carbonated mineral water (not San Pellegrino), that it would be much closer to that of Naples, even in a home machine.

We did it.  In our little personal Gaggia Espresso Machine, we began to use high quality coffee with mineral water instead of tap water.   I won’t lie and say it even comes close to what I get at a typical Naples bar, but our home coffee experience suddenly got significantly better.

That said, I’m afraid the only truly perfect espresso requires a trip back to Naples.  If you go, don’t forget to have the pizza, and bring me back some Buffalo Mozzarella while you’re at it!

It’s not really what you think it is…

In the states, when you hear the word ‘Bruschetta’, you think about toasted Italian bread with a tomato spread. But to think that way would be like thinking the word ‘Sandwich’ means two pieces of bread with ham, cheese and mayo. It’s actually a generic term, and there are all kinds of Bruschetta.

Making Bruschetta with Sausage and Stracchino Cheese at Villa Eddarella

Let’s learn how to say it…

Before I go any further, let’s get rid of a pet peeve of mine. We’ll learn how to pronounce it. Say BROO-SKET-TA. That’s right. It is not BRAH-SHEDA. Now say it again… BROO-SKET-TA. If you can roll that R a little, you are certainly doing well!

What exactly is it then?

Bruschetta is quite simply toast. The word comes from the Italian verb ‘brusciare’, meaning ‘to burn’… or ‘to toast’, if you will. Bruschetta is made by placing a piece of bread on a grill and turning it every few seconds until it is toasted. Of course, doing it with Italian bread makes it so much more than what we think of as toast! At that point, it is Bruschetta. What you put on top of it from that point forward is completely up to you.

A little Bruschetta History

They say it originates in our area — Central Italy. But in all honesty, it is just that name that originates there. Other areas of Italy have had it for ages, just with different names. After all, how does one figure out where toast was invented? However, the name Bruschetta stuck, and became accepted world-wide.

Originally Bruschetta was simply bread toasted over hot coals, then sprinkled with some olive oil and garlic (or salt). It was something you would have while having an Italian BBQ, or when tasting the new oil in the winter. This is how what we call ‘Garlic Bread’ originated. Over time, Bruschetta became an appetizer offered in restaurants, and as such, it expanded to be a ‘carrier’ of other appetizers.

Bruschetta with Porcini Mushrooms

The tomato/onion mixture we know of is one of these. Other popular ones are olive spread, porcini mushrooms, truffles, and much more. but if you are in Italy, and you ask simply for ‘Bruschetta’, you will get toasted Italian bread with oil and garlic to rubbed on it. If you were to ask for ‘Bruschette’ — Note the ‘e’ instead of ‘a’ at the end that makes it plural, you would most likely get a platter of several varieties of Bruschetta.  What we think of as Bruschetta would be ‘Bruschetta con pomodoro’, or ‘Bruschetta with tomatoes’. This fact may not hold true in touristy restaurants, since they have learned what the tourists expect.

Bruschetta is a Comfort Food

When I think of Bruschetta, I think of friends and family. It is about going down to the farmhouse on a cold, rainy night with Paola and friends. We would bring a bunch of bread, sausage and pancetta. We would start a fire in the old fireplace and grill the sausage and pancetta while making Bruschetta late into the night, laughing and eating. I would argue that just about any Italian you run into will have similar stories. Bruschetta is something to have with friends.

A Bruschetta Recipe:

The recipe below is a simple one that we do in our cooking classes for one of the appetizers. This is one of the more popular appetizers we do in our classes.

Bruschetta with Sausage and Stracchino (farmer cheese)

Ingredients

• 4 slices of Italian bread, cut in half
• 1 mild sausage (No fennel)
• 1 package of farmer cheese (Best if you can find stracchino cheese)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F (275 C).

Peel the sausage and place in a bowl with 1/2 of the cheese. Blend together until smooth. Spread the mixture on the bread and place in the oven set to bake at). Watch the bruschetta carefully until golden brown. Serve warm.

Rotolo Rose

An amazing rolled pasta with cheese, Besciamelle and prosciutto dish my mother-in-law in Italy used to make on Sundays every once in a while. When we knew Rotolo Rose was for lunch, nobody was ever late… period!

Translation
Rolled Pasta with Prosciutto, Besciamelle & Cheese
 

Ingredients

• 4 slices of lasagna dough
• 5 large slices of ham
• 12 kraft slices cheese (white)
• Besciamelle
• 100 gr.(1/2 cup) parmesan cheese
• ½ lt. fresh heavy cream

Directions
Use a large pot. Fill it ¾ of the way with water. Add salt and oil. Bring to boil. Cook the lasagna sough with care, making sure not to break the slice. After about 4 minutes, remove from the water and let it dry on a clean linen towel. Shred one slice of ham with your fingers and place it loosely on the dough. .Repeat this process with 3 slices of cheese. Sprinkle some besciamelle sauce (recipe below) on it. Add Parmesan cheese. Now roll the dough and cover it tight with saran wrap (clear plastic film). Place in the fridge. When ready to bake, spread some butter on a baking tray. Cut the rolls in slices about 1.5 cm (½ inch) thick and place them in the baking dish. Pour the heavy cream on it and sprinkle some more Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven at 250 C for about 15m or until golden. Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 4 minutes. Serve warm.

*Besciamelle Sauce*

•100 grams (3 ounces) of butter
•100 grams. (4 tbsp) of flour
•1liter of milk (1 quart)
•Salt
•Nutmeg

Place the butter in a non stick sauce pan and let it melt at low heat. Add the flour using a whisk. Don’t let lumps form. Warm the milk and add it slowly the flour and butter using a wooden spoon or a whisk. Return to low heat and bring to boil. Add a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Stir often for about 15m.. Remove from heat and let cool.

Pollo Arrosto con Patate

Easily one of the most popular recipes we do in our cooking classes, I thought this would be a great recipe to share on the blog. Don’t think this is like any roasted chicken you have had at home. It will certainly spoil you rotten. If you are cooking for others, this never fails to impress!

Translation
Tuscan Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken cut in half (butterfly style)
• 2 to 3 large sticks of rosemary
• Fennel flowers
• 1 Lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 lbs of Potatoes
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• 2 sticks of Rosemary
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sweet Paprika

Directions

Wash the chicken well and dry with paper towel.

Rub the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, fennel flowers, paprika, and garlic. Squeeze half lemon on each side of the chicken and sprinkle some high quality olive oil.

Prepare a small bowl with a mixture of these ingredients for brushing the marinade later. (save a large stick of rosemary)

Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut in medium size wedges. Season them in a bowl with salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, fennel flowers and garlic.

Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).

Place the chicken in a deep lasagna pan with potatoes at the bottom, then a rack and then the chicken on top.

Place in the center of the oven.

Every 15 minutes or so brush the marinade onto the chicken with a stick of rosemary.

When the chicken is golden, turn it.

It will be cooked in about 45 minutes,depending on the size of the chicken and your oven’s characteristics.

You can also do this on the barbeque, but the potatoes will have to be cooked separately. You simply need to turn the chicken more often to avoid burning it