Language Italian Food Decoder App

[Pauline]

For those of us traveling to Italy this year, don't forget the fabulous Italian Food Decoder app for iPhone/iPad or Android by by Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls. We have used it on several trips and it is a great help, especially for regional foods where the name doesn't always tell you what the dish is. I am checking our phones to make sure we have it for this trip.

For many years Facaros and Pauls wrote the Cadogen Guides for Italy and France. They are no longer in print, but I have kept my old ones because they are a wealth of information.

They also have these travel apps (more info here):

• Barcelona Art & Culture
• Venice Art & Culture
• Bologna + Modena Art & Culture

Tagging @Dana so she can see that the forums are busy again

 

[Mom83]

Oh, I am so glad you mentioned this! I will download it for our trip in Sept/Oct. Thank you, Pauline!

 

[DDTraveler]

There is also the Budget Travel magazine menu decoder. You can google it and print out a paper copy. For the Luddites among us.

 

[Dana]

Oh, I am so glad you mentioned this! I will download it for our trip in Sept/Oct. Thank you, Pauline!

Thank you, Mom83! I hope you like it.

 

[carolync]

Fantastic! Menus are always the hardest to translate, even with a handy dictionary.

 

[Pauline]

We've used the app a few times this week in Basilicata and it always tells us what we need.

Today I bought what I thought was "caciocavallo" (cheese on horseback) but it was "burrito" (cheese moulded around butter)! The first is much larger. I thought the burrito was a smaller version of the cheese. You can eat the cheese that is the shell. But inside it is butter. It is made like this to protect the butter. The butter is very good.

 

[Dana]

We've used the app a few times this week in Basilicata and it always tells us what we need.

Oh good! Glad the app is doing its job. Only, er, it's 'burrata' not 'burrito'..;-)

 

[Pauline]

I think we are both wrong. The app says burrino which my iPad autocorrected.

 

[BryanS]

"burrata" is a little different in the south - butter inside mozzarella di bufala. The same concept as what you had. Spread on some of the fresh bread from the bakery and you'll never forget the taste.

 

[Pauline]

"burrata" is a little different in the south - butter inside mozzarella di bufala. The same concept as what you had. Spread on some of the fresh bread from the bakery and you'll never forget the taste.

I've heard ST people talk about burrata but wasn't sure what it was. Can I get it at the local shop (Giovanni's)?

 

[Roz]

Burrata does not actually contain butter. It's mozzarella with a center of cream and creamy cheese curds. Shannon actually set up a burrata-making hands-on demonstration for us one year at Slow Bowl. I can't find any of my photos of that event right now, but here is an article about how it's done: How to make burrata at home.

It's almost a cliche on menus around here in California, but it is one of the most delicious things you can eat. If you see it offered at a restaurant (generally as a starter), order it!

Edited to add: I would be surprised if you couldn't find it in local shops in Italy, Pauline. In the US, Trader Joe's actually sells a half-decent version.

 

[Roz]

OK, I just found my photos of the burrata event. It was longer ago than I thought -- in 2011. You can see them here:
Burrata Making - Slow Bowl. Former Slow Trav members should see some familiar faces.

By the way, when looking at the photos, I remembered that this recipe used mascarpone when making the central filling.

 

[BryanS]

Pauline, Giovanni won't have it everyday as it comes from Campania (Paestum has the best). Ask him or Angela, she has the shop up the hill from the fruit/vegetable shop.

 

[GailS]

Maplebrook Farms (in Vermont) makes burrata - available in Trader Joe's in Massachusetts at least. It's tasty but not as decadent as what I've had in Italy. I rarely pass it up if on a menu in Italy.

 

[Dana]

I think we are both wrong. The app says burrino which my iPad autocorrected.

View attachment 3972

Ah yes burrino, doh! I should have known. Unlike burrata, if I'm not mistaken, it's seldom seen outside of the mezzogiorno....