Part 5: Cucina povera
Throughout this series I have been at pains to underline some of the key principles of cooking and eating Italian. The Italian diet has always placed central importance on the need to eat seasonally and locally. Equally, Italians place great stock in eating responsibly: that is, without wastage. Hence the myriad ways Italians have invented for using leftovers. These are the principles of ethical eating in times of climate change and we should all be doing our part.
Now there’s an additional factor that we have to take into consideration, and that is cost. With inflation rising, everyone has been affected by the current cost of living crisis. The result is that we all have to look for ways to tighten the belt. As such, for all but the most fortunate, how we budget our food shop has become an increasing preoccupation.
Italians generally are well placed to meet the economic challenges of our times. I would argue so for several reasons. First, as a general rule, when it comes to food shopping, they have a tendency for thrift. That’s not to say that they sacrifice quality in the process. Italian shoppers, I have learned
