IMAGINATION
Editorial
Edition 15
28.02.2022
A FOOD-SHOPPING PRIMER
Words for storing away in your Pantry
In his book Grammatica della Fantasia  [The Grammar of Fantasy], Gianni Rodari explains the art of storytelling and in particular invites the reader to experience what he calls the “fantastic binomial”: or rather taking two words that seemingly have nothing in common with one another and bringing them together in a wordplay.
If you think about it, this is what we do when we go grocery shopping, choosing two or more different ingredients to put into our bag so they can be combined to create a recipe. When going food shopping, IMAGINATION is also necessary, and this is the word for storing away in our Pantry.
In what recipe might fermented black garlic of Nerofermento be used as an ingredient? An extremely original product born from the idea of combining the eastern cultural of fermentation with a local product like Voghiera Garlic PDO (a bona fide fantastic binomial!)
Going food shopping is an experience fully rooted in the instinct of the present moment (do I need it, or do I not need it? Take it or leave it?), while also thinking back (on what might already be present in your pantry or refrigerator and what is missing) and deciding on the future (or rather deciding on: what I have and what I might desire?). Assuntina di Capri invites you to play among its citrus fruits, herbs, spices, and traditions, rediscovering antique pleasures in their liqueurs and spirits. Resembling the name of the protagonist in a fairy tale of nature and freedom – which to some extent it is – is also Nobiluovo. And there is a caption for this story: happy hens make happy eggs at Tuorlo Biancofiore.
At the same time, those at Fish Different have imagined a different kind of fish, choosing to use only fish caught by eco-sustainable methods that respect nature and do not destroy marine ecosystems. The fish of fish different is caught with the “Lampara”, a typical fishing technique of Southern Italy where small boats equipped with lamps that attract the fish, use seiner netting supported by floats to bring them on board (fish and lamps, yet another fantastic binomial!). The imagination is also what allows you to start from a name and begin travelling with your fantasy to a faraway place. Like when I read Green Heart Distillery and I think of a green heart in Umbria where I find myself tasting spirits. Easy, no? Let’s try with Passo Ladro [Ed. Thieves’ Passage in English], the ethical bandits who cultivate Italian organic excellence, giving the agricultural trade new dignity and new perspectives. In conclusion, and paraphrasing Rodari, fairy tales are up to food shopping as food shopping is up to fairy tales. “They're up to poetry, to music, to utopia and to political engagement: anyway, to the whole man and not only to the daydream storyteller”.


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