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A BRIEF HISTORY OF LODI PRODUCTS
Even if Lodi is near Milan, it has its own typical products.
Working in the fields and cattle farming have produced a cuisine rich of rice, corn, milk and dairy products, wheat, meat and products of the farm. It’s a very simple gastronomy made of soups (savoy cabbage and turnip), omelettes, polenta, poultry, salami, milk, butter and cheese and some cakes. But the area is famous for its typical cheese such as Grana Padano DOP and Granone Lodigiano which once was yellow because of saffron and it is characterized by drops of whey called lacrima (tear). After six months seasoning it is cut in two and it is scraped with a special knife in order to get thin foils of cheese called raspadura. It is usually served as appetizer together with nuts, mushrooms and cold cuts or on risotto and polenta.
Other famous cheeses of this area are mascarpone, pannerone whose taste is bittersweet, and Bella Lodi. According to the journalist Gianni Brera, Mascarpone comes from the Mascherpas, a family which owned a farm in the country between Milan and Pavia. Bella Lodi is a very high quality cheese because it is made only of Italian milk coming from Lodi cowsheds, without preservatives or allergens and it is easily recognizable by its black rind.
Salame is another typical product of Lodi made of selected pork meat.
Lodi’s cuisine is characterized by authenticity, simplicity and tastiness and its main ingredients are butter, cheese and pork sausages which are wisely mixed in order to get “the good food”.
APPETIZER
Mangy omelette (frittata rognosa):
It is a simple omelette with chopped sausage, usually eaten warm with onions and chicory. It was once made with fatty boiled meat leftovers (in local dialect called rognos)
TRIPE
In gastronomy tripe is an offal which comes from several parts of cow’s stomach. The Ancient Greek used to grill it while the Romans made sausages. Nowadays it is a traditional dish of many areas of Italy such as Rome, Milan and Tuscany. Since it requires a long cooking time, it is often sold precooked.
OTHER COURSES
Büšèca
It is a tripe cooked with bacon, vegetables (carrots, celery and onions), beans, butter and beef broth. It is a traditional dish made on 19th January when people celebrate Saint Bassiano, the patron of Lodi.
Pulpéte ligàde
Pork loin rolls filled with grana cheese and breadcrumbs
Dunél en ümid (stewed rabbit)
Dunél is the dialect word for rabbit, stewed with butter, olive oil, onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes.
Pulenta pastisàda
Polenta (maize porridge) made of semolina flour and served with meat sauce and a topping of butter and raspadura.
Veršin en criculòn
Savoy cabbage leaves cooked with butter and tomato sauce.
CAKES
Tortionata
Tortionata or tortjonata is a friable almond cake made in Lodi, recognised as a traditional italian product by the Ministry of agricultural policies.It is very similar to the well known Sbrisolona, (made in Mantua) but in Tortionata there is not cornmeal.
Its origin dates back to the second half of 19th century when the baker Carlo Tacchinardi gave his sons the recipe but the name comes from a pun of his grandson Alessandro who registered the brand in 1885.
Meinis
Pan meino (or pan de mej), is a typical Lombardy cake. Its name comes from the word millet which was used with other flours to make bread. Then it became a soft sugared cake traditionally made on St. George day (23rd April according to the Ambrosian calendar), when herdsmen and milkmen stipulated agreements for the milk supply. Traditionally milkmen gave meinis to their clients with elder flowers, which bloomed in that period, and cream.
SAINT ANGELO’s AMARETTI
These bitter taste crispy and friable biscuits were made in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano in the 19th century but it was only during the 60’s that they became famous. They are usually crushed in order to make other cakes.
WINES
San Colombano wine CDO
Our territory is also well-known for its wine. The most famous is “San Colombano” which takes its name from the hills where the grapes are grown in particular in Miradolo Terme, Monteleone, Graffignana, Sant’Angelo and San Colombano al Lambro. The wine is a blend of 30-45% Croatina, 25-40% Barbera, 5-15% Uva Rara and up to 15% of other local red grape varieties to round out the blend. All grapes destined for DOC wine production. The finished wine must attain a minimum alcohol level of 11% in order to be labelled with the San Colombano DOC designation.
San Colombano’s hills, famous for their red grapes, have a very well known tradition in wines.
The most cultivated are Croatina, Barbera and Uva Rara while lately black Pinot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Merlot are being cultivated.
Fifty years ago, white grapes were mostly a table grapes eaten by Milan and Lodi people who bought them in little boxes.
Verdea, the oldest vine (first mentioned by Pietro de' Crescenzi in his 1303 account of grape varieties growing in Tuscany) , produces fragrant grapes and, according to tradition, some are eaten at Christmas lunch as a sign of thankfulness and auspicious. But Verdea also produces a good fresh, fruity white wine.
San Colombano wine is perfect with sausages, soups, poltry, games but also with boiled meat, cheeses and roasted chestnuts.
Hello! We are students of 4 A of the school “Luigi Einaudi” in Lodi, Italy. We study Economy and Law which are fundamental in our school and for Expo 2015 we have formed a private limited company called IFS Servizi@EINAUDIagroalimentari coop. S.r.l and its goal is to promote and increase the value of our land’s typical food.