FORNO

Forno in English means oven and it is also what is referred to in Italy as a bakery. I love this style of bakery. The bread is baked in HUGE pieces- dense country loaves, slabs of soft and airy yet slightly crunchy foccacia, with out without tomato, and a small array of Panini/small bread= buns. You order your bread over the counter and they cut off the size of bread which you desire and the price is determined by weight. Here in Acuto at the Forno the bread is simply wrapped in newsprint. I think this is a great system, you can buy enough bread for one sitting, for a couple days, a week, whatever suits your fancy. The Forno in Acuto also acts as a small grocer so you can buy freshly sliced prosciutto and other meats, fresh cheeses including balls of fresh mozzarella, even a few fresh pastries. Today I bought 2 generous pieces of foccacia Bianca (no tomato), 4 large slices of Proscuitto, a large ball of fresh mozza and 500ml of purreed tomato’s for €6. The Mozza itself was €3.15- a splurge that was well worth it.

 I was intrigued by this particular mozzarella... it is usually stored in its watery brine in a plastic bag. This mozza was in separate thick paper bags which were all submerged in the same watery brine bath. So when you ordered one the extra water was shaken off then the wet paper bag was put into a plastic bag. This trick ensured that the cheese does not absorb too much water and become watered down- it works wonderfully. This mozza was more dense than the other fresh mozzarella I have had here. And trust me- I’ve made my rounds. I can’t say it was significantly better but the texture was recognizably different. Oh wow I love this cheese, I seriously can NOT get enough of it. I try to ration it, but when I know it’s in my fridge the temptation is far too strong. I love the way it somewhat peels apart, I love it’s mild yet obvious flavours, I love it with tomato, I love it with basil, I love it on bread, I love it with this olive oil, I love it cold, I love it hot and melty, I could just take a huge bite out of it like an apple. I will do that before I leave this country- eat fresh mozzarella like an apple.

The Fruit and Vegetable market in town is great as well, you can get most fruit and veg that you would get in your run of the mill grocer in North America. However, most of the fruit and veg is grown locally and the selection also includes the Italian favourites- artichokes, broccolini, chicory, cactus fruit (not sure of the correct name), things like this. Today I bought 3 tomatoes, a local navel orange, a huge pear and a lemon for €1.50.