Spring Foraging Guide for the UK by Sarah Tamsin [guest post]

Spring Foraging in the UK - Dandelion

I feel as if spring has really snuck up on us this year. It’s officially time for people living in Britain (or anywhere temperate in the Northern Hemisphere) to come out of hibernation and start enjoying the extra hours of sunshine. And so, I have written this spring foraging guide to edible wild plants you can find in the UK. Read more

The Great British Cake-Scoff: A Guide to British Food

So, I’ve put on a lot of weight since I’ve moved back to the UK and with very good reason. British food is not an internationally beloved cuisine. In most large cities around the world, you may be able to find a decent pizzeria, Chinese takeaway or Irish pub.

But, you will never ever find a good chippy or a proper British pub outside the British Isles. Read more

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post cover

I set myself three challenges this summer in Italy: to improve my Italian (errr… I’ll myself a generous 5/10 for that one), to see Florence (tick!) and to discover the Holy Grail of Italian cuisine – the ultimate gelato.

However, creating a gelato guide turned out to be a lot more complicated than I first thought. On one of my first nights in Italy I started my quest by asking a seasoned gelato-enthusiast for recommendations on the best flavours and flavour combinations, but instead was met this response:

‘Well, first you have to choose your gelateria.’

Choose a gelateria? Is there such a thing as a bad gelateria? How can you tell the good from the bad?

‘Make sure it’s homemade.’

How do I do that?

‘Cono or coppetta?’

Boh?!

‘Frutta or Crema?’

Errr…

‘What about seasonal flavours?’

Stop it.

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 1
Gelateria in Venice

It turns out that there is a lot that separates the gelati amateurs from the gelati connoisseurs (or conoscitore – see! my Italian is improving, promise). Here are just a few tips from a keen gelati apprentice (a young gelato-hopper, if you will), which set me down the right path:

  1. 1. Look for the word ‘artigianale

This word means homemade. These days a lot of Italian gelati is made in factories and shipped out across the country, so this word ensures that what ends up in your cono (cone) or coppetta (cup) is not mass-produced, but made fresh in-store, so you can really taste and see the difference. The flavours are intense, often made fresh in the early morning and sold out by the evening.

  1. 2. Look at the colours.

In particular, there are three flavours (gusti) that you can look at to make sure that your gelateria is legit:

  • Pistachio – is it a deliciously apple-crisp vibrant green? Bolt. True pistachio should be a gross bogey-colour somewhere between snot and gravel. If your pistachio is the colour of freshly cut grass then your gelateria is using colourants and chemicals to achieve that hideous verde.
  • Banana – is it a warm buttery yellow that reminds you of summers on the beach, pina coladas and getting caught in the rain? Leave. Similar to pistachio, a proper banana gelato should be a muddy browny-grey that reminds you of old discoloured chewing gum, and is damn delicious because of it.
  • Vanilla – look close. No, closer. Even closer. Can you see the teeny tiny specks of black in the vanilla? Good, then that means actual vanilla has gone into that mix, and not just extract. You’re welcome.
  1. 3. Spatula

If your server is using a scoop then run a mile. Spatulas all the way.

  1. 4. Are there locals there?

If the gelateria’s clientele are tourists and foreigners then this place is not the best in town, so instead you should…

  1. 5. Ask around.

In the UK, if you stop someone on the street and ask for the best chippy in the area, you will be met with a plethora of responses. The answer depends on whereabouts you live, where your family go, where your friends go, how much salt and vinegar they douse the chips in, the consistency of their mushy peas, what they use to wrap the chips, whether they do scraps, how the juicy the doner meat is… (I feel another blog post coming on…) the list is simply endless. It’s all about personal tastes, history and brand loyalty. You get a different answer every time.

Gelaterias are not like that. You ask anyone in town and they will know exactly which gelateria is ranked the best in the area and why.

‘Oh, I’m not sure, I don’t really eat gelato…’ said no Italian ever.

I have looked out of car windows in disbelief as host families have driven past three or four perfectly good gelaterias just to take me to the ‘best’ one, several miles out of town.

Can I taste the difference? Maybe. My gelati palette isn’t quite Masterchef-level yet, but I figure an entire town can’t be wrong if they all agree on one place. And their recommendations haven’t let me down yet…

So now you’ve picked your gelateria, it’s f.i.n.a.l.l.y. time to pick your flavours. Here is the most important Italian phrase you will ever need:

‘Posso assaggiare?’ = Can I taste?

The answer is always yes. Always yes. As many flavours as you like. This is a serious business.

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 2
The best gelateria in San Remo

Frutta or Crema?

Flavours are divided up into these two categories:

  • Frutta – fragola (strawberry), limone (lemon), coco (coconut), melone (melon), arancia (orange) etc.
  • Crema – cioccolato (chocolate), nocciola (hazelnut), caffe (coffee), tiramisu (yum) etc.

Frutta is best for hot summer weather, as it’s sweet and refreshing. Think of combinations such as mango and coconut, pineapple and coconut (can you tell I like coconut?), apple and pear, or orange and lemon.

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 3
Salo, Lake Garda: Watermelon and Cedro (a large lemon-like fruit), made with buffalo milk

Crema is good for slightly cooler weather, evenings and if you’re just feeling like being a big fat bitch that day. Must-haves include tiramisu and coffee, milk chocolate and hazelnut, or pistachio and… in fact, just double or triple pistachio is fine.

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 5
Castelfranco, Veneto: Chocolate and Hazelnut

Or go crazy and mix up frutta and crema like the freak that you are! I’m talking about apple and cinnamon, hazelnut and banana, or chocolate and cherries… ok, must stop drooling over my keyboard…

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 6
Brescia: Dark chocolate and lime with mint

Granita

Why, oh why, if you are in a gelateria you would want to choose something that isn’t gelato, I don’t know. But, gelato’s little sister and lesser-known counterpart can be equally as tasty and cooling.

What is granita? Granita is essentially a slush puppy. A fruity frappe. Whisked up ice and syrupy goodness. A gloopy sorbet with more icy bits. Sucked through a straw and eaten with a spoon, it is particularly popular in it’s home region of Sicily.

This is great gelato alternative for vegans or you need to go dairy-free. (For a vegan guide to Italy, read Eating Vegan in Rome by Take Your Bag).

Always go for lemon, it’s transcendent. Never go for mint, unless you enjoy drinking icy mouthwash.

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 7
Granita: chocolate, lemon, watermelon

Curved Balls

So you have your trusty Google Translate or Word Reference app up and running to figure out the gelato flavour names in Italian where colour or pictures may have failed you, but sometimes there are some curved balls that don’t quite translate. Here are some that you are likely to come across:

  • Zuppa Inglese – The literal translation is ‘English Soup’. However, don’t be put off because there are no peas or carrots in sight. This is the Italian name for a dessert beloved by all British grandmas: trifle.
  • Malaga – Yes, Malaga like the boozy Spanish holiday resort frequented by 18-year-old Brits. Hence the flavour: rum and raisin.
  • Baci – The word means ‘kisses’ but is actually the name of a kind of chocolate sold in Italy. It includes milk chocolate and hazelnuts.
  • Puffi – Ok, stay with me on this one. Puffi is the Italian name for Smurfs. Yes, as in the cute blue cartoon characters with little white hats. This ice cream flavour is usually bright blue (obvs) and flavoured with vanilla, aniseed or bubblegum, sometimes with little white marshmallows on top. It is not a suitable flavour choice for anyone over seven years old.

 

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 8
Montebelluna: Rhum baba special

So, what’s my verdict?

There’s a whole world of gelati out there! So many rules; some strictly to be obeyed, others made to be broken. I did my best to try different and unusual flavours every time I came across a new gelateria with excellent results nearly every time. (For more unusual Italian foods, read Palermo Street Food with Streaty by The Travelling Stomach).

My favourite flavours this summer have included pomegranate, watermelon, amaretto (as in the alcohol, not the biscuits), guava, mango, violet, lime and mint, and coconut (did I mention I love coconut?).

I hope this brief introductory gelato guide will help you and your taste buds make informed gelati choices as much as it has helped me on my epic culinary journey around Italia’s gelaterias/my waist-widening fat-fest of a summer (it’s a hard job, but someone has to do it).

Happy tasting!

How to Gelato | An Italian Gelato Guide | Page Traveller Blog Post 10
Pisa: Mango, pineapple, coconut

5 Authentic Chinese Foods You’re Missing Out On

5 Chinese Foods - Feature Pic

Last week I made you question everything you thought you knew about Chinese cuisine by revealing 5 Chinese Foods That Are Not Actually Chinese (well, that’s what Confucius told me in my fortune cookie). So now, I would like to introduce you to five authentic Chinese foods and dishes that I have come to love, living in Hong Kong, that haven’t yet made it big in the Western hemisphere: Read more

5 Chinese Foods That Are Not Actually Chinese

Yep, that’s right, Western world. You have been eating Chinese food wrong your entire life. But don’t feel bad as I too have made the same mistake in thinking that these dishes were the epitome of authentic Chinese cuisine. It wasn’t until I moved to Hong Kong that I learnt these Chinese foods are not actually Chinese at all.

It turns out that the popular “Chinese: dishes beloved in the UK and other Western countries are about as traditionally Chinese as a family pack of Tesco Value spring rolls. Here are five of the biggest culprits:

Prawn Crackers

Prawn Crackers - Chinese Food
© See Ming Lee via Wikimedia Commons

Prawn crackers served with every meal? Pure fiction. When I first moved to Hong Kong, I sat down in a restaurant and perused the menu, wondering when the waiter was going to bring over a basket of crunchy prawn crackers for me to munch on while I made a decision on what to order.

How long was I waiting? Well, I’m still waiting now…

The closest things I have found to prawn crackers are prawn flavoured crisps on supermarket shelves (and they’re not even cracker-shaped!). They’re not the same and they definitely don’t come with every meal, or with a sweet dipping sauce, or in a white plastic bag on top of the foil containers of your Chinese takeaway.

Chow Mein

Chow Mein - Chinese Food

Chow mein literally means “fried noodles” in Chinese. Therefore, it is technically real Chinese food, but it is used to describe any kind of fried noodles. “Chow Mein” in the style that we eat it as a dish in the West does not exist.

However, there are a million different kinds of fried noodle to choose from: some familiar (Singapore fried noodles, always an excellent choice) and others you that may surprise you (there is a kind of “chow mein” where the noodles come as a hard basket and you pour hot gravy over them to cook them on your plate and it’s heavenly!).

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour - Chinese Food
© Alpha via Flickr

What? I hear you cry, not sweet and sour chicken too! Never fear, the traditional Cantonese sweet and sour dishes do exist in Hong Kong, but just not in the form that you might imagine. Sweet and sour pork or sweet and sour fish are the preferred versions, and rightly so.

I have learnt the hard way that chicken in Hong Kong and China is vastly different from chicken in the West. The meat is often grey in colour, served on the bone and the emphasis is on the fat and skin rather than on white breast meat. Let’s just say it’s an acquired taste…

Spare Ribs

Spare Ribs - Chinese Food

Ribs are often on the menu here, but like sweet and sour chicken they are far from the delicious fried ribs in a finger-lickin’ sticky-sweet barbecue sauce you may order at your local Chinese restaurant. Instead, the ribs are often steamed and served in their own juices. Yes, you read that correctly – steamed meat. That’s a thing.

Fortune Cookies

Fortune Cookie - Chinese Foods

You can blame the home of the free and the land of the brave for this one. Fortune cookies were popularised in the US (reportedly fortune cookies were invented in San Francisco or Los Angeles, although some claim fortune cookies originated in Japan). Chinese people think they’re weird.

And those badly translated quotes from Confucius? Also bullshit.

More Chinese foods that are not Chinese

So there you have it! Five typical Chinese dishes you have been stabbing at with chopsticks (before sheepishly asking for a knife and fork) from the local Chinese takeaway or at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet all these years without them really being authentically Chinese at all.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Chinese cuisine is a complex mix of different cuisines: Sichuan, Shanghainese, Shandong, Cantonese, Hunan, Fujian… Just look at a size of China to understand why “Chinese” is a really a huge umbrella term for a wide variety of regional cuisines. It’s like putting French, Scandinavian, Italian, Irish and Greek cuisines under the inadequate and reductive umbrella of “European food”.

Most of the Western, especially British, Chinese foods we are familiar with are actually Cantonese, due to the links between Hong Kong and the UK.

But don’t worry, I also share in your despair and I’m not ashamed to admit that I actually crave Western Chinese food (arguably a separate Chinese cuisine in itself) while living in Hong Kong. Oh, what I’d give for a big plate of yuk sung at The Big Wok in Birmingham!

I hope I can take the bitter taste of disappointment out of your mouth by revealing the five Chinese foods you wish you knew about in another post? Or, you could just order a Chinese tonight safe in the knowledge that your Chinese meals are being catered to your Western taste buds.

Order an extra serving of prawn crackers on me.

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