The closer I get

Liguria
and Inverness

     Aside from the flour and oil,

     the third essential element 

     of the Genovese focaccia is

     the large crystals of salt

     sprinkled on top.

                 The closer I get to elegance,

                 I see its impeachment of min-

                 imalism. It's amplitude, sim-

                 plified by proportions of na-

                 ture. Style, then is its pro-

                 vincial gesture, a motive for

                 travel. Salt is the constant, 

                 and water sees that I get it.

                 Nourishment is as good a mod-

                 el as any, for gaining trust.

                 Do I think, what feeds a pal-

                 ate of fairness, or do I bite

                 for my winning of inelegance?

                 The proportions of nature, by

                 the same token, are as good a

                 model as any, for holding me. 

Elena Kostioukovitch

Anne Milano Appel

  translation

Why Italians Love to

  Talk about Food

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009©