Keeping Italian Traditions

Even traditional Italian food is under the threat of extinction.Younger generations are following trendy food shows and neglecting their family and regional dishes,However thanks to an unlikely savior piatti classic won"t disappear all that soon. Rachel Donadio interviewed this angel of sorts in today's Dining section in today's Wednesday's New York Times.The angel is Daniele DiMichaele who's more in his element deejaying.However he is one of Italy's most fervent food activists.He's concerned that Italy is losing its'culinary heritage thanks to a multitude of factor such as EU or European Union has certain regulations along with the proliferation of processed foods.Also there is the Influence of flashy American influenced cooking shows. he is doing his best to make sure Italians don't forget centuries old dishes. Signore DiMIchaele is encouraging people to send in their recipes to his blog.It's being sponsored by the Bologna Food Association,Artusi, named after Pellegrino Artusi ,the author of Italy's first cookbook. Ms. Donadio went with this DJ who has provided music for some of Europe's and New York City's Ballroom , to the beautiful Amalfi Coast.There they sat down with sausage makers about making traditional hot pepper encrusted sausages.The DJ is from Otranto himself, an area rich in seafood and good recipes .It's also a region that prides itself on handing down dishes through the centuries.The sausage recipe is an artesenal one, not mass produced in a factory but hung to dry, placed outside the kitchen where it was mixed.This is what Italian cooking is about.He is interested in food"s history ,where did it come from ,how was it invented, why did the original cooks choose the ingredients at they did.This curiosity sort of stemmed from his interest in Carlo Petroni's Slow Food Movement of the1980.s Where as Mr Pertroni was interested in excellence, he was more concerned with a dish"s story. Italian cooking has been around since ancient times.Thanks to Daniele DiMichaele, those same dishes will be around and made for years to come.These are the recipes that made Italian food great and he will see that they will continue to do so.