“Somewhere there still be our faces of children chasing each other through the rows of vines.”
Fabrizio Caramagna
We just said goodbye to September, the month of the harvest. An important moment for farmers who can finally reap the fruits of their efforts, but also a rite that is handed down generation by generation.
In the Veneto countryside the harvest is also a moment dedicated to the family; the grapes are harvested, great grills and lunches are made, we meet each other in a big party. This banqueting certainly comes from ancient Rome, where there was already this use to celebrate Bacchus with rich banquets.
The old farmers relied to the “capoccia” to know the perfect moment to harvest: he just had to taste the grapes to assess the degree of ripeness; then relying on the manual skills of the farmers, it was created a sort of family race for those who harvested the rows faster than others.
Today, the symbol of the harvest is a large basket, where the grapes are harvested, but in the past it was necessary to use stairs and kind of baskets with a hook.
Grapes have always been a fundamental food and not only for the wine. For example, in Veneto, with the fresh must, are prepared the “sugoli”, a sort of grape pudding of ancient origins.
Here the receipt for 6 people.
INGREDIENTS:
1,5 kg sweet grapes
2-4 spoons of flour 00
2-4 spoons of corn flour
PREPARATION:
- Wash, shell and press the grapes with your hands, leaving them to ferment in a container for one night in a cool place and covering with a light cloth.
- The day after, boil the mixture in a pot for a few minutes in order to stop the fermentation, then leave to rest for a few hours.
- Put the grapes back on the heat and cook for about 20 minutes until the beans are well crumbled.
- Pass the mixture through a vegetable mill, removing the seeds and skins.
- This is how you have the must.
- Dissolve the flour in the must cold, calculating the spoons according to the amount of juice.
- Put on the heat and boil for about 15-20 minutes while stirring continuously.
- Pour the mixture into the moulds and let cool.
- Leave in the refrigerator till the moment to serve them.
In our beloved Euganean Hills this recipe is a must of autumn: come and taste it!
