GLOSSARY / A GUIDE TO LOCAL DISHES Agri soft cheese produced in the upper Val Brembana from fresh cow's or goat's milk Amor polenta soft cake made with fine polenta flour called fioretto. Bitto dop cheese made in Valtellina from unpasteurised milk. Matured from 70 days up to one year, it has a deep taste and intense character. Borettana onion small bulb straw-colored onion flattened at the poles, particularly adapted for pickling. Botto ham produced exclusively with Bergamo-raised pigs of more than one year of age. The ripening lasts 16 months in halls scattered with hay for the ham to absorb the distinctive aroma. Branzi one of the most typical cheeses of the Orobian Alps, named after a village in Valle Brembana. Bruschetta an appetiser consisting of roasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cappellacci sort of stuffed pasta similar to ravioli, from the province of Ferrara. Carnaroli medium-grained rice, native to the province of Vercelli, traditionally used for risotto. Carpaccio dish of raw meat or fish, thinly sliced and served as an appetiser. Carpione sweet vinegar marinade for meat, fish and vegetables. Casoncelli (dialect variant casonsèi) stuffed pasta similar to ravioli, typical of Lombardy. The filling is a mixture of bread crumbs, egg, cheese, sausage, raisins, amaretto biscuits, pear, and garlic. They are served with melted butter flavoured with sage leaves. Cassöla a typical Lombard dish made with cabbage and various parts of the pig (snout, ears and tail). Coppa (literally “nape”) traditional cold cut made from pork shoulder or neck, and dry-cured whole. It differs from prosciutto (ham) that is prepared solely from the thigh and buttocks of a pig. Cotechino charcuterie product whose name comes from cotica (rind), that together with pork meat, fat, salt and spices, makes up the filling. Doc, docg, dop (controlled and guaranteed, protected denomination of origin) are the Italian names of European-regulated quality assurance labels for wines and food products, notably wine and cheese. Donizetti cake named after the great composer from Bergamo, it is prepared with flour, starch, butter, sugar, eggs, candied pineapple and apricot and vanilla with maraschino. Foiade type of homemade pasta, roughly cut into diamond shapes. Formai de mut semi-cooked dop cheese from Valle Brembana, produced only with whole cows' milk. Garibalda is the bread that won the “A bread for Bergamo” contest organized by the Chamber of commerce in 2009. Gnocchi thick, soft dumplings made from potatoes, flour and eggs. Gorgonzola is a veined blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a tangy flavour from its blue veining. Grana padano one of the most popular dop cheeses of Italy. The name comes from the distinctively grainy texture of the cheese, and the adjective padano refers to the Po plain, or Pianura Padana. Guanciale unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig's jowl or cheeks. Involtini (literally "little bundles") thin slices of meat rolled with a filling and held together by a wooden toothpick. Lardo type of charcuterie made by curing strips of fatback with rosemary and other herbs and spices.
Mascarpone milky-white soft cheese made from sour cream. It is used in various dishes in Lombardy, where it is a specialty. Moscato di Scanzo docg wine produced from aromatic red grapes, which are carefully selected and put to wither before vinification. Pancetta bacon, typically salt-cured and seasoned with pepper, spices and herbs then dried for at least 45 days. Panna cotta (literally cooked cream) dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatine, and letting it cool until set. Pappardelle very broad noodles made of egg and flour, wider than tagliatelle, eaten with meat ragout. Penne, pennette (literally “feathers”) type of pasta with cylindershaped pieces. Polenta e osei sweet made with sponge cake, cream, marzipan and chocolate. Polenta dish made from boiled cornmeal. It can be made of fine grain (polenta fioretto) or coarse grain (polenta bramata). Polenta taragna buckwheat flour polenta cooked with various cheeses and butter. Porcini edible mushroom, prized ingredient in various foods, held in high regard in Italian cuisine. Available fresh in autumn. Radicchio leaf chicory Ricotta (literally meaning "recooked") cheese made from the whey, a limpid, low-fat, nutritious by-product of cheese production Risotto dish of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The added ingredients range over a great variety of flavours. Salmi variety of preparations for game, consisting of a marinade of wine, onion, carrot and celery, garlic, juniper berries, minced herbs. Scamorza stretched curd cow's milk cheese, similar to mozzarella. It is pear-shaped, white in colour, unless smoked. Scarpinocc di Parre sort of ravioli filled with cheese, eggs, butter, bread crumbs and spices. Stracchino cow’s-milk cheese, typical of Lombardy. It is eaten young, has a soft, creamy texture and normally a mild and delicate flavor. Strachitunt blue gourmet cheese made from raw cow's milk. It has a sweet and tangy flavor. Strangolapreti, strozzapreti (literally "priest choker") an elongated form of hand-rolled pasta. Tagliata (literally "cut") thick sirloin steak, grilled then carved into thin slices. Tagliatelle (from tagliare, "to cut") traditional type of pasta in the shape of long, flat ribbons. It can be served with a variety of sauces. Taleggio washed rind and smear-ripened dop cheese, named after Val Taleggio. It has a strong aroma, but its flavour is comparatively mild with an unusual fruity tang. Tomino fat and soft cheese produced with raw cow's milk. Due to its short maturation period it is white in colour with no rind. Tiramisù (literally "pick me up") popular cake made of biscuits dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone, flavoured with liquor and cocoa. Treviglio cake pastry cake filled with a mixture of ground almonds, sugar, egg yolks and egg whites. Valcalepio a Bergamask doc wine available in three varieties, red, white and passito. Zabaione dessert made with egg yolks, sugar and a sweet wine. It is a very light custard, which has been whipped to incorporate a large amount of air.