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The Bread That Ran Big Mac Out Of Town
by
Steven Elliott
A recent Times newspaper article
came to mind that says a lot about Puglia and
how people view their food in this part of the
world.
AFTER a five-year battle, the fast-food giant
McDonald's has retreated from a southern Italian
town, defeated by the sheer wholesomeness of a
local baker's bread.
The closure of McDonald's in Altamura, Puglia,
was hailed yesterday as a victory for European
cuisine against globalised fast food.
Luigi Digesu, the baker, said that he had not
set out to force McDonald's to close down in any
bellicose spirit. He had merely offered the 65,000
residents tasty filled panini, which they overwhelmingly
preferred to hamburgers and chicken nuggets. It
is a question of free choice, Signor Digesu said.
His speciality fillings include mortadella, mozzarella
and eggs or scamorza cheese, eggs, basil and tomato,
as well as fedda, a local version of bruschetta
toasted
drizzled with olive oil and salt and covered in
chopped tomatoes.
McDonald's opened in a piazza in the centre of
Altamura, 45km (30 miles) south of Bari, in 2001,
infuriating devotees of traditional Puglian gastronomy
such as Peppino Colamonico, a doctor, and Onofrio
Pepe, a journalist.
They campaigned against McDonald's as the Friends
of Cardoncello, named after a southern Italian
mushroom.
Altamura, founded in the 5th century BC and rebuilt
in the Middle Ages by Frederick II, is famed for
its fragrant, golden bread, and for Signor Digesu's
victorious panini.
'There was no marketing strategy, no advertising
promotion, no discounts,' Il Giornale commented.
'It was just that people decided the baker's products
were better. David has beaten Goliath.'
Recipe of the Week
Tip of the Week
The queues outside the bakery grew longer while
McDonald's gradually emptied, despite the best
efforts of Ronald McDonald, the mascot clown,
changes of management, children's parties and
special offers.
In July 2003 Altamura was recognised by the European Union as a protected regional product after lobbying by Enzo Lavarra, Euro MP for the Bari area, Rachele Popolizio, the Mayor of Altamura, and Giuseppe Barile, head of the local bakers' association.
Signor Pepe said that he regretted the loss of 20 jobs at McDonald's, but 'tradition has won'. The campaign was supported by the Slow Food Foundation, founded in 1986 by Carlo Petrini, an Italian journalist incensed by the opening of a McDonald's on the Piazza di Spagna near the Spanish Steps in Rome. It has 82,000 members in 107 countries.
Altamura Bread
Altamura was the first baking product in Europe to be granted a DOP certificate, and is so far the only Italian to qualify for the honour. DOP stands for Denominazione d'Origine Protetta, or denomination of protected origin, the equivalent of DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or denomination of controlled origin), used for wines. DOP products must be specific to a geographic area
The is made from locally grown durum wheat flour with yeast, water and marine salt, according to a recipe dating to 1500. The formula is almost certainly older, however, because Horace, the Roman poet, called the 'the best in the world'
The flour must be ground in mills within the communes of Altamura, Gravina di Puglia, Poggiorsini, Spinazzola and Minervino Murge, all in the province of Bari. The baking process has five stages from the rolling of the dough to baking
It is baked in an open oak wood oven. It is unusually long-lasting and was originally created for shepherds and farmers who worked in the fields and hills of Apulia for days or even weeks at a time
Altamura is the basis of several local dishes, including a winter soup called cialda, in which slices of the line a pot to which are added water, onions, tomatoes, parsley, basil, potatoes, olive oil, olives, celery and lemons
Steve
Elliott prepares internet marketing campaigns
for a number of uk clients, including the web
site at www.italianproperty.tv
The property specialists in Puglia Italy.
Article
Source: ArticleTap.com
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