Italy's Salento: Unique 'Foraging Culture' with Wild Vegetables and Snails in Cuisine

Salento, located in the heel of Italy's boot-shaped peninsula, embraces the blue sea and sky, possesses a simple folk culture, and has fostered a unique culinary tradition. The coast is lush with greenery, and these plants are not just decorative but have been important local food sources since ancient times. Carlo Cascione, head of Salento Bici Tour, skillfully searches for wild asparagus and rosemary in the bushes. He told Central News Agency, "The custom of foraging for wild food has never been lost here."

"Imagine, for centuries this land was very barren, water was extremely scarce, and most of the land belonged to nobles or the church. The poor had to adapt to foraging for wild vegetables in the countryside, and people still do so today." As Cascione introduced, some passersby along the coast were collecting edible white snails in the bushes.

The foraging culture has made authentic Salento people experts in seasonal wild vegetables, and to understand local cuisine, one doesn't necessarily need to enter luxurious restaurants; picnics or farm experiences are the best way.

"Fresh fava beans should be eaten with cheese, early spring is the last chance to taste fennel root, and strawberries have just come into season." Roberto Guido, a senior local media professional, demonstrated how to peel fava beans while listing local wild vegetables like treasures. In his guide to the Salento cycling route, Ciclonica, cuisine is a major highlight.

Just as Tainan is Taiwan's city of sweets, Salento in southern Italy is also famous for its desserts. In Lecce, the most famous ancient city in the region, breakfast usually begins with 'Pasticciotto,' an Italian custard tart. This oval-shaped dessert, said to have originated in 1745, has a crispy shortcrust pastry shell containing lard, filled with custard cheese, and must be eaten warm to fully appreciate its aroma.

The most suitable summer drink to accompany dessert is 'caffè leccese,' an iced coffee with almond milk. Compared to many traditional Italian shops that only sell hot espresso or cappuccino, 'caffè leccese' is considered a very distinctive regional product.

For pasta, Salento's tradition is handmade orecchiette (little ears pasta). This pasta is simple to make: flour and water are mixed into a dough, rolled into thin sticks, cut into small pieces, and then flattened and inverted with a knife to form an ear shape. It is usually served with a sauce made from fresh tomatoes or turnip greens.

"Every Sunday, the whole family makes orecchiette together; it's a warm tradition in the local area." Cascione and his siblings learned to make pasta from their mother Anna since childhood. Now, he helps his mother run "cooking classes," giving tourists the opportunity to experience true Italian rural life.

The day Central News Agency visited the farm, a group of Canadian tourists were taking a class. Tourists William and Colin told Central News Agency that they loved this way of traveling deeply into local life. "Everyone sits at a long table sharing food, just like a family. Some group members were even moved to tears on the spot."

Salento is one of Italy's most famous olive-producing regions, but it suffered severe losses in 2013 due to an outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa, which killed many century-old olive trees. The region is still fighting the effects of this disaster, striving to coexist with the bacteria and isolate it to prevent a major catastrophe from recurring.

Italian media cited official data reporting that the infection caused at least 2.6 million olive trees to die or be uprooted. Le Chiese, a well-known local olive oil estate, told Central News Agency that they have also made many efforts to preserve old olive trees, trying to study which trees have higher disease resistance.

The simplest way to taste olive oil is to add it to bread, but to more finely distinguish different flavored olive oils, they should be paired with different dishes. The head of Le Chiese explained, for example, that the more pungent extra virgin olive oil is suitable for cold salads, while a milder olive oil is better for cooked foods like roasted vegetables, to avoid creating an overly strong and spicy taste. (Editor: Chen Hui-ping) 1150407