SC - new to list

[Laura C. Minnick]

Welcome, Phil de Sancto Martino ;-)

I'll start you off right, with a bit of an argument ;-)

Niccolo, when he greeted you, skrev:

>I would mention that what we now know as Sicily was inhabited by
>many peoples over the centuries, so it would be useful to know what time
period >you  are interested in, and who had recently inhabited the lands.

This is very true- depending on the time period, you could have just about
any Mediterranean culture "controlling" Sicily. However, he also skrev:

>AS for italian Cuisines, a new book is published this year called
_Neapolitan >Cuisine_ by Terence Scully and is from late 15th century
Naples.  The culture, >IIRC from the info, is similar and possibly even
ruled by the same King at that >time.

Unfortunately, the Sicilians, while definitely being the originals of the
melting pot concept, are very fiercely and determinedly Sicilian, NOT
Italian. To this day, the worst insult one Sicilian can offer another
Sicilian is, "O, fa Napoli", which basicly means :Oh, go to Naples, (where
you belong)", Naples being the Sicilians' epitome of evil, sin, and general
nastiness. Consequently, I rather doubt that Sicilians would emulate
mainland Italian customs, including cuisine, although they are constrained
to use the same sorts of food stuff as the Italian penninsula.

I'd suggest you look around a bit, compare modern Italian/ Neopolitan
cooking with modern Sicilian, notice the similarities and differences, and
then go back to your chosen period, and compare the cultures in each area,
and their usual cuisines. I think you might be very surprised at both the
similarities and differences.

Phlip

Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.

phlip at morganco.net

Philippa Farrour
Caer Frig
Southeastern Ohio

"All things are poisons.  It is simply the dose that distinguishes between a
poison and a remedy." -Paracelsus

"Oats -- a grain which in England sustains the horses, and in
Scotland, the men." -- Johnson

"It was pleasant to me to find that 'oats,' the 'food of horses,' were
so much used as the food of the people in Johnson's own town." --
Boswell

"And where will you find such horses, and such men?" -- Anonymous