[1] Bucatini: like spaghetti, but thicker and with a hole down the center (photo by Alicia LaLocanda | CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0 License).

[2] Spicy Pumpkin Carbonara—recipe below (photo © Delallo).

[3] Bucatini Ai Frutti Di Mari (mixed seafood). Here’s the recipe (photo © Delallo).

[4] Bucatini, homemade by The Baker Chick. Here’s her recipe (photo © The Baker Chick).

[5] Delallo Calabrian chiles in olive oil. You can buy them online (photo © Delallo).

[6] Just-picked Calabrian chiles, hanging to dry. Learn more about them below. Depending on the subspecies, they can be rounder or longer and narrow (photo © Toldio74 | Dreamstime).

[7] Bucatini Con Le Sarde: with sardines. Here’s the recipe (photo © Delallo).

[8] Bucatini With Green Olives, made with our favorite olive, the castelvetrano. Here’s the recipe (photo © Delallo).

[8] Artichoke, Bacon & Spinach Bucatini. Here’s the recipe ((photo © Delallo).

Our friend Penny, who does not like mushrooms, felt “left out” when she saw our Creamy Mushroom Fettuccine recipe last week.

So here’s one for Penny, for all mushroom-eschewers, for the pumpkin-happy fall, and for for National Pasta Month, October.

In this recipe, “spicy” means hot, from the Calabrian chiles (photos #5 and #6). If you don’t want the heat, just omit them.

Or, check out the bucatini recipes in photos #7, #8 and #9. Thanks to Delallo for the recipe.
 
 
RECIPE NOTES

This recipe uses bucatini, a cut we love.

Bucatini is a long, thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center. It’s a tubular pasta, kin to cannelloni, elbows, penne, rigatoni and ziti.

The name comes from the Italian buco (BOO-koe), meaning hole.

The Neapolitans* call it perciato, which means pierced. Either way, it’s a fun cut.

Why is it fun? Because you can suck the sauce through the straw. It’s messy, but you don’t have to be a kid to try it (at least once).

Why the hole?

One reason for the hole is that, in the days when all pasta was made by hand, it enabled a thicker version of spaghetti to cook more evenly, so the inside would not still be hard when the outside was al dente.

 
Bucatini is common throughout the region of Lazio, particularly Rome†, its capital.

Popular preparations there use:

 
If you can’t get hold of it bucatini, substitute spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine—or spaghettoni, thick spaghetti without the hole, which is also a fun pasta to serve.
 
 
RECIPE: SPICY PUMPKIN CARBONARA FOR NATIONAL PASTA MONTH

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BEAT the eggs, cheese, pumpkin and nutmeg in a large serving bowl, until combined. Add the salt and pepper. Set aside, and bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil.

2. HEAT the olive oil and garlic in a large saucepan. Once the garlic begins to turn golden, remove from the oil and discard. Add the pancetta to the pan. Sauté the pancetta until it becomes golden brown, about 6 minutes. Then add chiles to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3. COOK the pasta according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water to finish the sauce.

4. COMBINE the hot pasta and pancetta mixture with oil in the serving bowl with the egg and cheese. Toss to coat and to gently cook the eggs, which is done with the heat of the pasta. Once combined, add about 1/4 cup of the reserved hot pasta water and toss. If the pasta appears too dry, add another splash of pasta water.

5. SERVE immediately, with additional parmesan cheese to garnish.
 

WHAT ARE CALABRIAN CHILES

Calabrian chiles (or chili peppers) are a variety of native to the Calabria region of Italy (the toe of the “shoe”—the heel is in Apulia).

They are also called the small red cherry pepper, devil’s kiss and peperone picante Calabrese, which means “spicy pepper of Calabria.”

The typical harvesting season is late summer through fall.

Their genus and species, Capsicum annuum, is the same one for bell peppers, sweet/Italian peppers, serrano, cayenne, paprika, and jalapeños. (There are five different Capsicum cultivars.)

Depending on your personal definition of “hot,” Calabrian chiles are moderately hot or hot, ranging from 25,000 to 40,000 SHU on the Scoville Scale.

Hot peppers are in the 30,000 to 50,000 SHU range. By comparison, a jalapeño ranges from 2,500–8,000 SHU.

The chiles are blood-red and small but very flavorful, soaking up more than 300 days of sunshine annually.

This means that in addition to heat, they have a flavor unique to their terroir: fruity, salty and smoky.

These popular chiles—a staple in southern Italy—are sold fresh, but also dried, pickled, or stuffed and sold in olive oil.

DeLallo Foods, an importer of fine Italian foods, sells them that way, ready to use in a recipe or as part of an antipasto.

Diamante, a coastal town at the top of Calabria (above the “ankle” of the foot, close to the border with Basilicata), holds an annual Peperoncino Festival. The weeklong event takes place every September (in a non-pandemic year) and lasts a week. It attracts visitors from all over the world.
 
 
HOW TO USE CALABRIAN CHILES

Calabrian chiles can be served both raw and cooked: baked, roasted and sautéed.

They pair well with just about anything: cheeses, fish and shellfish, herbs (basil, cilantro, mint, parsley, ), meats (beef, poultry, pork), and vegetables (cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini). You can also use them to stuff olives.

Fresh chiles will keep up to one week when stored whole and unwashed in the fridge, in a paper or plastic bag.

The fresh chiles are:

 
In recipes, the chiles can be:

 
They can also be dried and used to:

 

THE HISTORY OF CALABRIAN CHILES

Chiles were first introduced to Italy by Spanish traders, likely in the early 16th century. Columbus had brought seeds back to Spain from the Caribbean in 1493.

These members of the Nightshade** family, were initially met with suspicion, and were mainly used for decoration until they were deemed safe to consume (the same happened with tomatoes, also brought back from the New World, and also Nightshades**).

Then, chiles were quickly adopted into Italian cuisine, and many new varieties were cultivated in Italy. As mentioned earlier, terroir‡‡ had a big influence on the diverse flavors, sizes, etc.

Today, outside of Italy, Calabrian chiles are predominantly grown by small growers in Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S. If you’d like to grow them at home, you can find seeds online [source].

*Neapolitans are residents of Naples, Italy. Neapolitan is the language of Naples, and also the name of a species of dog and horse bred in the region, among other references.

†Rome is not only the capital of the country of Italy, but the capital of the Province of Rome, and the capital of the region of Lazio.

‡In the U.S., you can find fresh Calabrian chiles from California; but also dried or jarred versions and Calabrian chile oil. Some stores refer to them as peperoncini, the generic Italian word for hot chiles (singular peperoncino, both cases often spelled with a double “p” in the U.S.). The generic name for sweet chile peppers in Italian is peperoni (singular peperone). If you can’t find Calabrian chiles, you can substitute serrano chiles, crushed red pepper flakes or a hot chile paste like aji amarillo, harissa or sambal olek.

‡‡Terroir, pronounced tur-WAH, is a French agricultural term referring to the unique set of environmental factors in a specific habitat that affect a crop’s qualities. It includes climate, elevation, proximity to a body of water, slant of the land, soil type and amount of sun. These environmental characteristics gives a fruit or vegetable its unique character.

**The Nightshade family, Solanaceae, is a family of flowering plants. Many of their fruits, pods or roots are edible, while others contain the alkaloid solanine, which is toxic in high concentrations (as in the deadly nightshade, or belladonna, and the tobacco plant). Edible members include the cape gooseberry, capsicum (chile), eggplant, goji berry, potato, tamarillo and tomatillo and tomato, among others.

We’re one of those households that wastes a lot of fresh produce.

Thanks to Taste Of Home for these tips:

Some of these you may already know. Most were new to us.
 
 
APPLE SLICES: SOAK IN SALT WATER

Sliced apples are a convenient snack or salad topper, but if you slice them in advance, they brown.

Soak the slices in a bowl of cold salt water, ½ teaspoon of salt or less per quart of water.

After five minutes, pat dry and store the slices in the fridge in an airtight plastic bag. Your slices won’t brown!

Why do some sliced fruits brown more quickly than others?

They contain different levels of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzymes, which cause browning when oxygen is introduced into the plant tissue.

The level of PPO not only varies between varieties of fruits, but within different subspecies within the species.

That’s why, for example, apple varieties like Granny Smith brown less, and less quickly, than Red Delicious.
 
 
ASPARAGUS: STORE UPRIGHT IN A CUP OF WATER

Asparagus often can dry out when you keep it a few days before cooking. But it’s easy to keep it moist.

Treat asparagus as you would flowers. Trim the ends a bit and place the asparagus upright in a glass of water, covering the bottom couple of inches.

Place a plastic bag over the stalks and place it in the fridge.

Do the same with fresh herbs, as well.
 
 
AVOCADO: BRUSH WITH LEMON JUICE

Avocado may be the fastest “browner” among all the fruits (yes, avocados are a tree fruit, just like apples and pears). They have the most PPO of the fruits most of us commonly eat.

To avoid browning, squirt it with a little lemon or lime juice, and brush the juice over the cut surface (truth to tell, we use our fingers).

The citric acid will help prevent browning for at least a day. This also works with guacamole.
 
 
BANANAS: WRAP THE STEMS WITH PLASTIC WRAP

Bananas give off lots of ethylene gas, which makes them brown.

Separate each banana from the bunch and wrap it in plastic wrap to stop the spread of the gas.

If the bananas are already too ripe for your liking, peel them and store them in the freezer. You can use them to make banana bread and other banana desserts.

Try them in a Banana Daiquiri: You’re in for a treat!
 
 
BERRIES: RINSE WITH VINEGAR>

You’re often told not to wash produce before you refrigerate it. But berries are different:

They carry mold spores that develop and rot the fruit, as you’ve noticed if you keep berries for longer than several days after you bring them home.

Wash your berries with a mix of vinegar and water in a 1:3 ratio and pat them dry before refrigerating (we let ours dry on the countertop).

This disinfects against mold, which can lengthen shelf life by weeks.

Rinse the berries thoroughly when you’re ready to eat them.
 
 
BROCCOLI: PLACE STEMS-DOWN IN A GLASS OF WATER

Trim off the dried stem bottoms and place the head in in a glass of water.

As with asparagus, only the bottom of the stems need to be in the water. Cover with a plastic bag.

If you’ll be eating it in the next day or so, a wet paper towel wrapped around the head will do.

If you feel you won’t be eating it anytime soon, slice it and freeze it. You can add the frozen slices to omelets, soups and other dishes.
 
 
CARROTS: STORE WITH WATER

Do your carrots get that dried-out look? Just like broccoli, loves moisture. To avoid the dryness, first chop off their leafy tops (here are 25 uses for carrot tops, and a recipe for carrot top pesto).

The leaves typically pull nutrients out of their roots (i.e., the carrots we eat).

Place the trimmed carrots in a container filled with water, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Fresh carrots will stay moist for 3-4 weeks this way.

If you don’t have space in the fridge for a stand-up container, wrap the carrots in bubble wrap.

This allows just enough moisture from the fridge to reach the carrots.
 
 
CAULIFLOWER: WRAP IN A WET TOWEL

Loosely wrap a wet paper towel around the head of the cauliflower and place it in a plastic bag, before placing in the fridge.

This storage trick will keep your cauliflower fresh (holding off the brown spots) for up to 14 days

If you’re not going to eat it anytime after that, you can freeze cauliflower for up to eight months.

Cut it into pieces, first. Slice and freeze the stems as well: They’re just as delicious.
 
 
LEMONS: DON’T CUT THEM IN HALF

If you need just a squeeze of citrus juice but don’t need to juice the whole lemon, just puncture it with a fork or skewer instead of cutting it in half.

This way, you can squeeze out what you need without drying out the entire lemon.
 
 
LETTUCE: STORE WITH A PAPER TOWEL

This trick can be used if you want to wash lettuce in advance, or if you’ve prepared too much of it.

Wrap unused (and undressed) leaves in paper towels, then insert them into a plastic bag (or plastic wrap). Place in the crisper drawer.

The towels will absorb moisture, which prevents the leaves from becoming soggy and brown.

Replace the towel(s) when it becomes damp. Don’t pack the leaves too tightly: They need to breathe.
 
 
MELON & MANGO: CUT INTO LARGE SLICES

When they’re ripe, cut them into large slices, wrap the slices in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge.

Watermelons are usually ripe* when you buy them, and can be stored on the counter for 7-10 days.
 
 
ONIONS: WRAP IN PANTYHOSE

Nylon pantyhose and knee-highs with runs have a second life: storing onions. The mesh-like material allows just enough air to reach the onions, which helps them stay fresh.

Insert the onions into the leg and tie a knot between each bulb.

But remember, don’t place onions in the fridge! Store them in a dry, dark, aerated space.

And when you buy onions, be sure that the skins are intact. They help the onion last longer.
 
 
POTATOES: STORE WITH APPLES

Apples produce ethylene gas that can keep your potatoes fresh for more than eight weeks: no sprouts popping up.

Just make sure that you don’t store the potatoes near the onions. Both onions and potatoes release moisture, which can lead to faster spoiling for both.
 
 
TOMATOES: STORE ON THE COUNTER STEM SIDE DOWN

Never store tomatoes in the fridge: The cold can degrade their flavor and texture.

Tomatoes do not like the cold so if you keep them in the fridge, they’ll lose their ideal flavor and texture.

Place them on the counter stem side down, as this part of the fruit is the last to ripen.

If the tomatoes have been cut, store halves cut-side down on a paper towel inside a storage container and use within two days.

If they’re smaller slices, also store them in a sealed container. If you’re not going to use them, freeze them.
 
 
> Also See How To Store Produce

[1] Protect apple slices from browning (photo © Stemilt Fruit).

[2] Keep asparagus fresher, longer (photo © Baldor Food).

[3] Stop bananas from over-browning (photo © Baking Library).

[4] Keep mold from berries (photo © Green Giant Fresh).

[5] Help broccoli stay fresh, longer (photo © Burpee).

[6] Stop carrots from drying out (photo © Grimmway Farms).

[7] Keep cauliflower from developing brown spots (photo © Jennifer Schmidt | Unsplash).

[8] There’s no need to cut lemons in half if you need a little juice (photo © Caroline Attwood | Unsplash).

[9] Lettuce (photo © Meiteng | RGB Stock).

[10] Sliced ripe melon so it lasts longer (photo © Good Eggs).

[11] You can keep potatoes from sprouting (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

*When purchasing a watermelon, look for the yellow spot on the bottom. Watermelons develop a yellow splotch where they rest on the ground. When the spot is creamy yellow, it’s ripe. Another trick is to thump the underbelly of the watermelon. A ripe one will have a deep, hollow sound. Uncut watermelons will last 7-10 days on the counter and 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

[1] While there’s not much fruit inside, here are recipes to use etrogs. If you see a fruit that looks the same but is lime green, it’s a kaffir/kieffer lime (photo © My Jewish Learning).

[2] Just-harvested etrog with its leaves (photo © Kara Idelka | Panther Media).

[3] Inside an etrog: lots of edible pith, little juice (photo © Sid Wainer).

[3] Here’s a recipe for etrog jam (photo © Apeloig Collection).

Recently, we encountered a fruit we’d not heard of before: the etrog, a species of citron that looks like a bumpy lemon.

Then we discovered that it’s something with which we were quite familiar: citron, the fruit with a very fragrant rind that’s candied and used in baking.

Etrog = citron. It’s the Hebrew word for it*.

Etrog has a delightful lemon scent and flavor, though most of it comes from the peel. There is little flesh inside (photo #3), although what there is provides juice.

Etrog (EH-trog*), Citrus medica, is a member of the citrus family, Rutaceae.

But it’s a different species from grapefruits, lemons, limes, mandarins and oranges.

Etrog is one of for species of citron: the yellow citron, used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot† in holiday rituals is the yellow citron or Citrus medica etrog for the performance of the Sukkot (October 2-9, 2020).

Here’s a summary of how etrog is used in the celebration of Sukkot.

Unlike the other fruit trees of the Holy Land—date, fig, grape and pomegranate, for example—etrog required intense irrigation.

It is a fragile crop: difficult to grow and delicate to handle and ship; both of which are reflected in the high price. Even historically, the fruit was exotic and costly (as it remains today).

Today, etrog is largely grown in Israel, Italy and Morocco. In the U.S., they are grown at Pearson Ranch in California, where the season can vary but is typically September through June.

 
In addition to the candied citron, the fruit can be used to make cake, candy, cookies, flavored salt, jam and liqueur (it’s called cedrello, a cousin of limoncello), among other foods.

Citron syrup can be used as a condiment or mixed into sparkling water, and as a sweetener for tea and cocktails.

Using The Pith

The white pith is the sweetest part of the fruit.

 
Here are links to more recipes and still more citron recipes.
 

THE HISTORY OF ETROG

Botanical historians have found the roots of etrog in the Far East. It was carried westward, by unknown traders and travelers as well as Alexander the Great, who carried it with his stores throughout the Mediterranean region.

In 332 B.C.E., “it was well-rooted as the first citrus fruit in the western world” [source].

Etrog was described in detail by the great Greek naturalist Theophrastus, a contemporary of Alexander. He extolled it for its medicinal value as well as its fragrance.

There is evidence of etrogs appearing in Jerusalem as early as the 7th century B.C.E. [source]. Etrog seeds have been found in Mesopotamian excavations dating back 6,000 years.

There is evidence of cultivated in the Jerusalem region in the second century B.C.E. Pollen from the etrog was found in an excavation; the archaeologists speculate that the fruit was brought there from India via Persia.

Etrog appeared in the Peloponnesus in southern Greece, and Mauritania, in the first and second centuries. It then dispersed to Lebanon, Syria, Greece and Italy. From Israel it traveled to Northern Africa: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco.

But why would a fruit with almost no pulp, that needs copious quantities of water and care, and that is particularly fragile, be grown in orchards in the Mediterranean region?

And then, it was for perceived medicinal value. Historically, etrog has been used to treat muscular pain, seasickness and skin disease. In India, the peel is still eaten to remedy bad breath. In Panama, citron leaves are ground up and combined with other ingredients as an antidote for poison
[source].

These and other medicinal uses explain why etrog is classified as Citrus medica.

________________

*Etrog is Sephardic Hebrew, plural etrogim. In Ashkenazi Hebrew it is esrog, plural esrogim.

†Sukkot is commonly translated as Feast of Tabernacles, Festival of Shelters, and Feast of Ingathering. It is a biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Israeli calendar, Tishrei.

‡One etrog variety has very small juice sacs in the center, although the giant Yemenite etrog has no juice inside at all. Etrog cultivars include Diamante (Yanaver), which is acid and seedy, grown in Calabria; Assads, which is acidless and often seedless, grown in Morocco; Israeli selections such as Braverman, Halperin and Lefkovich, and Kibilevitch, which are acid and seedy; and Yemen (Temoni), which has seeds but no juicy flesh, and originated in Yemen [source].

If you read THE NIBBLE regularly, you know how much we like Cookie Pop and Candy Pop, by Snack Pop.

These inspired snacks coat popcorn with favorite candy and cookie flavors.

Parent company SNAX-Sational Brands has done deals with some of America’s favorite snack brands to create:

Butterfinger Candy Pop, Chips Ahoy! Cookie Pop, Oreo Cookie Pop, Candy Pop made with TWIX® candy, Candy Pop made with SNICKERS® candy and Candy Pop made with M&M’S® Minis.
 
 
…AND A HALLOWEEN FLAVOR

Now there’s a new flavor, for the biggest candy day of the year: Halloween.

To celebrate Halloween, Snack Pop has created Halloween Cookie Pop.

Like regular Oreo Cookie Pop, it’s made with Oreo cookie pieces. But for Halloween, it’s topped with an orange creme drizzle.

This special edition offering is only available at Sam’s Club nationwide, in a 20-ounce club-size bag for $5.98.

Needless to say, it was tough to put a clip on the bag in order to stop eating it

All Snack Pop flavors are only 150 calories per serving, low in sodium, non-GMO, and OU Kosher (Dairy).

Head to Sam’s Club to get yours. (Tip: You’ll want to buy more than one bag.)
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CANDY
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF POPCORN

[1] Make your Halloween even happier with a bag—or two, or three—of Halloween Cookie Pop (photo © SNAX-Sational Brands).

[2] We love it too (photo © NeOn Brand | Unsplash)!

[1] Super-easy apple chips are low in calories (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

[2] Fuji apples (photos #2, #3, #4 and #5 © Good Eggs).

[3] Gala apples.

[4] Golden Delicious apples.

[5] Pink Lady apples.

Crunchy, homemade apple chips are wonderful homemade snack.

And it couldn’t be easier.

No dehydrator is needed to make these delicious apple chips; just your oven and a couple of kitchen staples.

Just as apples are a healthful snack, so are apple chips.

We like them “out of the bag,” as it were, as well as:

 
 
WHICH TYPE OF APPLE SHOULD YOU USE?

Says apple grower Stemilt of Wenatchee, Washington:

“For these tasty snacks you’ll want an apple that holds up well in the oven or dehydrator:

 
Making chips is simply drying the fruit.

“Drying fruit is basically just removing the natural moisture so only two things need to be right: the time and the temperature,” continues Stemilt.

“Once you’ve got those nailed down, voilà!”
 
 
RECIPE: APPLE CHIPS

If the apples are sweet, or if you don’t want sugar, simply omit it.

Or, you can use a noncaloric sweetener that’s oven-stable (Pureane, Splenda, Stevia, or ZSweet, e.g.).

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 225°F.

2. SLICE the apples thinly. Use a mandoline if you have one (they were invented to slice fruits and vegetables very thinly).

3. SPRINKLE the sugar and cinnamon on top and bake for an hour.
 
Variations

With your next batch of apple chips, consider layering on the pumpkin pie spices: cloves and nutmeg.

Or, go for sweet and spicy, with some ancho chile powder and/or cayenne.
 
 
> The History Of Apples

________________

*You can simply use fruit or vanilla yogurt; or sweeten plain yogurt with a noncaloric sweetener.