[1] The classic White Russian cocktail blended all the ingredients together (photo The Artful Gourmet NYC | CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0 license).

[2] We prefer the beauty of a swirled White Russian (photo © Yes More Content | Unsplash).

[3] Or, create a cream top (photo © New Amsterdam Vodka).

[4] A double old fashioned (rocks) glass is classic, but any glass will do. For a Martini glass, snifter, etc., shake the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into the glass (photo by Ralf-Roletschek | CC-BY-NC-ND-2 license).

National Coffee Day (September 29th) and National Vodka Day (October 4th) are so close that New Amsterdam Vodka wants to help you celebrate both. And since the cocktail contains coffee liqueur, it’s also a natural for National Kahlúa Day (February 27th).

They suggest a White Russian, a slightly caffeinated* cocktail.

The White Russian is a cocktail, but we think of it as a dessert.

Made with vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream served over ice, the White Russian is rich-rich-rich, even if you substitute milk or half-and-half for the cream.
 
 
WHITE RUSSIAN COCKTAIL HISTORY

The cocktail was born in 1949 when Gustave Tops, a barman at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels created both it and its sister cocktail, the Black Russians. The latter is just coffee and vodka, hold the cream.

We wonder if he knew what the original term “White Russian” described†.

The cocktails were created in honor of Perle Mesta, then U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. So why are the drinks called Russians?

Vodka is the main ingredient!

Over the next decade, both Russians spread throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The first printed U.S. reference appears to be in Oakland (California) Tribune on November 21, 1965. The “official recipe” as published:

White Russian. 1oz. each Southern, vodka, cream.

“Southern” refers to a then-popular brand of coffee liqueur [source].

The White Russian was elevated to stardom in 1998, by the film The Big Lebowski, now a cult classic.

The Dude drinks nine White Russians over the course of the film—which encouraged Dude fans to try the drink (hopefully, in a more moderate number).

Writer Josh Wilson notes these variations:

 
Take the basic recipe below and create your Russian of choice, with your cream treatment of choice, in your glass of choice.
 
 
COCKTAIL RECIPE: WHITE RUSSIAN

Some people like a very creamy White Russian. To make one, double the cream and swirl it through after you’ve combined the other ingredients.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Proportions for a stronger drink: 1-2/3 ounce (5 parts) vodka, 1 ounce (3 parts) cream, 2/3 ounce (2 parts) coffee liqueur.

Optional Garnishes

 
Preparation

1. ADD the ingredients to a double old-fashioned (large rocks) glass filled with ice.

2. STIR together to combine and chill. Garnish as desired.

________________

*The one ounce of coffee liqueur per drink has 9g of caffeine. There are 11g of caffeine in 6 ounces of brewed coffee.

†In the 18th and 19th centuries, the term “White Russian” described ethnic Russians living in the area between Russia and Poland (today this area includes Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine). These were the people who fought in the White Army against the Soviet Red Army in the Russian Civil War (1918 to 1923). The White Army was composed of a large group of loosely allied forces, including monarchists, capitalists and supporters of democratic socialism. The Russian Civil War ended in 1923, with Lenin’s Red Army defeating the White Army and establishing the Soviet Union. After the defeat, most White Russians left Russia.

‡Horchata de arroz is a plant-based milk made from rice, flavored with cinnamon and sometimes with vanilla. In Mexico, it is a dairy-free drink. In the U.S., milk is often added.

Our Top Pick Of The Week encourages you to try Chenin Blanc wines from the Loire Valley of France.

These excellent white wines include familiar wines like Savennières and Vouvray, as well as other equally noteworthy but less-well-known white wines of the Loire.

The Loire Valley (pronounced L-WAHR) is a paradise of beautiful scenery and stunning châteaux…plus wonderful cuisine, magnificent goat cheese, and world-beloved wines.

Even in a country known for its centers of culinary excellence, the Loire Valley is known as the “Garden of France.”

The Loire River nourishes its farms, orchards and vineyards; its forests are laden with game.

There are medieval fortresses, impressive cathedrals, Renaissance mansions and bucolic manor houses.

No wonder the kings of France and other nobles built chateaux there.

But on to the wines!
 
 
LOIRE VALLEY WINES

The Loire vinters produce red wines, white wines, rosés and sparkling wines, from grapes that include Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Melon de Bourgogne (white grapes), and Cabernet Franc, Gamay and Pinot Noir (red grapes).
 
The Loire Valley wines can be grouped into three sections:

 
The Loire Valley is home to 87 wine appellations under the AOC, VDQS and Vin de Pays systems†.

It can take a semester of study to know them all and years to understand them.

Today, we’ll focus on Chenin Blanc wines (SHEN-in BLONK): principally, Anjou Blanc, Coteaux du Layon, Savennières and Vouvray.

The grape is used to make a variety of wines, all named for the areas where they are produced. The best known is Vouvray.
 
 
WHAT IS CHENIN BLANC

Chenin blanc (also as Côteaux de Layon, Pineau de la Loire and Steen [in South Africa]) is a white wine grape variety that originated in the Loire Valley, but is planted the world over.

Some trivia: The most planted grape in South Africa is Chenin Blanc, where the acreage planted is double that in the Loire region!

Beyond South Africa and France, there are major plantings in Australia, California, New Zealand, South Africa and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay).

Today, we focus on Chenin Blanc in its home region, the Loire Valley, a 100-mile stretch of land between the towns of Blois at the east end and Savennières at the west end*.

The grape’s high acidity gives it versatility to make everything from still wines to sparkling wines to dessert wines.

Unlike any other grape except Riesling, Chenin Blanc can be vinified in a range of styles—from austere, mineral and refreshing to rich, honeyed, and sweet (both grapes make great dessert wines).

Its versatility surpasses Riesling in that it also makes excellent sparkling wine [source].

Like all wine grapes, Chenin Blanc yields different flavors and aromas based where it is planted: the terroir, vintage variation and winemaker’s treatment (oaked or non-oaked, chapetilization, type of barrels for aging, aging time before release, e.g.).

As with all wine grapes, the terroir‡‡ of the region where they grow will largely dictate whether Chenin blanc is produced in a predominately sweet or dry manner, while the vineyard soil type will generally influence the overall style of the wine.

While in some areas of the world, Chenin Blanc grapes are decent and will create a “workhorse variety” of wine or a blending grape used for its acidity, in the Loire Valley the grape is prized as a premium quality, able to produce world class wines.
 
 
THE GREAT CHENIN BLANC WINES

First, a note about French wine labeling. In France, wines are called by the towns or regions where they are made, not by their grape variety. Thus, you buy “White Burgundy,” not Chardonnay; or “Bordeaux,” not Cabernet.

In the Loire, you buy Anjou Blanc (a villages wine**), Savennières (a designated wine of Anjou) or Vouvray, not Chenin Blanc. Both are AOC wines.

What’s the difference? Terroir‡, and winemakers’ individual “recipes” (i.e., how they make their wines).

 

THE HISTORY OF CHENIN BLANC

The Chenin Blanc grape may have been brought to the Loire Valley more than 1,000 years ago. But viticulture there began much earlier.

The Loire Valley’s climate attracted the ancient Romans, who conquered and annexed Gaul and planted the first vineyards there during their in the 1st century C.E.

 
None one can say for sure, but one ampelographer (an expert in the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines) theorized that Chenin blanc originated in the Anjou wine region, sometime in the 9th century.

In 1999, DNA analyses revealed that Chenin blanc is an offspring of the Jura wine grape Savagnin, and that it has a sibling relationship with Sauvignon Blanc.
 
 
CHENIN BLANC FOOD PAIRINGS

There are enough Chenin Blanc styles to appeal to different food pairings.

 
In addition to goat, popular cheese pairings include:

 
Why does the Loire Valley specialize in goat cheese?

Of the hundreds of types of French cheeses, only 48 are protected with AOC† status. Six of these are from the Loire Valley, where the signature cheese is chèvre—goat cheese in English.

As the [somewhat apocryphal] story goes, in 732, the Franks and the Umayyad Caliphate of the Middle East fought the Battle of Tours in the central Loire Valley.

The Franks were victorious, and as the Umayyad (called Saracens by the Europeans of the time) were driven south, they supposedly left their goats behind.

Ever since then, goats have been plentiful inhabitants of the Loire Valley.

No place on earth makes such acclaimed goat cheese, including the AOC standouts: Chabichou de Poitou, and Crottin de Chavignol, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Sainte-Maure de Touraine, Selles-sur-Cher and Valençay. It is the French way, all named for the villages that produce them.

What time is it?

Time to grab a bottle of Vouvray and some different goat cheeses, and take a break.

[1] A bottle of Savennieres Chateau d’Épire, made of Chenin Blanc grapes in the Loire Valley. It’s served with oysters (here Bélon oysters from the Bélon River in Brittany, France), a great food pairing (photo © Chateau d’Épiré | Facebook).

[2] A glass of Chenin Blanc-based wine, pale in color and lighter in body (photo © Tommy Bahama | Facebook).

[3] Chenin Blanc grapes, ready to be picked (photo © Markus Winkler | Unsplash).

[4] Picked and ready to crush, at Domaine de l’Enchantoir (photo © Domaine de l’Enchantoir).

[5] There’s no place like home: Château d’Épiré in Savennières (photos #5 and #6 © Château d’Épiré).

[6] Loire Valley white wine bottles are more narrow and thus taller than other bottles, like Burgundy. Here, Chateau d’Épiré Savennieres 2017, made at the château above. It has aromas of honeycomb and lemon verbena and a strong minerality on the palate.

[7] Domaine l’Enchantoir Saumur Terres Blanches 2018, from the Saumur region of the Loire. It’s fruity with white flower aromas (photo © Domaine l’Enchantoir).

The Massif Central, an upland area in south-central France is bordered by the lowlands of Aquitaine on the west, the Paris Basin and the Loire River valley on the north, the Rhône-Saône river valley on the east, and the Mediterranean coastlands of Languedoc on the south.

†AOC, an abbreviation of appellation d’origine contrôlée, is a legal designation that places rigid standards on how and where a French product can be produced. This ensures consistent quality and preserves its reputation.

Vin délimité de qualité supérieure, usually abbreviated as VDQS, was the second highest category of French wine, below Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée in rank, but above Vin de Pays.

‡ Pouilly-Fumé is made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape in the Loire Valley; Pouilly-Fuissé is made from the Chardonnay grape from Maconnais region of Burgundy. Pouilly is a place name. Fumé means smoky, referring to the gunflint aroma that characterizes the wine. Fuissé is the name of the commune where Pouilly-Fuissé is produced.

‡‡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 the wine (or other agricultural product) its character.

A villages (vih-LAJZ) wine is made with grapes that can grow anywhere in the region (e.g., Anjou). A Savennières wine is made from grapes grown specifically in the Savennières area. Designated locations are superior to villages wines.

September 27th is National Corned Beef Hash Day.

When life gives you corned beef, make corned beef hash.

Hash is a mixture of foods cut into small pieces. The term derives from the French hacher (ah-SHAY), which means “to chop.”

To make corned beef hash, the chopped beef is typically mixed with chopped onions, diced potatoes, and spices.

Corned beef hash is most often served with fried or poached eggs—it’s nice to mingle soft yolk with the hash—and toast. Some restaurants add hash browns or home fried potatoes, and even baked beans.

It can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

> What Is Corned Beef
 
 
CORNED BEEF HASH HISTORY

The concept of hash likely dates to the earliest times, as cooks diced up whatever ingredients they had and threw them into a pan to make a hot meal.

Tracking recipes through history, there is a 14th-century recipe in England for hache or hachy.

In the 17th century, English diarist Samuel Pepys wrote enthusiastically about a rabbit hash.

The term “hash” was given to dishes where leftover meats were simply sliced, not chopped.

 
Pick your country and there’s a popular hash dish, although it may well have another name.

There’s everything from pickled beets in Denmark to Worcestershire sauce in England to tomato sauce and lots of garlic in Portugal and Brazil.

Check out these international hash variations.

But let’s get to hash in our own country.

Hash In America

Hash made with a variety of ingredients has been part of the American diet since at least colonial times, as 18th-century recipes attest [source].

As out-of-home eating expanded in the 1860s, beyond the lunch pail, street vendor or tavern, a cheap restaurant was referred to as a hash house or hashery.

(Alas, diners and other hash houses that actually had hash on the menu were replaced in the latter 20th century by national chains such as Denny’s and IHOP).
 
The Arrival Of Corned Beef

Corned beef arrived in the U.S. later on in the late 19th century. Although the exact origin of corned beef is unknown, it most likely came about when people began to preserve tp meat through salt-curing. This was a common method of preserving meat until the middle of the 20th century when the advent of refrigeration made it less popular.

While the tradition of salting beef as a means of preserving it has been around for thousands of years, the term “corned beef” dates to around the time of the Cattle Acts in the 17th century [source].

Corned beef was brought to the U.S. by Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants (Jews from northern Europe). Corned beef was a popular dish in their Old World lives, and they brought their corned beef recipes with them.

Historical note: Corned beef did not come from Ireland: Irish immigrants to New York City learned to corn beef from their Jewish immigrant neighbors. Corned beef recipes in Ireland migrated back across the pond, from the U.S. to the Emerald Isle.

Corned beef is salt-cured brisket of beef (photo #9). The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt (photo #10), also called “corns” of salt (because they could be the size of small corn kernels).

The brisket comes from the front chest area of the cow, near the bottom. There are two briskets per animal. The brisket is one of the tougher cuts of meat because the animal works the muscle almost constantly in the course of the day.

This requires slow cooking over low heat, which breaks down the tough fibers, collagen, and connective tissues, thus tenderizing the meat.

Corned beef became popular enough to be canned as early as 1898, as you can see in photo #8—a can of Libby’s corned beef hash.

(This particular photo came from a guidebook published by the Alaska Commercial Company for people traveling to Alaska and the Yukon in the Klondike Gold Rush.)

Before hash became inextricably linked with corned beef, boiled beef hash was made in New England as a way to use up the leftovers from a traditional boiled dinner of beef, cabbage, potatoes, and onions. Also in New England:

 
The 20th Century

During World War I, plenty of corned beef hash was dished out a garrisons and field kitchens. Toward the end of the war, canned corned beef hash appeared in field ration kits.

They continued in World War II, as did corned beef hash and other hash recipes on the home front. The meat had to be purchased with not only money but with ration stamps, limiting the amount of meat† any one person could have.

Because of meat rationing, the dish became popular during World War II. Although born of necessity, it was tasty, and it became an American comfort food.

Corned beef hash remained popular after the war. In 1950, Hormel Foods introduced canned corned beef hash and roast beef hash. Other brands proliferated.
 
Corned Beef Hash Today

It may not be fashionable, but corned beef hash has many fans. (Our enthusiasm for it comes from our mother and grandmother.)

It remains popular enough that a quick web search found canned corned beef hash:

 
 
SERVING CORNED BEEF HASH

In the U.S., corned beef is popular at breakfast and brunch. At restaurants, corned beef (or other) hash is typically served with eggs, toast, hollandaise sauce, and even baked beans.

Chefs at better restaurants have jumped upon the retro aspect of the dish, creating all types of variations.

A fancier recipe, for Corned Beef Hash “Benedict,” was created by William “Billy” Oliva, executive chef of Delmonico’s Steakhouse Restaurant in New York City (photo # 6).

It turned the corned beef hash into patties that replace the Canadian bacon in Eggs Benedict. A spicy hollandaise replaces the conventional hollandaise sauce. Here’s the recipe.

(This recipe is doubly Delmonico’s: Eggs Benedict were invented there in the 1860s.)
 
Lunch & Dinner

Corned beef hash is not just breakfast food. It also can be served for lunch or dinner with a salad.

Make it more special with any of these, and other, enhancements:

 
You can throw in anything in the fridge, from scallions to hard-cooked eggs to cherry tomatoes and zucchini.

You can get as creative as you like, from corn kernels in the summer to diced squash in the fall.

You can also change the:

 
Just enjoy being part of the tradition of corned beef hash.

[1] Corned beef hash with a fried egg and a contemporary garnish of fried shishito peppers (photo © The Wayfarer | NYC [now closed]).

[2] Out of the pan and onto the plate. A poached egg can be substituted for a fried egg (photo © Allen Brothers).

[3] Hash updated with bacon added to the beef. Here’s the recipe (photo © Lodge Cast Iron).

[4] Change the format, as with these corned beef hash patties. Here’s the recipe (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

[5] Make it fancy like they do at Murray’s Cheese Bar. Pack the hash into a ring mold and top with a medium egg, poached (photo © Murray’s Cheese Bar | NYC).

[6] Switch out the Canadian bacon on Eggs Benedict for corned beef hash, as they do at Delmonico’s (photo © Delmonico’s Restaurant | NYC).

[7] Libby’s corned beef hash, still holding strong after more than 120 years (photo © Libby’s).

[8] A can of Libby’s corned beef from 1898 (photo Libby McNeill | Public Domain).

[9] A beef brisket (photo © Double R Ranch | Snake River Farms).

[10] Rock salt. You can buy it from Gourmet Food Store.

________________

*Hollandaise is made from an emulsion of clarified butter and egg yolks, with lemon juice or white wine. Béarnaise adds to that base chervil, peppercorns, shallots, and tarragon in a reduction of vinegar and wine.
 
 
†Household staples that were rationed included butter, canned milk, coffee, dairy, dried fruits, jams, jellies, lard, meat, oils, sugar, and shortening. Other rationed products were automobiles and tires, gasoline, fuel oil, coal, and firewood; nylon, silk, and shoes.

[1] The juicy, crisp, refreshing Rave apple (all photos © Stemilt).

[2] So many apples look alike. You’ll find a label that identifies Rave.

[3] Rave apples growing on a tree in Washington State.

[4] From the tree and into the box.

[5] A flat of Rave apples at the grocery.

[6] One of Rave’s parents, the Honeycrisp.

September 25th is National Apple Day.

New apple varieties are in development constantly, usually in the agricultural departments of universities.

The objectives vary; for example, to create an apple that will grow better or produce more in particular soils and climates.

Breeders also seek to meet changing consumer demands. Crispy, for example, is now in demand.

And of course, they’re looking for the next big hit: the next Honeycrisp or Cosmic Red.

During breeding, approximately 45 different traits in the apple and the tree are tested. Here’s more about it.
 
 
THE RAVE APPLE

Red and juicy Rave is a new “signature apple” apple from Stemilt, a prominent grower headquartered in the state of Washington.

Rave is very juicy with a with “zippy flavor” and a “refreshing snappy zing,” says Stemilt.

We’re more prosaic. We’d call it very juicy and crunchy with an elegant tartness.

Rave was first introduced to consumers in the summer of 2017—seventeen years after it was first developed by David Bedford of the University of Minnesota’s apple breeding program. (He’s the same person behind the Honeycrisp apple).

It takes a long time to crossbreed an apple without using GMOs. Thousands of different crosses were made to narrow Rave down to the final varietal.

Rave is grown in Mattawa, Washington—approximately two hours north of the Oregon border. The area was chosen because it has the warmth and low altitude ideal for growing the variety.

The early ripener ripens in July, and picking begins at the end of the month. It is ready to sell in August.

When apples are picked, the bins sit in cold storage for four to five days (or for weeks, with other varieties), to let the fruit “settle.” The cells firm up a bit so they don’t bruise during packing and shipping.

As more Rave-bearing trees come have into production, there is finally enough Rave to distribute nationwide. We just got a box a few weeks ago.

Rave has a short growing season, so look for it now.
 
Rave’s Parents

Rave is a cross between the resoundingly popular Honeycrisp apple and an unreleased breeding variety called MonArk, chosen for its ability to ripen early with good color, while maintaining a crisp, juicy texture through the summer heat.

The MonArk is an apple from Arkansas, bred for that area’s severe heat and humidity. While traditionally apples get their color from fall cold snaps, the Rave is made for the heat and colors well in the heat.

Honeycrisps aren’t typically picked until early September; but Rave’s early ripening enables them to be picked in late July, kicking off apple season earlier. It is the earliest-ripening apple in Washington. (Washington is the number one producer of apples in the U.S.)
 
 
HOW A NEW APPLE IS DEVELOPED

The journey to develop a new apple cultivar is not a quick process and requires great efforts, says Stemilt.

During the 17 years from original breeding to the final release and licensing of Rave to Stemilt, the University of Minnesota conducted rigorous testing to ensure the variety was of high enough quality to be commercially released.

This process included five to six years of growing tests at multiple locations across the U.S.

Stemilt has the exclusive rights to grow and market Rave in North America.

The name of a new apple is chosen when it’s ready to be licensed. The breeder and the grower decided that the MN55 cultivar would be called Rave.
 
 
HOW TO ENJOY RAVE

Rave is a snacking apple. Like most apples, it tastes best when it’s chilled or cold.

It’s great in a fruit salad, but not hardy enough to take the heat of a stovetop or oven cooking. Instead:

 
Rave on, apple lovers!
 
 
> The History Of Apples

One of the most popular ways of cooking rice in Italy, risotto is a Northern Italian rice dish cooked with stock or broth*, stirring regularly until it reaches a creamy consistency.

Risotto can be embellished in many ways, from saffron to mushrooms to lobster and beyond.

While we love risotto, we don’t have patience to stand in front of the stove, add liquid, stir, closely watch and repeat—for 20 minutes or more! And that’s after the initial prep work.

That’s why we don’t cook it at home—but pounce upon it when we see it on restaurant menus.

But with DeLallo Quick-Cook Cheese Risotto, we can have a creamy risotto on the plate in 15 minutes after the water comes to a boil. You need only stir occasionally, not vigilantly.

The seasoned rice in the box is partially cooked in advance, using a slow absorption cooking process—just like cooking from scratch.

It is parboiled (also called converted—like Uncle Ben’s), then simmered with flavorful broth until the liquid is absorbed. The grains are then dried naturally for more than 24 hours.

The result captures the flavor and texture of the longer process, although you’ve just added water!
 
 
RISOTTO MIX-INS

You can add whatever you like to the risotto, either into the rice at the end of cooking, or as a topping. DeLallo suggests:

 
Some classic favorites in Italy are asparagus, barolo (the wine turns the rice deep red), mushrooms (photo #3), primavera (carrots, celery, onions, peas, potatoes), pumpkin/butternut, radicchio and speck, seafood, tomato and truffles.

Our personal favorite is a mix of shrimp and scallops, followed by asparagus, morels and ramps and in the spring and butternut squash and nutmeg in the fall and winter. (But like ice cream, we’ll eat any “flavor.”)

The easiest topping is some fresh-grated parmesan (there is cheese in the mix—but it’s enlivened by adding some aged parm), fresh parsley or chives and a few grinds of black pepper.

Enjoy your risotto fix. You can purchase DeLallo Quick-Cook Cheese Risotto online, or check the store locator (call ahead to see if the risotto is in stock).

At the low price of $4.29 a box, we’re giving them as stocking stuffers this holiday season.
 

THE HISTORY OF RISOTTO

How did rice, the staple grain of Asia, end up some 4,700 miles away, in wheat-focused Italy?

It was due to the Silk Road trade that Arab traders brought rice to the Middle East, and introduced it to Italy and Spain in the the Middle Ages.

The Moors and Saracens who settled in Sicily introduced rice to Sicily, as early as the 13th century [source].

From Sicily it spread to the Naples, and later was brought north to Milan and the Po Valley, where the short-grain rice varieties used for risotto (arborio, arborio is typically wider and longer than carnaroli and vialone nano†) found ideal growing conditions: flat lands, abundance of water, and humidity. .

Rice became a staple throughout northern Italy; and today, the Po Valley remains one of the largest rice producers in Europe.

Rice has been grown in southern Italy since the 14th century. Its cultivation eventually reached Milan in the north, where the conditions were great for growing short-grain rice.

It turned out that shorter-grain rice grew well in northern Italy, especially in the Po River Valley, where the paddies are irrigated by fast-flowing streams originating in the Alps.

The popularity of rice grew throughout Italy, primarily among the wealthy at first, since the “new” food was sold for exorbitant prices.

Rice became a huge cash crop, with enormous profits made by sellers in Genoa, Venice [source].

And once the outside world discovered the quality of the short-grain Italian rice, the money poured in, more and more was planted, it became more widely available, and the price came down. the availability of the short-grains spread, making the rice far more widely accessible.

From the 13th to the 17th centuries, rice was cooked only in boiling water. In 1779, when rice was, for the first time, wet with broth and sautèed in butter. Later, a pinch of chopped onion was added [source].
 
 
The Birth Of Risotto Milanese

The precursor: The first cookbook recipe identifiable as risotto dates from 1809: “Riso Giallo in Padella.” The rice is sautéed in butter; sausage, bone marrow, onions, saffron and hot broth are gradually added.

1809 is when the recipe for “riso giallo in padella” (pan-fried yellow rice) first appears in a cookbook. In 1929, the Milanese chef Felice Luraschi named the dish “Risotto alla Milanese Giallo.” His recipe calls for rice, fat, beef marrow, saffron, nutmeg and stock, flavored at the end with grated cheese [source].

The birth of modern risotto: A bit later in Milan, the most famous risotto dish, Risotto alla Milanese, was created. It was imbued with saffron, like paella.

In 1829 the name “Risotto alla Milanese” appears for the first time in the recipe book, “Nuovo Cuoco Milanese Economico” (New Economic Milanese chef).

For the first time the rice is not boiled, but cooked with butter and broth that is gradually poured, and enriched with beef marrow bone and cervellata, a medieval sausage stuffed with cheese, beef and veal meats, and saffron [source].

Why saffron? The region had been under Spanish rule for almost two centuries, and rice dishes, including paella, had become staples in Milan.

The slow-cooking principles of paella were combined with the local starchy, short-grain rice and an unknown chef created “Risotto alla Milanese” with rice, chicken stock, saffron, onions, butter, wine, parmesan and flat-leaf parsley [source].

As with paella, saffron provided not only flavor, but yellow-hued rice. (In 1981, the famous Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi added a leaf of gold foil on top of his Risotto Milanese, his emblem for a noble dish signature of the Italian culinary tradition (gold foil has no flavor).

[1] DeLallo’s Quick-Cook Risotto (photos #1 and #2 © Delallo).

[2] The boxes make great small gifts for foodies.

[3] A risotto with classic toppings: green peas and wild mushrooms, with a bit of fresh thyme (photo © Cafe Clover | NYC).

[4] You can stir ingredients into the risotto, as well as use them as garnishes. This recipe mixes minced zucchini and broccolini into the rice, and tops it with roasted baby carrots, fennel and fiddleheads (photo © Blossom Restaurant | NYC).

[5] Less common but equally delicious: a fresh fig and balsamic risotto at Union Square Cafe (photo © Union Square Cafe | NYC).

[6] Risotto made with red rice at Matthew Kenney Cuisine (photo © Matthew Kenney Cuisine).

[7] Squid Ink Risotto With Shrimp: irresistible! (photo © Jeff Prehn | Barbuto Restaurant | NYC)

Risotto became a favorite way to use short-grained rice in Italy, particularly northern Italy.

Today the dish is served extensively, almost unchanged, in the kitchens and restaurants of the world.

Ingredients as varied as duck, game, pumpkin, sausage, snails, squid ink, truffles, and almost anything else are paired with this classic dish.

While arborio, carnaroli and vialone nano rices† still rule, chefs have used red rice (photo #6), black rice, and other varieties to create risotto dishes.

Almost any ingredient can be added to the rice, from shellfish to sausages, vegetables and herbs to game.

Risotto is such a popular dish that a whole festival is organized in its honor. The Festival Nazionale del Risotto takes place in Biella each year since 2012 (although obviously not 2002).
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*While ingredients are largely the same, there is a difference. Stock is made from bones, while broth is made mostly from meat or vegetables. In stock, the gelatin in the bones creates a thicker liquid. Broth tends to be thinner and more flavorful, imbued with flavor from the meat and/or vegetables.

†Arborio is more widely available and less expensive, but it’s not as starchy as carnaroli or vialone nano and thus absorbs liquid—which provides the creaminess—a little less well. Vialone nano is a newer variety, developed and grown in Italy since 1937. It is a cross between Vialone and Nano rice varieties. Carnaroli is the most recent, dating to about 1945, a cross between vialone and lencino. It is superior to both of its predecessors, due to its higher amylose content. Highly prized, it is the most widely used rice in Italian cuisine [source].