Halloween is approaching and, although
it’s not an Italian tradition to celebrate it, our interest
in magic is
growing, thanks to hugely successful books and films such as Harry
Potter and
the Lord of the Rings. Even
though we wouldn’t want to enter into details of
the history of witchcraft here (it would be a very long and elaborate
process
and not really very “appetising”), we cannot help
but associate the image of
the witch with her boiling cauldron - an image that we form when we are
very
young.
According to the experts,witch-hunts began at the end of the 1400s with
the papal bull Summis
desiderantes affectibus, in which Pope Innocent VIII condemned devil
worshippers. The records of the Inquisition give us numerous
indications about
pagan rites and unlawful behaviour but few about anything to do with
food.
We have to remember,
however, that in medieval times the frequent famines and the
permanent lack of food forced the so-called
witches to eat roots and herbs, some of which were most certainly
toxic. Many
of the phenomen put down to magic could have been due to chronic
malnourishment. One of the effects of starvation is loss of contact
with
reality; an hallucinatory state would explain both flying witches and
the
presumed Sabbath banquets. The vision of huge quantities of food was
probably
due to desperate hunger. On the other hand, the Sabbaths could have
been
possible when the food stores of some nobleman were robbed; in this
case the
hallucinations were probably caused by drunkeness. The connection
between
witchcraft and food is of vital importance as food is the symbol of
prosperity,
strength and fulfillment. Fresh food, prepared as a ritual and
presented to the
gods, is the main connection between man and divinity.
Furthermore, it musn’t be forgotten
that in the dark ages when there was little medical knowledge, the
women
accused of being witches were often those who knew herbal remedies and
cures
which were unknown to most of the population.
In more recent times, there
have been lots of books written about the powers of knowledgeable
cooks, just
think of the famous story by Karen Blixen about Babette’s
culinary skills. If
we are not capable of preparing “cailles en
sarcophages” and serving an
‘extinct’ wine from 1864, we need to arm ourselves,
above all, with patience.
Good concentration is a basic pre-requisite to doing
‘magic’: the freshly
prepared spices ground carefully in the mortar; the slow cooking to
concentrate
the juices; the ritual used to execute the recipe.
Food is energy processed by
our body. Each type of food brings with it different vital elements.
Bioenergetics theory calls them “radiations” but
all gastronomes know that
mysterious alchemies can be created with food. So let’s
choose the freshest
ingredients, those which by their colour, perfume and appearance
strikes us as
being the most suitable for our needs. Even gastronomy is going
through a ‘magical’ period; we shouldn’t
be surprised then that the most famous
chefs are also highly educated and inquisitive experimenters: great
culinary
ability often goes hand in hand with an in-depth dietary knowledge and
knowledge of herbal and natural medicine.
Today we are so used to
thinking that innocuous food does not exist, and to judging our dishes
in terms
of calories and cholesterol that we must try to slowly rediscover the
complex
value of what we eat and its significance as a ritual, taking advantage
of the
abundance of what we have today compared to what the witches of
medieval times
had.
