Recently in New Jersey Category

(photo: homemade pizza with arugula salad <including red onion>)

 

(photo: basil, parsley, and Japanese eggplant from our Italian garden in New Jersey)

 

My first experience with the Italian language was in utero and I suspect I overheard a conversation between my mother and grandmother in relation to food (something along the the lines, "cosa stai facendo per la cena?" or what are you making for dinner?).  Post birth, I didn't aquire English until I was five or so; legend has it that my mother dropped me off at kindergarten class in 1981 and the teacher asked if I just flew in from Milan given my brown leather boots, Merino wool short sleeved turtle neck, deep tan, and inability to speak the English language?  My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Biggio, argued that I should work on my English at home and register for school the following year.  Of course, my mother refused and told, not suggested, Mrs. Biggio I was ready for school and that I would pick up English quickly.  

 

I've always been interested in language and partly because I grew up speaking two languages at home. Specifically, I speak a southern Italian dialect from the Bagnara Calabra region of Calabria and, of course, English.  My mother tells an interesting story of the local kindergarten teacher in New Jersey wanting to send me back home on the first day of school because she thought I had just arrived from Italy (with brown leather shoes, dark socks pulled up to my knees, and a short sleeved Merino wool shirt that would have made John Travolta envious).  My mother argued that I would pick up English quickly and that I should remain in the kindergarten class.  Flash forward about 30 years and despite the abundant spelling errors on Scordo.com, I picked up English and retained my knowledge of the Italian dialect spoken by my relatives in Calabria.

I became interested in language not because I speak two languages but because I had an interest in the idea of whether language has an impact on culture or identity (this idea is known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or linguistic relativism in academic circles).  More specifically, linguistic relativism is the concept that differences in the way languages encode cultural/cognitive categories affect the way people think, so that speakers of different languages will tend to think and behave differently depending on the language they use. 

Before I headed to college, I was convinced that my perception of the world changed according to what language I spoke and that, for example, if I spoke Italian my outlook or view of the world was somehow different than when I spoke English.  After a couple of college linguistic courses and a few poorly written papers I discovered that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is pretty much an unproven theory (partly because of folks like Noam Chomsky).

But even though language doesn't influence thought, isn't language important when it comes to preserving cultural traditions, for example?  And what about the idea that the misuse of language can somehow water down a given culture?  This very question came up during, of all things, a Facebook message comment I left on "Johnny Meatballs" wall.  Johnny (star of the VH1 series, "My Big Friggin Wedding") posed the question, "What's your favorite SENG-WEEEEEECH" in honor of National Sandwich Day and a bunch of replies were posted to his wall (not only does Johnny actually market and sell his own line of meatballs he appears on a new reality TV show called, "My Big Friggin Wedding").  I took issue with a few of responders saying things like, "PROSUT and FRESH MOZZ."; meaning, of course, "prosciutto" and "fresh mozzarella."  John responded by saying:

"Paisan, I know such terms have been referred to as "bastardizations" of the Italian language or less than "authentic" words, however I often find it's the uptight Italian "scholars" (generally not from the East Coast) who don't understand this particular Jersey slang and protest it because they oddly equate it only to the mafia or the low class. But this is a very true and real language in itself my man. Btw your seng-weeh link looks friggin' fab lol. ;)"

Of course, maybe I was being a little uptight, but what happens when the informal pronunciation of a given word turns into the only label for the item in question (for example, if "prosut" replaced the word "prosciutto" would it be the end of world?).  The short answer is no and it's actually how languages works (dialects and pigeons <all forms of language> eventually, if the speaker group is large enough, evolve into full blown languages), but knowing and understanding the origin of words (like prosciutto and mozzarella) certainly contribute to a deeper understanding of the culture tied to the given item or product. 

So, if I was giving advice today, I would tell any Italian-American to first understand the origin and pronunciation of a given Italian word and then either use the more formal word or embrace the more informal use of certain Italian words in certain communities (at your local Italian American deli, for example, or while hanging out with your buddies).  After all, it's all about context as "Johnny Meatballs" said:

When I write recipes or order such foods in a formal establishment, I do say prosciutto di Parma, but with the boys at the deli I say, pro-shoot. I agree it's important to know both sides but my only point is that it's harmful to discredit ...one or the other or try and distinguish which is more real. And it's not just food terms, it's all the words. This is a regional thing that differs from place to place like any dialect, here and in Italy.?!?!?!?!?!?!??!

(photo: grapes ready to be crushed)

Late September is one of my favorite times of the year here in Northern New Jersey.  The temperature and humidity dip, leaves begin to change color, and I begin to relish my days spent outdoors in the sun and cool air (it's amazing what happens to one's sense of appreciation when certain things won't be around for much longer).

September is also wine making season in the Scordo household and it's a tradition that started in the late 1960's / early 1970's when both my grandparents and parents immigrated to the US from Pellegrina in Southern Italy (near Bagnara Calabra, Calabria). 

For the Scordo family, the idea of making homemade wine in the United States is tied directly to large scale wine production in Calabria.  That is to say, Nonno Scordo owned a modest vineyard and made both a local table wine he sold in the region and also grape juice, which he sold to larger wine producers as a blending juice (for more expensive and prized wines).  Nonno's wine was also consumed by the immediate family and when they picked up and left for the US, he continued making wine, at a much smaller scale, in his New Jersey backyard.  The formula or recipe changed given the availability of grape varietals, but the end product was just as delicious and satisfying as his Italian variant.

My father and his brothers have continued the wine making tradition since Nonno's death and back in 2008 I documented the process in my, "How to Make Homemade Wine" article.

What follows are some photos from the 2010 edition of the Scordo wine making tradition.   

Here are some other wine resources from Scordo.com:

• 11 Most Asked Wine Questions
• How to Approach Wine as a New Hobby
• Wine Buying 101
• What Wine Should You Buy?
• Wines of Calabria

(photo: proud first and second generation Italian Americans)


(photo: grape juice)


(photo: grenache grapes ready to be crushed.  did you know "grenache" is the world's most popular wine grape?)


(photo:California grapes ready to be crushed by hand)


(photo: the Scordo vineyard in Pellegrina, Bagnara Calabra)

(photo: Tripolini close up)

(photo: I sliced up four different types of Columbus Artisan product for a Thanksgiving appetizer) 

(photo: I think the packaging on the Creminelli product is top notch!)

(photo: Creminelli exterior)


(photo: starting from upper right clockwise: Creminelli Piccante, Sopressata, and Cacciatore)

(Photo: Creminelli product)

(photo: Columbus Artisan Cacciatore)

Like the popular folk song states, "I'm from New Jersey."  Yes, that State next to New York defined by the "Turnpike", Tony Soprano, and Bruce Springsteen.  However, and as Lee Siegel point out in an excellent Wall Street Journal article, "The Hidden State of Culture", New Jersey often gets a bum wrap.

New Jersey has produced countless artists, academics, musicians, intellectuals, actors, and its geography goes from gritty to picturesque in a matter of miles.  New Jersey is also packed full of cultural diversity from eastern European immigrants from Italy and Croatia to Asian imports from Korea and Vietnam.  

New Jersey is, indeed, awesome and Mr. Gorka we are good enough and do expect much! 

The Jackson Hole Diner opened its doors (New York City) in 1972; more recently the diner opened a New Jersey location in Englewood.  The diner is famous for its 7 oz burgers, but I'm personally drawn to their "Bronco" Chicken sandwich with melted blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.  The sandwich roll is toasted and buttered, but I think the real secret is the 24-hour marinated chicken breast (the owner told me the marinade is a secret, however he then proceeded to say the chicken is marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, and steak sauce!).

If you're in NJ or NYC any time soon, go and have a burger or, better yet, a chicken sandwich.