Rosemary and bitter oranges: growing up in a Tuscan kitchen

by Patrizia Chen

This rich combination of cookbook and memoir tells the story of a family and the secrets of its kitchen in post-World War II Tuscany.

Suffused with the scents of simmering pots of cacciucco - a hearty, local seafood stew - and the vibrant coastal blossoms, Patrizia Chen's childhood was centred in the sun-drenched kitchen and adjoining herb garden of the family home in Livorno, on the Tuscan seacoast.

There, in a world struggling to recover from the devastation of the Second World War, Emilia, the cook, shared her craft with her young charge, while Patrizia's grandmother, Nonna Valentina, managed a household still containing chamber pots, sacks of chestnut flour and coal- burning stoves.

Eccentric characters, aromatic dishes, white Carrara marble terraces and a magical garden come alive in a a warm and humorous narrative. Rosemary and Bitter Oranges will captivate readers with its simple, delicious food and the author's wit and abiding love for tradition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Memoir, Food Writing, Italy, Biography, Travel

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my bedtime reading for a few nights. A memoir of growing up in a large Italian family in Livorno, Italy, and the importance of the food she shared with their beloved cook, Emilia. Lots of recipes embedded in the chapters sent me off to dreamland in a most delicious way. A gentle, soothing read.

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patrizia was born in 1948 in Livorno, Italy. This book tells of her childhood years, living with her grandparents, her parents, and two siblings. Emilia, the family cook, taught her how to cook and shop daily at the local markets. There are recipes, which correspond to the text, sprinkled throughout the book.

As a child, Patrizia was 'a handful', and she lets us in on some of the shenanigans she instigated. She has a way of vividly describing events. You can almost smell the crisp sheets that were washed in spring water and dried on a bed of grass.

It's a gentle, comforting look at Italy in the 1950s. If you enjoy books that fold around you like a warm blanket, you'd probably enjoy this one.

I like the photo of Patrizia (on an alternate edition).


3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

[Rattatouille · Rating 3 out of 5]

ความทรงจำในวัยเด็กของนักเขียน ที่เกิดและเติบโตที่ลิวอโน พาเราไปสัมผัสบรรยากาศเมืองชายทะเลของอิตาลี ซึ่งเงียบสงบและเป็นธรรมชาติ โดยเฉพาะอาหาร และสูตรอาหารที่ทำเรานึกอยากกินอาหารอิตาเลี่ยนได้ตลอด มีหลายเรื่องที่ทำให้เรานึกย้อนไปในวัยเด็กของตัวเอง ความซุกซน ความอยากรู้อยากเห็น การนำสิ่งของรอบตัวมาใช้เป็นของเล่น การไปเที่ยวพักผ่อนกับครอบครัวและบ้านญาติในต่างเมือง และวิคส์วาโปรัป ไม่น่าเชื่อทั้งที่เกิดคนละยุคกัน แต่ก็ยังมีเรื่องราวให้เชื่อมโยงเยอะเลย

แต่ส่วนตัวคิดว่าเมนูที่ให้มานั้น เป็นเมนูแบบไม่ได้ละเอียดมาก ถ้าทำตามอาจกินไม่ได้ >.< หรืออาจเป็นที่เราทำไม่ได้ก็ไม่รู้ โดยเฉพาะเมนูไข่ ที่ไม่ผ่านความร้อนเลย น่าจะไม่สะอาดถ้าจะทำตามสูตรในหนังสือ แต่เท่าที่ดูสูตรจะเห็นว่าอาหารอิตาเลี่ยนนั้นแทบจะไม่ปรุงแต่งอะไรมากมาย ใช้ความเป็นธรรมชาติของวัตถุดิบจริง กินแบบนี้ทุกวันคงสุขภาพดีแน่ๆ

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) This memoir discusses Patrizia’s childhood in a small village in Northern Italy on the coast. She tells of how the family cook, Emilia, took her into her kitchen to teach and encourage her appreciation for food. She is shocked when she first tastes the food that Emilia cooks for herself, full of spice and flavor as compared to the bland food that Emilia cooks for the family. Each section presents recipes that relate to the chapter. The author takes us on a journey in post-war Italy and discusses her family history. She includes some regional dishes that relate to more distant family in Sicily and provides an illuminating look into small town Italian life.

[Sarah-Leah Pimentel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very parochial, both in tale and creativity. It tells of a bygone world where the distinction between gentry and ordinary folk breaks down. At first, I found the recipes interesting, but then they become intrusions rather than a literary device.
Interesting concept and great to see lives lived but the ending is the usual....nothing is like in the good old days. The whole book had so much potential. It could have carried better.

[Ann Boytim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patrizian Chen shares her childhood memories of growing up with a large Italian family. As always with large families the grandparents are a big part of shaping children's lives and this family has strict rules. Patrizian learns to cook from an early age with the help of the cook and general housekeeper and many recipes are shared here in the book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning and the end were enjoyable however the middle of this story moved slow. I was reading it for a challenge that was a book with a flavor in the title so this one appealed to me. The author grew up in Italy. I enjoyed the parts that were about cooking and food and meals but there were other parts of the book regarding her growing up in Italy that moved slowly.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easily digested immersion into mid-century Italy. Fairly romantic in its rememberings, this is the type of book that leaves you feeling wistful. Thoughtful, catchy phrases make the reading enjoyable.

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful book sat in Liverno , Italy and town that has special meaning to me.

[Chris B · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable memoir of a 1950s childhood in family, home and kitchen

[Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice portrait of a childhood in postwar Italy, leavened with culinary history.

[Teresa Cortesi]

Patrizia Chen paints a warm picture of life in small-town Italy. She describes games played with sibs and neighbors, her religious education, daily pastimes, her home, a visit to relative in Sicily, and the foods her family liked best (recipes included).
It brought back memories of my visit to my mother's hometown when I was a teen: we cousins got along quite despite my speaking little Italian and their knowing only words learned from the infrequent tourists in town (all of them unprintable). No great drama here...just a very entertaining read.

[Madeleine McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle book. Interesting descriptions of an upper-class childhood in postwar Italy, interleaved with recipes. I enjoyed the tale of her grandmother creating "snow ice-cream" by making the children watch and wait as falling snow filled a row of wineglasses. However, the author's style sometimes results in a surfeit of language, for example: "The ingredients resented their forced alliance, dark coffee drops skating all over the satiny yellow mound of butter, trickling down the sides, finding refuge in the far corners of the mixing bowl."

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice memoir/family history about growing up in Livorno, Italy. The best part was reading about the culture and language clashes between the Tuscan half of the author's family and her Sicilian relatives, which she visited every summer.

The recipes in the book weren't that inspiring, although the granita di caffe is something I'm looking forward to trying this summer. She talks a lot about the Italian custom of dipping brioche in coffe granita for breakfast!

[Asha Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an entertaining read with stories about Patrizia's childhood and her family in Tuscany. I most enjoyed her childhood encounters with Emilia her cook who instilled in her the love for food. Its always refreshing to know the story behind a certain recipe and why someone, in this case Patrizia loves a particular recipe. I guess its the memories plus the taste that churns up a warm feeling in the heart when you savour a particular dish. A book worth reading.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman, my mother's age, writes about growing up in a very Catholic household in a small but charming town in Tuscanny, while nuturing a love of books and food. Needless to say, I found this book very appealing and satisfying. I laughed out loud at many a passage. It was very similar in some ways to 'Under the Tuscan Sun', but overall I enjoyed it much more.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Closer to 2-1/2 stars. Chen reflects on her Tuscan childhood through short essays. Unfortunately, for me, I found most chapters unimpressionable and lacking a certain depth.

Of similar genre, I enjoyed Colette Rossant's three memoirs over this one. They're much more thorough and rich in description and soulfulness.

[bookinglibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike other memoirs of adults moving to Italy and staring anew there, this unexpectedly engaging account chronicles the author's life growing up in post WWII Livorno. Her recounting of food, family and social aspects of childhood in mid-20th cenutry Tuscany, from a child's perspective makes this book a refreshing read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the earliest part a lot but was more interested in Emilia than the rest of the family. Might keep the book for a bit to look again at the recipies. I did stay in Livorno once and my vividest memory are the bars first thing in the morning where everyone was knocking back strong coffee laced with a local liquor (also very strong): Ponce alla Livornese.

[Diane C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Patrizia Chen's memories of growing up in a small town in Tuscany. Her book is full of domestic day to day memories of Italy in the 50's. She includes photos of family, their house and the town they lived in.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book about growing up in Tuscany in the 1940's and '50's. Reminiscences are interspersed with recipes, most of which seem too complicated for my use, but which are interesting, nevertheless. I do intend making the tomato sauce. This is my kind of book, stories and food.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super! I felt like I was growing up with the author in the small Italian town she describes. Her family - and the food - sounded wonderful.

[Marissa Genta Pineda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yum.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Italy and food...two great subjects beautifully described in this treasure of a book.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recipes and Tuscany rolled into one. Delicious

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a light fun read and the recipes just enhanced the experience for me

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A food memoir based in Tuscany that includes recipes, not that's my kinda book.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet reverie of a childhood in Italy + delicious recipes (which I've tried). Read....and enjoy.

[HadiDee · Rating 2 out of 5]

A series of childhood anecdotes and reminisces with recipes. It's a pleasant enough read but I think it would have been better as a proper cookbook

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, well written, for all fellow foodies out there!