Expat journal

the package from home

Yesterday we celebrated St. Stephen's Day with some of our friends. Fortunately, perhaps by choice, the tradition of good food is common.

We share an appreciation for good food and the joy of gathering around the table while discussing recipes and traditions from our kitchens. Interestingly, many dishes are identical: piadina, leavened and fried pasta, some sauces, some preparations, desserts.

Thousands of kilometers apart, certain flavors are common and familiar.

#ThePackageFromHome this year was brought by my mother, directly in her suitcase.

In November, we had ordered Pandoro and Panettone through a specialized website for shipments abroad.

The package from home is an experience for those who live far from the city where they were born or raised.

You open the big box and hope to find friends and loved ones inside. Through those familiar flavors, you reminisce about that time, that occasion, that person. In a mix of nostalgia and happiness, for your taste buds, you feel transported to that place and time

The package from home is a sort of time machine

Yesterday, I opened the pandoro, and its fragrance filled the living room. I savored the first bite, and my friend asked, "Do you feel the taste of home, right?" Hurriedly, I replied, "Yes."

Actually, what I feel when I eat something made in Italy is the taste of a story.

It's not just the goodness of the product itself. It's the memories that resurface, some more pleasant than others.

At home, we used to eat panettone, pandoro was considered too "rich" and heavy.

I hated both the candied fruits and the raisins; once those were discarded, I was left with the crumbs of the panettone. Then there was the annoying outer layer, with burnt raisins that made it bitter. What a disappointment!

But during the holidays, there was also pandoro, especially for the kids.

Ah! The long-awaited Christmas sweet! Covered in delicious powdered sugar that, if you weren't careful and breathed it in, you risked choking on, softened by butter, easy to eat without having to eliminate annoying elements. You could plunge your whole face into your slice. Just one was enough to induce a more or less immediate eyelid droop and an afternoon nap with the new Christmas toy in your arms, a real treat.

You grow up and tastes change. However, memories associated with certain foods remain indelible and, at times, they are like tender caresses.

And are you Team Panettone or Team Pandoro?