Geology at the table
What makes special the buffalo mozzarella cheese from Campania, the typical porcini soup from Borgotaro (Reggio Emilia Apennines), the cantucci with the Catalan almonds, the Swiss castagnaccio, the lobster from the Netherlands and the broad bean from Santorini?
ISPRA researchers - (geologists from the Geological Survey of Italy) explained it through the Story Map, an innovative technique, promoted by the ESRI conference, organized last 10-11 April. Starting from the publication of EuroGeoSurvey, Geology at the Table, of which ISPRA was one of the authors, the excellences of the Italian and European table were explained through a geographical and geological mapping. The book collects 27 recipes from 25 countries. It is an invitation to good food and to investigate how foods and preparations tell us our past, present and future. As ISPRA researchers explain, Italy is a geologically young country, a territory in continuous transformation and with enormous differences between one region to another. This great variety is also found among the mineral and organic substances present in the sub-soils. This explains why water, rivers, grass, trees and pastures affect the taste of the food produced. Cow's, sheep's and goat's milk from the same breed will give different flavor to mozzarella and cheeses produced in different areas as well as porcini and truffles.
Leafing through the Story Map (http://arcg.is/15rmyi)) it is possible to navigate with an interactive map and understand the link between geology and everyday life, two worlds so complex, but that explain the link between product and territory.
