Erica's Italian Adventure: Frutti di Bosco (Fruit of the Forest)

Typically "frutti di bosco" refers to fruit (typically berries) commonly found in the forest here in Italy. Think cherries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, etc. The north is particularly famous for its figs and hazelnuts that are plentiful in the forests that dot the landscape here. Also found underground in the forest here, at the root of trees, are the infamous Piemonte white truffles, but that is a totally different season and blog all together!

Figs grow on trees (in case you didn't know) and most people in the countryside here in Piemonte (Piedmont) have a fig tree in their yard or many in their gardens and orchards.

My hosts here in Maretto (Asti province) have a black fig tree, but they are also available in a green variety.

Figs are sweet, delicate and delicious! They have lots of pulp, small seeds, and a thin skin. When they are ready to harvest there are a lot of them and everyone is finding ways to preserve them! We have made fig jam, fig ice cubes (for cocktails or to add to sauces), fig tart, fresh figs and balsamic vinegar and we are thinking of making fig sorbet.

In the markets figs are displayed on their leaves.

Here is a photo of the green figs, complete with a few flies, which are everywhere here!

The other fruit of the forest in Piemonte is the hazelnut! The hazelnuts of the Piemonte region are often sold to Ferro Rocher and Nutella for making their chocolate hazelnut deliciousness.

Hazelnut trees have long, thin trunks in clusters and the nuts are located under the leaves. They are picked in the fall and require a lot of work to process (which is why they are so expensive).

Here at the Monferatto Farm, there are baskets of hazelnuts that always need cracking. One hot afternoon I decided to tackle a basket, with a "Hell Bier" in hand and a nut cracker in the other.