Lampredotto
Encyclopedia
Lampredotto is a typical Florentine peasant dish
, made from the fourth and final stomach of a cow, the abomasum
. "Lampredotto" is derived from the Italian word for lamprey
eels, lampreda---once very abundant in the waters of the Arno River---as the tripe resembles a cooked lamprey in shape and color. It consists of a thin part, the gala, and a fat part, the spannocchia. The gala is characterized by small, purple ridges (called gate) with a strong flavor. The spannocchia instead has a more subtle color and softer taste.
It is cooked in water along with tomato
, onion
, parsley
and celery
, and then seasoned.
Lampredotto is still widespread in the city because of the presence of many stalls of the so-called lampredottai or 'sellers of lampredotto'.
Lampredotto was originally a poor person's and workman's sandwich. In the 15th century, there were already lunch places in buildings that sold the tripe. By the 19th century, the cooked tripe was sold from painted wooden carts, pushed by hand and later, attached to bicycle mechanisms to pedal them about.
Peasant foods
Peasant foods are those dishes specific to a particular culture made from accessible and inexpensive ingredients and usually prepared and spiced to make them more palatable...
, made from the fourth and final stomach of a cow, the abomasum
Abomasum
The abomasum, also known as the maw, and the rennet-bag, and the read, is the fourth and final stomach compartment in ruminants. It secretes rennin - the artificial form of which is called rennet, and is used in cheese creation....
. "Lampredotto" is derived from the Italian word for lamprey
Lamprey
Lampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
eels, lampreda---once very abundant in the waters of the Arno River---as the tripe resembles a cooked lamprey in shape and color. It consists of a thin part, the gala, and a fat part, the spannocchia. The gala is characterized by small, purple ridges (called gate) with a strong flavor. The spannocchia instead has a more subtle color and softer taste.
It is cooked in water along with tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, parsley
Parsley
Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...
and celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
, and then seasoned.
Lampredotto is still widespread in the city because of the presence of many stalls of the so-called lampredottai or 'sellers of lampredotto'.
Lampredotto was originally a poor person's and workman's sandwich. In the 15th century, there were already lunch places in buildings that sold the tripe. By the 19th century, the cooked tripe was sold from painted wooden carts, pushed by hand and later, attached to bicycle mechanisms to pedal them about.