This past weekend, our program took a trip to Cilento to learn firsthand about the Mediterranean Diet and see this region of Italy. The Mediterranean Diet is defined by a consumption of “abundant plant foods, fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert, olive oil as the principal source of fat, dairy products (principally cheese and yogurt), and fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts, zero to four eggs consumed weekly, red meat consumed in low amounts, and wine consumed in low to moderate amounts”.

On our first day, Friday, we visited a farm that produced kiwis, peaches and nectarines, as well as a port where a fisherman showed us a variety of fish/seafood that would eventually be sold to restaurants.

On Saturday, we toured Vannulo, a mozzarella di bufala producer. This was definitely the most interesting site we visited! We got to see the buffalos, watch the cheese-making process, and sample the mozzarella and other products made with buffalo milk (ice cream, yogurt). Following that, we visited the Museo del Mare, a museum where we saw and touched various sea creatures. We also visited the Paestum ruins and the accompanying museum, then ate at a restaurant that served us about six different types of pizza, including an “anti-aging” pizza (made with salad, anchovies, olives) and a Nutella pizza!

On Sunday, we visited the herb gardens of the area’s first medical school. It was very interesting to see what effects and remedies plants and herbs can provide. Following a tour of the gardens, we had a “tea party” on the deck with cookies and tea made of herbs grown in the garden.

For our Food & Media class, we are creating a documentary about Italian coffee culture. Today was our last day of filming (our “film crew” is below), and I think we are all very excited to see the final product. We still have an editing session ahead of us to put everything together and add sound effects, music, transitions, etc. We filmed at and interviewed one of the owners of Sant’Eustachio (near Piazza Navona), and we did the same at Tazza d’Oro (near the Pantheon).

Italian coffee culture is different from American coffee culture. Italians drink much stronger coffee (coffee diluted with milk is called “American coffee” here), and they drink much more of it. One man we interviewed said he drank around seven espressos each day. Italians also drink their coffee at a bar, as opposed to Americans, who take their coffee to-go in the morning. These differences were all very interesting to learn about, and I’m very curious to see how our documentary turns out!