Food Feedback: Keeping a sausage-making tradition alive
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Patsy Pizzuto, Michael Pizzuto's grandfather, stuffs what they call a "supersud" -- sopressata -- in Pitcairn.
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I teared up when I read "When it's cold, we make sausage" by Gretchen McKay (Food & Flavor, Jan. 26). My grandmother did not make sopressata, as she was very northern Italian, but did make sausage, pickled peppers --she canned and preserved everything -- and we had wooden vats of homemade red wine in a small room under the front porch. I always chuckled when polenta and zucchini, etc., became "gourmet" as we had been raised on these things.
Please keep more articles like this coming. So many old-timers are gone now.
SUE PARKER
Ligonier
I thoroughly enjoyed your article on making sopressata and the tradition of these men and women. That is why I love the people of Western Pennsylvania and especially the Italians, Polish and other nationalities that make up the area. I moved from McDonald in 1967, but still go back and visit and look forward to the fish fry during the Lenten season at the Italian Club in Monaca. Please express my congratulations to Steve Mellon for his work. I forwarded this article to my Italian club members in Palm Desert, Calif., to show them how it's done in Pittsburgh and I'm not even Italian. I just want to be.
BOB JOHNSTON
Cary, N.C., and Palm Desert, Calif.
I loved, loved, loved this article!
Both my parents were born and raised in Mendicinio, Cosenzo, Italy. I've been married for 381/2 years and my husband has been making sopressata for years! (He is not Italian.) Unfortunately, my parents are both gone now, but he continues to make it with my uncle and cousins on the first or second weekend of January.
I am sending for the "Home Grown Italian Recipes" cookbook because my mom never wrote anything down! She was a caterer in the Bloomfield area for 25 years and made the best Italian food, especially the meatballs. How I wish I would have learned before she passed away.
Thanks for the memories!
MARIE MATTHEWS
Adams
I read your article on making sopressata and I loved it. I've been making sopressata with my grandfather and father for about 15 years; my grandpap has been making it for 50 years. I now have about seven of my friends and their fathers involved in the process and every year we make around 250 pounds of sopressata, which takes a whole weekend. A lot of the families in my town make sopressata and other items and it's great when we all get together and everyone's like "try my" wine, cheese, peppers, etc. I think Pittsburgh has a lot of those homemade traditions and I am glad you are bringing that to light.
First Published February 2, 2012 12:00 am
