This Traditional Italian Dish is CRAZY... let me explain why I love it. 

We hope you guys enjoy meeting our family and seeing a day in the life here! There's a food adventure around every corner 😋 What's a dish or meal that totally surprised you and changed your outlook on food?

As a Calabrian American this video brought a tear to my eyes. I loved that you took the ultimate lesson from the experience. There is no poverty where there is love😢

I am a chef and traveled around Italy quite a bit last year and my number one observation was that their regional dishes start with humble beginnings but you wouldn’t hesitate to serve it to kings. Wonderful to see you and your family eating like kings!

A sociology lesson and a cooking show all in one. I enjoyed every moment of it!

Am I the only one who sees those loafs scraped out of the pot at the end as the start of an incredible pasta sauce? Chicharon style pasta? 1.) Heat up 2 cups of that pork in a skillet until the fat melts and the pork is crackling. Set pork aside to use as condiment for finished dish. 2.) Saute aromatics of your choice (onion, garlic, shallots) in the fat. Add chopped vegetables of your choice. I'd be thinking lots of mushrooms 🍄 3.) Once the veggies and aromatics have released their fluids, add tomato passata and probably wine. Cook low and slow. 4.) Serve with pasta that Eva would approve of (based on the texture of the sauce, no?). Garnish with pork crackling, fresh herbs and grated Italian dry cheese. What do you think? Would you try this?

I love that Eva's family also has the "kiddie table" where the younger generations sit together and the elders at another table. My Calabrian family does the same. 🇮🇹♥️

My family is sicilian. I grew up and live in southeast Louisiana. Down here the Cajuns and for that fact a lot of non Cajuns will throw family and community parties called cochon de lait (cooshawn duh lay). The phrase they use is, from the rooter to the tooter. They make something out of every single part of the pig and the atmosphere is raucous rollicking. Lots of singing and drinking. Love it

I can’t tell you enough how much I LOVED this video. It reminded me of what my visits to my beloved hometown of Licata would be like each summer when I was younger. It was wonderful seeing the bonding over family traditions, hearing the side conversations, the AMAZING and delicious Italian food, and especially how they changed your name completely to Peppe! Once you inherit an Italian name, you know you’re part of the family ❤

I am first born in the United States. My family comes from a small Sicilian village called Funari. I totally get what you are feeling when you experience these old Italian or Sicilian traditions. We used to get together at my Grandmothers house every Sunday without failure. Enjoy these moments to the fullest extent possible, because what I have discovered is that as the family ages, these moments begin to fade away. I wish I could go back in time. Thanks to people like Eva and others around the web, I have been able to reproduce some of what I grew up with. I make my own Italian sausage now, which I used to watch my Grandmother make in her kitchen. I make my own salami, which I used to see hanging by rope in the Italian Deli on the North Side of Syracuse, NY. I have learned to make my own Capocollo, and I have learned to can and ferment many foods. I have also cured my own olives. We still get together for the feast of the seven fishes when we can. And the family still makes the Cod Fish from Norway, which Eva could show me how to make. You know the one, Eva...it looks like a little baseball bat. We used to hit our heads on these as they hung from the ceiling in our basement as children. I have one hanging from my ceiling right now as I write this. I never could figure out how to pronounce it. It always sounded like Vicious Stalk when my mother said it. I never learned how to make this correctly. I also have struggled to make the kind of Italian bread I grew up with in NY, but because of Eva, I am close to making a great Ciabatta bread. Anyway, thanks Eva. And, thanks Harper for sharing such a lovely and generous woman with all of us...

Love it. I am so jealous. Wish I was there with you. Sending big hugs

Oh, my God! This looks like so much fun, Harper . . . I mean Peppe! You're so fortunate to have this family as your own! You've been blessed beyond measure ! ! !

I am a 70 year old African American, I live in Pittsburgh PA USA, however my parents are from Alabama, where whole hog cooking was very common. I would have been very happy with that meal.

I’m so happy these traditions still exist. 1) it keeps the culture alive, 2) teaches new generations about the importance of frugality and how to reduce unnecessary waste to a minimum, 3) gives a reason/excuse for socializing and relationship buildings, and 4) allows you to enjoy the best of foods in the best of companies: simple, delicious food with family, friends and loved ones.

It's not a strange tradition.im an Aussie here in Australia.."Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie,oiyee,oiyee,oiyee !! & I grew up with my parents continuing the tradition here.i prefer to eat it cold,it tastes like a delicious pork roast ,& the fat & skin is tasty too.from the region my parents grew up the salimuri bits at the end are called " i ziringoli" .thank you for taking us along for your wonderful journey into the culture & food of Italy.

All of your videos are great but this one is possibly the best. Gianni is the favourite Uncle we all remember... And he has a proper phone :) Every time you film live in Italy we get to see and appreciate more of their culture; meeting more of Ava's family is a definite bonus. Also, I've learnt more Italian language over the last two years due entirely to you two. Thank you.

I'm so glad the family continues this tradition and that Peppe was on hand to capture it for posterity!

This was a bittersweet video for me. It reminds me of all of the family Sunday dinners my extended family shared every Sunday at my grandmothers house. The adults had their table, and the kids would share their own. My grandma would make her delicious Sunday "gravy" with meatballs, sausage and beef. We'd eat fresh antipasti and Sicilian bread. For dessert, the adults would drink coffee and someone would break out the cannoli and Italian cookies from the local bakery. My siblings, cousins, and I would all play together while the adults socialized. My grandparents have long passed, and many of my extended family members moved away from the neighborhood, all the kids started families of their own, and only see each other all together at large family parties. I miss those dinners more than anything.

I just want to say I love the variety of video formats Pasta Grammar does. The videos focusing on a star ingredient, the videos focusing on a particular region or city, and these documentary style videos

As I was growing up 50 or so years ago, my Franco-American mother would often make use of every leftover she could possibly find. Money was tight, and we couldn't waste anything. At that time, I almost resented having to eat 'poor' food. Little did I know that the 'rich' food I ate when visiting friends was just as much a treat to my friends as they were to me. Zip forward to the present...now, I find myself intentionally cooking those old, poor meals, and as I enjoy eating them, memories of some incredible moments with our very large family gathered around eating and socializing come forward, and I thank my now departed mother for being so patient with me. Those 'poor' meals with my family were, and still are, the best.

What a great storyteller you are Harper!

Another "gem". Thank you Harper and Eva. Cheers to all❣️ Gianni is priceless🥂

I'm a Calabrian American and I grew up eating a much scaled down version of this-we use various cuts of pork cooked for hours with cabbage, escarole, pepperoni (diced) and garnished with cubes of aged provolone. Definitely food for a crowd!

My Grandmother got half a pig each year from a Butcher (it was in the 60s and early 70s) and after she conserved all the "good" pieces into cans and glasses a feast was celebrated, using all the left overs of the pig in a giant cauldron. I loved this soup called "Metzelsuppe" which is from the germanword Metzeln (slaughtering) and Suppe (soup). Loved your video a lot.

Here in "lower Calabria" we do it a bit differently. (Reggio di Calabria). Pigs heads, feet everything is added, and not so much meat. But.. that being said... yours looks delicious.. what a wonderful truly Calabrian share! Thank you!

19:15 “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”

That’s one of the things I loved about my German heritage. We have a similar tradition and the same thought about using every bit of an animal that has been sacrificed for our nourishment. NOTHING goes to waste. That’s soooo important!

This video alone would deserve a Golden Globe (when are they creating a YT category????). As an Italian descendant living in Brazil, I really want to thank you both, for allowing me such a deep dive into my Italian roots. Love you, guys. ❤ ❤❤❤❤❤

Enjoy your video. Growing up Sicilian in the US and speaking Sicilian before English I really enjoyed this video thank you very much

Harper thank you for sharing this wonderful tradition,my late husband was calabrese we used to do the same thing here in Australia 🇦🇺,but since he’s been gone we haven’t done it anymore so thank you to you and Eva for reminding us of our traditions,that’s how wonderful memories are achieved during our lifetime,god bless from Australia 🇦🇺

I was about to say it reminded of Carnitas too. I wonder if my Nonna ever did this growing up. I’ll have to ask her (she’s from Moschetta, Calabria). As always thank you for showing these traditions and a bit of one of my motherlands. Eva and you are amazing! I may have to do one of your tours in the future. 💖

I LOVE this! Here in America we get so much talk about 'eating tail to nose' and so on. In Calabria, they live it.

Your best video yet! Thank you! I am always trying and failing to explain to people (mainly Brits) how simple the best Italian food is. And how Italians delight in that simplicity. You totally nailed it here, especially in your closing words about it not being seen as a hardship but a celebration. In this one video you achieve what a thousand Italian cookery books have failed to do, which is not just show us real Italian food but to successfully convey the joy and sense of occasion that goes with it. Please keep doing this. You are more important than you know.

This is the italian version of Dopp i grytan = dip in the potstew we have in Sweden at christmas.ham juice and bread

Harper, loved your take at the end. Thanks to you, Eva and your family for sharing this beautiful tradition. These traditions resonate with every human being, and is one reason why Italians and Italy are loved the world over.

Traditions are so important. As families move further apart these traditions are changed or worse lost. As an Italian American of some age once my grandparents passed these traditions were lost. Seeing your video brought back lots of memories ! Thanks !

I've seen something similar at a pork harvest. Rendering lard. You keep it at a temperature so it doesn't burn. Eventually the meat and skin are like pork rinds, called cracklings. Best in a peanut butter sandwich. No water, just fat when cooking. The point is to release the water to make the lard fat stable for storage.

I have had the great fortune of spending a good amount of time in Italy, and this brought to mind an experience similar to yours. I was invited to have a Sunday meal at a coworker's home (I worked in the USA Division of an Italian manufacturer at the time) and was spending a week in the Veneto region where headquarters was located. The meal served was amazing in its simplicity yet showed what Italy truly does, and that is enjoy being together as humans. Even with my VERY rudimentary Italian, coupled with a very prominent southern drawl, communication was made over the love of food and togetherness. I will remember that forever.

As a very new sub here (thankfully so) I have to say that you make us almost feel like family. The production value is wonderful and I must say how beautiful of a couple the 2 of you make.

Thank you for sharing! It’s clear that we have a lot to learn from these old traditions. One of which is to enjoy every moment in simple ways with each other as they come.

in Austria they let the fat and drippings congeal which are left in the roasting pan after preparing a pork roast. it's called "bratlfett" ("the fat of the small-ish roast") and people fight over it. it has all the fat and crunchy and gelatinized bits, as well as roasted onion and garlic as well as the traditional carraway seeds. it used to be a sunday leftover food.

In a country where people are constantly screaming “cultural appropriation” it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone like Eva and her family who so eagerly share their culture with us. I wish more people would watch and see what true Italian cuisine and culture is like because it’s been so Americanized for most of us. I feel like I have learned so much about Italy from y’all!

18:35 My husband is Calabrese. When we cure the belly for pancetta, We make this with the left overs but we call it ‘zzringoli. Same method, also spread on bread but we also add a little to Sunday sauce or lentils! YUM!

Reminds me from many years past at my grandparents home all aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends having a big feasts on special occasions I MISS THOSE DAYS. THANKS PASTA GRAMMAR

This was BY FAR the best episode you have ever made!

I do believe this is my favorite video of your of all time! It exemplifies all the things so many lost souls don’t even know they’re missing: community; simplicity; economy of using everything... I could so go on! Now I am looking at ways to bring this sort of wonderfulness into my oblivious Bay Area world. The communal share will be so loved!

BEST VIDEO EVER! This makes me realize why Milanese were not at all shocked by my huge pot of vegetarian chili cooked over a gas burner in a courtyard for art gallery openings served in paper bowls over polenta ! Delicious! Love you guys Sara

Here I am on another Sunday morning watching a new Pasta Grammar video and eating Pesto Calabrese. Honestly, I don't plan that. I just eat a lot of Eva's recipes. Even for breakfast.

Doing something like this in New Orleans with friends. We were raised this way! Fred

This makes me miss my Québécois family ''ritual''. For one day in the year. The greedy would put their greed aside. The self righteous would stop judging. The prideful would try to be humble. All that was important that day was to BE A FAMILY and enjoys Grand-mothers food and the party. We don't don't that anymore since our grand-parent was the only thing keeping the family tied together.

Thank you so much Harper and Eva for including us in your family traditions. Such a lovely video and truly enjoyed meeting all of your relatives. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!

Simply put these videos represent the best of humanity. Thank you for sharing these with us.

It looks so hectic and so fun and so delicious. Keep the traditions alive!

Yaaay! Another video with the family! Those are my favourites, I was missing mama Rosa and papa Turi

Thank you. In the midst of so much contention in the world, this piece was simply joyful.

Love that you share all the Calabrian traditions ❤

The humblest dishes are always the best. I drooled on my laptop with this one. God bless!

I would love to be adopted by this town. Cooking together and eating together... being together with stories and laughter. The best of life!

I love this video, thank you ❤❤

Its fun watching how people in other countries interact with one another. The meals are always interesting. Somehow my family fell away from those traditions. I guess we all got older and lost our elders. They were the ones that kept the traditions alive. Recently its picked back up though. My brothers live close to me now and out families get together for holidays meals, and sometimes random get togethers. Here's to good neighbors, porches, talking over fences, and family. The only thing that really counts in the end.

Loved this, nothing better than cooking with family and enjoying a meal together.

I think they call this Frittole or Frittuli in most of Calabria. Looks awesome. Thanks!

This is so nice to see that similar traditions are found in different corners of the world. I am from southern Germany and in my region when farmers killed a pig there was something called a „Schlachtfest“ - literaly translated: slaughter fest. A big pot was put on the fire, mainly to boil some of the sausages made like liver sausgage or blood sausage but also cooked ham. Then the leftover meats are cooked as well. All helpers and neighbours where invited to feast. The water turns into a delicous broth (especially when some of the sausages burst) that gets eaten as well.

It's funny how much I know about Italy, but how little I know about Italian food. Almost every immigrant Italian I know is from Sicily, and my part-time neighbors from NYC is where I learned to eat and cook Italian food. I always thought there was more seafood! Vito is now 87 yrs old and pretty much lives on cheese, olives, bread, and homemade wine. His wife Maria is a young 76 yrs old and showed me how to cook in trade for some raw cows milk for mozzarella, fresh pork and fresh eggs. When I would watch you guys and ask Maria if she knew how to make something I saw, her reply is always the same. " that's not something we make in Sicily" or "Our way is better" I love them both dearly, more when Vito breaks out the homemade wine

It is important to know where your ancestors came from and how they lived. Food is a huge part of traditions in the Italian culture. Food and family are so important in any Italian family.

I'm Sicilian and I understand every single word they say in their dialect. This makes the watching even more wholesome

@Pasta Grammar, 💖💖My Italian mother, now 93, is the eldest daughter of a farmer and was born/raised in Vettica which is a mountain village overlooking Amalfi. They wasted NOTHING and brought that mindset with her when she came to London in the late 1940's where she met and married my dad. There was so much of her lifestyle and traits in this brilliant episode [time hasn't been so kind to her, sadly😥😥 ].

We do something somewhat similar in Abruzzo, it's called panonta. The day we slughter the porks we roast the fattest pieces of meat in big pots or pans and then toast the bread in the frying rendered pork's fat.

Harper you are so lucky to be exposed to all these wonderful Italian experiences through Ava and her family. I love all your videos but this is one of my favorites!!! Thank you so much for sharing.

Ava very wonderful I’m Calabrian American and I was so happy to see the family you braught tears of joy to my eyes thank you so much I miss the old times

I would never have thought to use lemon juice on simmered pork meat, but it makes sense there, since citrus fruit are in close proximity and very affordable there. I need to try that! In France, we make pork rillettes, which involves a similar process, but with spices that vary based on the area and are eaten cold, the fat mixing with the meat that has cooked so long, it falls apart. We typically serve rillettes on bread with cornichons, which are preserved in vinegar, so a similar combination to this Calabrian fatty meat and lemon juice. It's easy to make at home. In Québec, they have a similar dish called cretons which is served for breakfast on bread. And on the subject of Calabria, I bought Italian-made 'Nduja from a store in New York City, it arrived yesterday, can't wait to try it. The name 'Nduja derives from andouille, which was brought to southern Italy by the Angevins in the !3th century.

What an amazing video!! Thank you so much for this history lesson! Believe it or not, the baked bread with that delicious fat looked like the best part!!

I love this!!! Real people. Real food. Just beautiful. 🥰

That was wonderful. I wasn’t sure until it all came together. But my favorite? The bread roasted with the leftovers. Drooling here!

That is a very cool tradition. And I love the way you tell it. Thank you for sharing.

Now that I "devoured" this episode, I am certain I was born into the wonge family. What a special culture and blessing.

What i like about this tradition is that it's respecting the pig that gave it's life.

Sicilian-Napolitan from New Jersey here! Sunday visits to Aunt Lucy who lived next to the Italian Modern Bakery in Lodi. Went to the Feast every fall. We would bring home food every visit, from the cardoon, the artichokes in her special pot, to the Sicilian pizza. My grandfather on my mother's side would have his Easter lamb's head and eat the brains. The cannoli and other pastries...My mom and I would make strufoli and uccidata and the fried dough in THE BIG POT! Great times! And, yes, the "kiddie" table! Finally succeeded in growing my own cardoon!!

Ciao 'Peppe', firstly, let me say how much I enjoyed this video. I am retired having been born and raised in Scotland and now living in the north of Italy, (Lago Maggiore area) with my wife, however, my father was from Monte Cassino in Lazio region. I have watched several of the videos involving Eva's recipes which I enjoy re-creating and so many remind me of a time when I was 18 years old and, as a family, we holidayed in Italy and visited friends in Cassino. Our friends family included a young 14 year old daughter who taught my mother, ( who was of Irish descent) how to make a traditional lasagne of the region which my mother continued to make for the family on special occasions for the rest of her life. Great memories.

Speaking of eating together...could Eva include Bagna Cauda in one of her videos? I grew up with "feasts" of Bagna Cauda...have not had it in many years and remember it being such a social gathering. Love watching the two of you!! Is there a great cook book in your future? It would be amazing!! Thank you for sharing your travels with us!!

As a third generation Calabrian American (half French Canadian) who has never been…the phrase “Not every donut has a hole” brought my Grandmother Madeline Riccio (from Saracena) back to life and a tear to my eye! 😢. Thank you for this fabulous journey.

Harper I just have to tell you how fortunate you are to have these experiences, but I know you know. When I was younger I can remember such gatherings myself. However unless you start your own similar traditions in your life, they alas will only be fond memories. And regret not doing so. I love to see you being swept up into Eva's life and community you are blessed. Enjoy Harper.

There’s a great video of a Mexican abuelita and her family making carnitas. This kinda reminds me of that.

I am Slovenian and we make it in the fall, all the fat and offcuts are a spread of boiled pig fat till it becomes lard, then add garlic and salt for flavor. Another flavor is to add Smoked Paprika. Both are called Zabo. Slavic countries make this. Poland (Smalec), Germany.

At the 14:30 mark with Ava being taught the Goergi oyoy chant reminded me of the Welsh Rugby chant, courtesy of Max Boyce, oggie oggie oggie oyoyoy! Gave me goosebumps. 👏👏👏👏 The feast looked absolutely fantastic and tasty yummmmmmmm!!!!!!!!

This was the best episode ever!!!!! Just loved it ❤

As an adoptee, I was in my late 40's before I connected with my biological father. Turns out, he was Irish, his family immigrated to America in 1784. He told me my mother's family was located in the upper Northeast of America and that while she had anglicized her family name for reasons of her own, the Italian name was Capobianca. I have no idea when they came to America or which part of Italy they were from. But, having grown up next door to an Italian family and ending up marrying a full blooded Italian American girl (the first wife), I always feel the Italian blood in me warming up when watching anything Italian. This video makes my heart pound a bit harder and the blood flow a bit more freely. Oh, and of course, the gastric juices start to bubble! Thank you: new sub and a like.

This has been one of my favourite videos of yours so far. It was like watching a mini documentary. So well done!! Also, this traditional feast is exactly what happens in Portugal too. They call ‘a matanca do porco “. Literally the killing of the pig. Boiling of meat, women gather to wash the intestines to make sausage from some of the leftover cuttings. The big cauldron of meat often has cabbage and turnips thrown in with seasonings so that the broth of the meat is the most fragrant and delish thing to eat. More so than the bbq that is also done with some of the pig. Thanks for sharing. So much fun!

This reminds me of days when I was still very young and Thanksgiving would bring my Sicilian family together to eat, and eat and eat... Ingrained in me early, Italians celebrate life around food, excellent food, food that creates wonderful memories. Sometimes, watching videos like this one, I can still feel the warmth and unconditional love shared in families then...

This makes me really miss my childhood in Mexico and the big feasts with all the family! You both are so lucky to be able to still do that ❤️

This video literally made me cry. Just tears if gratitude and admiration for the beauty of honoring food and tradition and family. Thanks for sharing your story! I’m new to your channel and have definitely enjoyed each video I’ve watched! Great content❤

Harper ? Good to know that in Calabria they call you "Peppe". 😊 I could also say “Peppino” (so as they say in my little village, even in southern Italy).

This has been my favorite video by far! What a bunch of characters!

Dasa’ reminds me of my dads little mountain town in Frosinone. The food, the customs, the traditions. Love your channel, but love it a little more when you’re in Bella Italia!

What a great feast! Thank you for sharing it! Bellissimo!

What a fantastic video!!! I just love that nothing goes to waste. What a treat. Great job of story tell and camera work as well. I know how difficult that can be and y'all did it really well. Good Job!

This is one of my favorite episodes! A story well told, and a story worth telling!

Real life, real food ... real Italy. Cook something special with the family in our own traditional way. I love it.😁

Amazing video! The spreadable end product has me thinking of French rillettes. And we're due the Peppe story, so I'll be back here!

Such a lovely visit in Italy on my Sunday afternoon! Thank you! Actually, very much like my Grandma's recollections of using 100% of the slaughtered pig back on the farm in Poland. NEVER a fragment wasted!

I loved watching this. In Germany where I grew up we used to get sausage soup from neighbors after they cooked liver sausage in water. Some of the sausages burst while cooking and that made the most delicious soup. It kind of reminded me of your video. Btw, we alway ate lard with salt on crusty bread. Oh yeah, the good old days.