Food

Christmas sauces in Italy

Salsa di Natale, foto di mostarda, salsa verde, salsa cren, salsa rubra e salsa pearà. - EFW
Written by EFW Staff

Christmas sauce: the unique Mustard!

Mustard, as we all know, fits perfectly with our tradition, above all during the Christmas period to pair: boiled meat and seasoned cheese. There are different types of mustards that come from all over Italy. Despite the fact that mustard is typical of the Christmas period in the northern part of Italy, also the south of Italy produces its mustards, usually with a base of grapes and must instead of mixed fruit. There is a French version of the mustard that is produced with the Dijon Senape.

Cren sauce under the Christmas tree

Together with mustard, the second most important Christmas sauce is Cren sauce, with a strong taste, usually paired with cuts of meat like tongue or boiled meat, eggs and fish. Cren sauce is typical of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Piedmont and Trentino Alto Adige but it is used also abroad: in Austria and Germany it often pairs roasted meat, sausage and dishes with eggs.

Green sauce or Bagnet Vert

The green sauce is a Christmas sauce widely used all over Italy. The words “bagnet vert” seem French, but actually it belongs to the dialect of Piedmont and its colour is given by the main ingredient: parsley. This seasoning, which comes from Piedmont, is excellent paired with boiled meat.

Red Sauce or Sauce Rubra and Pearà

When the winter comes, our cuisine offers a wide choice of boiled meat where you can put any sauce you want. The sauce Christmas Rubra (or Red) actually, is homemade ketchup which name derives from the aversion of Mussolini for the foreign words. The “Pearà” (that means Pepata) instead belongs to the tradition of Veneto and it is a sauce made of bread, marrow and broth served with boiled meat.

You are spoilt of choice, which Christmas sauces would you choose?

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EFW Staff