Verona and the Fruit salad

The open market and the fruit salad caught my attention more then Juliette's house, believe me! :) Then we head to the famous house where  we could see lots of Juliettes posing on the balcony while their Romeo is downstairs taking a photo with the smart phone. Heartbreaking view....! After which we had to queue among 50 other people to rub the boobie of the statue...as if I do not have my own, which is by the way much softer. But that one is said to be for good fortune ;)

So while you are following the crowd from the train station to Juliette's house, make sure to pass by the open market on the big square just next to the famous house and get some fresh fruit salad :)
Otherwise, Verona is a very charming town worth a visit.

Venetian style

Finally my dream about going to Venezia had come true! It was much more amazing then I had imagined! The only problem was it was overcrowded with tourists and it usually is all the time. And during this time of the year (Easter) it was even more. So my suggestion is to avoid going there during holidays as not only the town but also trains are overcrowded -having already experienced that with the connection Milano-Venezia. The statistics says there are on average 50 000 tourists per day visiting the city. I had to try something typical Venetian, besides the glass (made in Murano island), the water taxi ride and the masks. So Food! And Fish!

Cuttlefish in Venetian style with Polenta 

As I learned almost each region and town has its own special food. After getting enough of pizza, pasta, etc...I decided to try something typical Venetian. So I ordered Cuttlefish in Venetian style with Polenta. The restaurant was very happy to serve me their specialty  but I was not exactly impressed. The reason: The way it looked. On my table arrived a black plate with black dish on it (the cuttlefish with ink sauce) and two slices of polenta on the side. It was all black. Never really had seen a black dish before, so I wasn't really sure to try it and figure out how it tastes. The black sauce called ink sauce comes from the fish. The fish has special bags in it where this ink sauce is stored. It is black (or very dark brown) because it contains a lot of melanin. There was an a heavy scent coming from the dish, reminding me of seaweed or the bottom of a sea.....surprise! I liked the fish itself. It was white (when you clean the black sauce from it :)), served in small pieces and soft. Its taste is similar to crab meat and did not smell like a typical fish. I was more concerned about the ink sauce. When I tried it actually it was not bad in taste. So eating a bit of my dish was fine. But eating all of it, I could not bear. I couldn't get used to the overall taste and the thought of not knowing what I was eating (at the time). So I was left hungry at the end and had to order something new. If you like exploring new things, go ahead, if not you can be safe and order pizza! :) But there is a lot of food variety to choose from, there is something for everyone, including other fishes and vegetarian meals.

Choosing a place to eat

That often can be a problem. Mainly because of falling into tourists traps. High prices with lower quality food or lower prices with low quality food. I suggest to do some research of recommended places to eat before heading in the first place. Ask a friend or ask at the reception of your hotel to recommend you some good places. I had a descent experience of  good food and descent prices and I can recommend: Vino Vino - a cozy little wine restaurant not far from San Marco Piazza. 

More about Venezia

There is a lot to explore about Venezia. I also recommend to get some info and tips beforehand to avoid falling into tourist traps. There is a good blog of a native Venetian that is providing very useful and extensive information for visiting her home town: Monica Cesarato's Blog.  And of course the first and foremost purpose is to just enjoy!

Bella Italia!

This is THE country! To allow oneself to get spoiled with sun and food including everything- pizza, pasta, tiramisu, Italian ice-cream! Mamma mia! ....so got a nicely rounded belly to take home with me. I wasn't too much afraid, when sightseeing people usually walk a lot and burn easily all those calories :) And when I travel I eat a lot.Well, got also some healthy food while in Italy... just for the balance :)
So this year I decided to spend the Easter holidays in Italy. That was partly a bad choice, since it was overcrowded with tourists.....but still charming. I visited 3 wonderful cities! Milano,Verona, Venezia!
Let's look at some typical Italian food of my choice.

Pizza

Of course! But why pizza got so much my attention? The way it is made. I have tried many wonderful pizzas with lots different ingredients and exotic stuff in different corners of the world. So I always thought Italian pizza will be something very special even better. The truth is that Italians make the pizza very simple and very thin. The dough is very very thin and it usually consists of 3 main ingredients: tomato, mozzarella and one special ingredient. That's how true pizza is made! :) So at the end it turns out healthy! :)

Freshly squeezed juice

Italia has plenty of sun and lots of fruits are growing and blossoming! :) Naturally they have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables which is perfect to get a cup of healthy freshly squeezed juice :) I found one juice shop the JuiceBar on Milano Centrale, which I loved.

Tiramisu

I am very very very picky on Tiramisu. Knowing what the original recipe is and how it is made, I was expecting to see plenty of originals in Italy! To tell the truth, I didn't. There is a lot of fake stuff just like all around the world, so in Italy. It turned out hard to find a cafe/restaurant where they make the original dessert, after 4 different Tiramisus I tried. Tiramisu is very fluffy and is made of Lady Fingers as a base, Mascarpone, coffee, Amaretto Disaronno liquor,cream and cacao. The liquor is expensive and that would naturally make it a rather expensive dessert. To safe on production cost many places seem to make it more simple using: normal base, a bit of mascarpone with cream or maybe without mascarpone, coffee and cacao. And still it is expensive. Amaretto is mostly missing, as I did not feel that sweet bitter taste of alcohol. One place I found where their Tiramisu was the closest to the Tiramisu as it should be. That was bar Duomo, near the Duomo of course :) It seemed to have all a Tiramisu needs and perhaps a bit of Amaretto, just a bit :) Look on the photo.
So let us not fall into trap of the marketing efforts and just because we are in Italy, doesn't mean we have eaten original Tiramisu.

On tips of what to do, where to go and what to try in Italy, especially Milano, you can check up Greetings from Europe blog.

Regulations on GMO and Organic food

Usually organic food is labeled as ''Organic'' when it is 100% organically grown or part of the ingredients it contains are organic, meaning it is Non-GMO and there is less use of chemicals. The main issue comes often in the labeling. We as consumers have the right to know what we consume and what does our food contain. We have the right of choice. Different states have established their own regulations and labels on the control of organic production. 
Fortunately, there is a rather strict control of the food that is imported and produced in the EU.  There are official marks that help us orientate of which food is controlled, organic and Non-GMO. In this direction, I have outlined some regulations and guidance in the EU, Denmark and North America.

EUROPEAN regulations 

European Union has established control over GMO's and organic food. We usually don't want to produce GMO's neither want them to be imported in EU from other countries. However there are few GMO's which are currently authorized for food, animal feed and production in EU. The authorization is periodical and has an expiration date after which an authorization renewal process is happening to determine whether the GMO will still be authorized or withdrawn. Here is a list of the current GMO authorizations in EU. 

Authorized GMO's in EUROPE (EU):

• corn
• soybean
• cotton
• microorganisms - bacterial biomass, yeast biomass
• rapeseed oil 
• swede-rape
• starch potato
• sugar-beet

To follow up on GMO authorizations in the EU, the official EU Register of authorized GMO's can be accessed here: http://ec.europa.eu/food/dyna/gm_register/index_en.cfm

Corn, cotton and soybean crops are so far the most patented and produced. About 80% of the corn produced in North America is GM, more then 50% of the cotton produced in India is GM and a whole lot of other products. Which makes sense to have the corn or products made of corn - organic.

And here is the list of biotech companies that produce authorized GMO's in EUROPE: 

• Monsanto - corn, cotton, rapeseed oil, soybean, sugar beet
• Bayer - cotton, corn, rapeseed oil, swede-rape, soybean,
• Dow AgroSciences - cotton, corn
• Syngenta - corn 
• Pioneer - corn, soybean
• Ajinmoto Eurolysine SAS - bacterial biomass
• Novo Nordisk A/S - yeast biomass
• BASF - starch potato
• KWS SAAT - sugar beet

Monsanto so far is the biggest of all biotech corporations with the most patented GMO's. They are really hard trying to push their untested GM crops to the market and to us.

To be able to know in the EU which food is organic (non GMO or doesn't contain GMO's) we should look for the mark which is this one: 

Official European mark for controlled organic production

Official  mark for controlled organic production from EU authorities

DANISH Regulations 

Apart from the official EU regulations on GMO each country has established its own a bit different control as well. Here I explain a bit about the Danish regulations on GMO and organic food. Unable to check the regulations for every country, I advise you to dig into your own government's regulations. A good way to begin with is your country's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fishery.  

In fact GMO's have been widespread in Denmark for the past 10 years (as sources from The Danish Food Ministry state). And we are in touch with them more often then we think. Here are some facts.

• The Danish regulations though ensure that GM crops are grown carefully so that they do not spread unintentionally to organic and conventional production. And farmers must be allowed an trained well before they can grow GM crops. Around 400 people have been trained to grow GM crops in Denmark to date. 

• As consumers we will not see that many GMO products in Denmark but they exist on the shelves in our supermarkets. Corn, potatoes, cotton to make fibers and textiles (yes our clothes) , soybeans all those can be found as GMO's. (see the full list of authorized GMO's in Europe). 

• However much of Denmark's livestock - pigs, poultry, caw and beef, is fed with genetically-modified feed. Unless on the meat package is written 'Organic', livestock is fed with GM feed. And this is most often feed with GM corn and soy beans. 

• The Danish authorities and laboratory analysis are very strict about approving GMO's. They go through  a thorough evaluation process. The risky Bt toxin that is put in some GMO's to make it resistant to pests is not approved for import or production in Denmark. If it is caught in some products, the product will be rejected for import or withdrawn from the market. The laboratories try to ensure that the GM organisms used for production are safe for the health and environment.

A more comprehensive information about the GMO's in Denmark can be accessed on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fishery's website in both Danish and English via this link: http://1.naturerhverv.fvm.dk/faktaark.aspx?ID=11411

If we want to avoid the GMO's, we have a choice of buying conventional or Organic food. Organic is labeled as ''økologisk'' in the Danish language. If we want ensured organic food, controlled in Denmark, we should seek for the ''Ø-mark'': 

Official Danish mark for controlled organic production

Official  mark of controlled organic production from Danish authorities

The Organic production also has regulations.

• When we buy organic production in Denmark it already means that no GMO's have been used in this production. The farmer must not use GMO's in their organic production and cannot grow GM crops. 

• When meat is labeled as Organic (Økologisk), the livestock must not be fed with GM feed and must not be GM animal. However when animals are sick it is allowed to use GM medicines. 

• All organic farmers and producers are controlled at least once a year to ensure they are not using GMO in their production. 

• To be able to grow organic production one must be authorized and controlled. 

So when we are shopping we have 3 choices of products:

• Conventional - non-organic, but non-GMO either, unlabeled  with use of pesticides.Up-todate we have a limted authorization of GM food in EU and DK. If the food is not authroized as GM and it is not organic then it is conventionally grown, i.e. there is no risk of it being GMO, Tomatoes, carrots, can be either conventional or organic for now. Conventional potatoes however have a risk of being GM, by unintentional spread of GM crops of GM authroized potatoes from nearby farmers.  
• Organic - non-GMO, labled, less use of chemicals. 
• Genetically-modified - for now only the list of authorized GMO's has GM food in Danish shops. 

North-American Regulations

The control on GMO and organic production in North-America is generally quite poor or non-existing. There is an independent non-profit organization - the ''Non-GMO Project'', which presents an interest. They fights for the people's right to know and the labeling of GMO's. They are trying to help people and orientate them in the non-GMO production by submitting their Non-GMO verified sticker on a controlled product. It can be checked up here: http://www.nongmoproject.org 


At the end we should remember that we as consumers, we are the ones that hold the power. We can push away what we do not want by not buying it and pull what we want.


Links of sources:
Facts on GMO (both in Danish and English)
GMO and økologi (in Danish)
EU Register of Authorized GMO's