Emma Barsotti’s Ravioli
Photo: Nancy White
Ingredients
Preparation
Tools
About
As transcribed by my son, Chris, when he was in 6th grade in 1998. For the full story see this page: http://www.fullcirc.com/ravioli.htm
From Chris when he was in 6th grade:
To better understand how the tradition has been passed down, I have interviewed several family members. The interview consisted of questions like "When did you learn?" "How did you learn?" "What tools were used?" etc. I interviewed people via telephone, E-mail, and in person. This is what people told me:
Nancy White, my mother, said that she learned to make ravioli from her grandmother, Emma Barsotti. She learned to make ravioli when she was fifteen or sixteen. She learned by watching Emma . She thinks that Emma probably got the recipe from a family member. She remembers Emma using a big ceramic bowl, a meat grinder, a ravioli cutter, and a special rolling pin for making ravioli. She has only made them three or for times her entire life because they take too long to make and are lot of work. She also remembers Emma making big batches and then freezing the extras all nice and flat in boxes so she would have them on hand in case unexpected company came over.
Mary Frances, my mother’s sister, said that she too learned to make ravioli from Emma Barsotti. She learned in her late teens to early twenties. Mary Frances said that Emma did not use a written recipe and that she had to write it down so she would have it. Emma used a large cutting board, and a ravioli rolling pin. Mary Frances doesn’t make them now because they are so time consuming to make. They are also easier to buy ready-made. Mary Frances remembers Emma that served ravioli as an appetizer although she serves ravioli as a main course. She also remembers the freezing of the raviolis so they would be on hand.
Randy Wright, my mother’s brother, learned by asking Emma Barsotti for the recipe and filling in details with cook books (Joy of Cooking). He learned when he was twenty-five years old. He remembers Emma using a hand meat grinder, a special rolling pin, and a cutter similar to a pizza cutter. He doesn’t make them much anymore because they take too long to make and they are easier to buy ready made.
Dolores Wright, my grandmother, watched her mother, Emma Barsotti, make ravioli, but she never actually made ravioli on her own. She remembers Emma using a special rolling pin and a ravioli cutter. She never made ravioli on her own because they took too much work and she found it too hard to guess how thin the dough should be. She enjoys eating ravioli though.
My conclusion from the interviews is that the recipe is slowly dying out because it is not being made as often. One reason is that it takes too long to make. Another reason the tradition is slowly disappearing is because now most anything you can buy ready made. The ready-made pasta at the stores also is not bad. Another conclusion is that today most people’s jobs take up most of their day and they have found it is not worth it spending half the day to make what could be bought and made in ten minutes. I have also found that there seems to be patterns and differences in how people have learned the ravioli tradition. I have also discovered that people’s memories are not always the same.