SABA or SAPA: grape juice and pulp cooked until thickened, and used to make desserts and sweet-and-sour dishes, or with cheese.

SALAM D’LA DUJA: Salame from Piedmont, kept soft in a typical ceramic jar (duja) filled with melted fat.

SALAMA DA SUGO: Cooked salame made of ground pork, innards, wine and spices, stuffed into a pig’s bladder. It must be cooked befo­re eating.

SALAME DI MILANO: Aged, very finely grained salame.

SALAME NAPOLETANO: Aged sausage with plenty of peperoncino.

SALAME: Ground meat, seasoned and packed into a casing and aged.

SALAMELLE: Small salame, similar to cotechino. It must be boiled or broiled before eating.

SALAMINI DELLA VERZA: Small sausages used to prepare the Milanese cassoeula.

SALAMOIA: Brine.

SALMÌ: Stew of wild game that has been marinated in wine, herbs, and spices, and cooked in the marinade. The sauce is strained and the dish served with polenta. Sometimes the sauce is used for pappardelle.

SALMORIGLIO: Warm sauce for roast meats and broiled fish, espe­cially swordfish. It is made with lemon juice, oil, parsley and orega­no emulsified in a double boiler.

SALNITRO: Salt of potassium, used as a food preservative.

SALSICCIA: Pork meat in casing. It may be consumed fresh, pan-fried or cooked in a sauce. It may also be dry-aged (see “Salame and Salumi” chapter).

SALTIMBOCCA: Veal scaloppini with prosciutto briskly sautéed in butter, sage and white wine.

SALUMI: Whole cuts of meat cured in salt and dry-aged, or cured in brine (salamoia) and then cooked and preserved.

SAN DANIELE: Village near Udine, Friuli, where they produce the famous prosciutto di San Daniele, a choice variety of raw ham.

SANGUINACCIO: Custard made of pig’s blood mixed with cocoa and milk.

SANSA: The solid part of the olives left over after the first pressing.

SAOR: A milder version of carpione (saor is the contraction of savor, which in Venetian dialect means “flavor”), it is a sauce made with fried onions, vinegar, sugar, pine nuts and raisins. It is used to mari­nate fresh fish, especially sole and sardines.

SARGASSI: Legend has it that eels come to spawn in the Sargasso Sea from the Mediterranean. That portion of the Atlantic Ocean north-east of the Antilles owes its name to a particular alga called sargasso.

SARTÙ: A Neapolitan rice dish baked in a mold.

SAVOIARDI: Ladyfingers, often used in the preparation of ice-cream cake or Tiramisù.

SAVOR: “Flavor” in Venetian dialect. Also, a preserved fruit cooked in must. It is used to accompany meats or used for various kinds of stuffing.

SBRISOLONA: Traditional cake from Mantova made with white flour, cornmeal, almonds, sugar and eggs.

SCACCIATA: Savory pie made of two layers of leavened salted dough filled with meat, vegetables and cheese. There is also a sweet version filled with ricotta, sugar and coffee.

SCALOPPINA: Escalope, that is, a thin slice of lean veal from the center cut of the leg, rib, or loin or square cut chuck, which has been lightly pounded flat.

SCAMORZA: Stringy, semi-aged cheese similar to caciocavallo.

SCAMPO: A prawn with claws and 12 legs. It is mostly found in the Mediterranean sea.

SCAPECE: Vinegar and mint marinade for vegetables and fried foods.

SCAVINO: The utensil used to scoop the marrow out of the bone in ossobuco. It is a thin, elongated and narrow spatula jokingly called “the tax man”, referring to the fact that it scrapes the marrow to the bone.

SCHIUMA DI MARE: Antipasto of small, just spawned, raw anchovies seasoned with oil, lemon and pepper.

SCORZONERA: Bitter root.

SCOTTADOTA or SCOTTADITO: Broiled finger-burning lamb chops, broiled quickly and eaten while still very hot.

SCOTTIGLIA: Mixture of various kinds of meat stewed together.

SCRIPELLE: Crepes cooked in broth or in a timballo.

SCROFA: Sow. An adult female pig.

SEADAS or SEBADAS: Large, sweet Sardinian ravioli filled with fresh cheese, fried and covered with honey.

SEMIFREDDO: Chilled cream prepared with egg-based custard and whipped cream. It may be used as filling for cassate and bombe, or can be prepared with fruits, syrups, and chocolate.

SEPPIA: Cuttlefish. See “Fish” chapter.

SFINCIUNI: Rather thick focaccia covered with tomato sauce, ancho­vies, onions, cheese, oregano and oil. It can be served as an antipasto, main course or snack.

SFOGLIATELLE: Puff pastry made with many layers of curled pastry, filled with ricotta and candied fruits. It has a ridged look and the shape of a large seashell.

SFORMATO: Savory mold bound with eggs and baked in a double boiler. It may contain vegetables, meat or fish.

SOFFRITTO: A sauté of one or more vegetables (such as onions, carrots, celery or parsley) generally used as a flavor base for many recipes in Italian cuisine. Various fats may be used (olive oil, pancetta or butter) according to the desires preparation. Sautéed onion as a base for risotto is called soffritto.

SONCINO: Small, oval-leafed lettuce that grows in small bunches.

SOAP COADA: A broth made with squab. The borth and boneless squab is then poured over slices of bread and baked. A specialty from Friuli.

SOPPRESSATA: Cooked and aged salame made with meat taken from the pig’s head, lard, spices and pistachio nuts.

SORBETTO: Sherbet, usually made with the juice and pulp of fruit.

SOTT’OLIO: A way of preserving food in oil, especially vegetables and mushrooms.

SOTT’ACETO: A way of marinating and then preserving food, espe­cially vegetables, in vinegar.

SOTTACETI: Diced or whole vegetables, marinated in vinegar or water and then preserved in vinegar in jars. They are served as an antipasto or as a side dish for meat.

SOTTOFILETTO: The short loin of beef, without the fillet.

SPALLA: Shoulder.

SPECK: Cured, dried, aged pork thigh. A specialty from Alto Adige.

SPEZZATINO: Cubed or diced meat stewed or sauteed with or without tomatoes and/or other vegetables.

SPIANATOIA: Rather large, wooden board, perfectly smooth and without knots, generally used to make fresh pasta.

SPONGATA: Roll of sweet pastry filled with honey, dried fruit, nuts and candied fruit.

SPUMA: Sweet or savory mousse.

SPUMONE: Spumone can also be called semifreddo. All semifreddi or spumoni may be served with an appropriate sauce. These range from a simple fruit sauce to vanilla cream.

STECCARE: To insert pieces of pancetta, lard or spices through the piece of meat ready to be roasted.

STECCHI: Ligurian brochettes of veal, brains, Parmigiano, vegeta­bles and herbs, breaded and fried. Stecco is also the name of the woo­den skewer holding the meat.

STOCCO or STOCCAFISSO: Also known as stockfish, it is prepared with smaller cod, air-dried till it becomes as hard as a wooden stick. See pages 208 and 213.

STRACCIATELLA: soup made by fast mixing eggs beaten with Parmigiano into boiling broth.

STRACOTTO: Beef braised with herbs, vegetables and spices, cooked very slowly and for a long time on top of the stove or in the oven.

STRANGOLAPRETI: (literally, “priest chokers”). Dumplings made of potatoes and flour, cooked greens and ricotta, boiled and served with melted butter and Parmigiano or with a gorgonzola sauce.

STRUTTO: Melted animal fat, rid of all meat particles and preserved in soft form. It is used as fat for many preparations.

STUFATO: Chunks of meat covered with wine and herbs and stewed over a low heat for several hours.

SUGNA: See STRUTTO.

SUPPLI: Rice balls with mozzarella, herbs and spices in the center. The rice is cooked like risotto and is then breaded and fried.

SVEZZATO: Weaned baby lamb or newly born pig.