Asturian-American Migration Forum

At www.ArteAsturias.com, a website about the art of my Asturian grandfather, mother, and me, I wrote about my memories of my grandfather. I didn't have a lot of interaction with my grandfather, but one incident I remember was watching him eat an apple.

On one page, I wrote: When my grandfather ate apples, "he would pull a penknife out of his pocket, neatly peel the skin, and then slice off a wedge, which he would eat before slicing another section. As a kid who just bit into apples, his process seemed very measured and elegant in comparison to mine."

Often Americans just wash an apple and then bite into it. Some of us eat it down the the core to get nearly every bit of flesh.

When I saw my grandfather's method, I was a about 10 years old. That I still remember the incident is an indication of how striking it was. Now--largely because of my grandfather's example--I generally use a knife, cut it in quarters, and then cut out the core. Unlike him, I never peel an apple.

I realize this post may sound silly, but I'm really curious: how do you eat an apple in Asturias?

Maybe how we eat apples is a subtle cultural indicator. I'm reminded of the woman observing Huck Finn (in Mark Twain's novel, Huckleberry Finn) when he was disguised as a girl wearing a dress. When Huck dropped a ball the woman threw to him, he tried to catch it by squeezing his legs together. The woman realized Huck wasn't a girl, because a girl accustomed to wearing a dress would have spread her legs to let the dress catch it!

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En www.ArteAsturias.com, un página sobre el arte de mi abuelo asturiano, madre, y mí, escribí sobre mis memorias de mi abuelo. No tenía mucha interacción con mi abuelo, pero un incidente que recuerdo lo miraba comer una manzana.

En una página, escribí: Cuando mi abuelo comió manzanas, "él sacaría un cortaplumas de su bolsillo, muy bien pelaría la piel, y luego cortaría una cuña, que comería antes del cortar otra sección. Como un niño quien solamente muerde las manzanas, su proceso parecido muy moderado y elegante en comparación con el mío."

A menudo los Americanos solamente lavan a una manzana y luego muerden en ello. Algunos de nosotros lo comen abajo el corazón para conseguir casi cada trozco de carne.

Cuando vi el método de mi abuelo, tuve aproximadamente 10 años. Que todavía recuerde que el incidente es una indicación de como el golpe de ello era. Ahora--en gran parte debido al ejemplo de mi abuelo--generalmente uso un cuchillo, lo corto en cuartos, y luego recorto el corazón. A iferencia con él, nunca pelo una manzana.

Comprendo que este poste puede tocar tonto, pero soy realmente curioso: ¿cómo se come una manzana en Asturias?

Tal vez como comamos manzanas es un indicador cultural sutil. Me recuerda de la mujer que observa a Huck Finn (en la novela de Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn) cuando él fue disfrazado como una muchacha llevando un vestido de chica. Cuando Huck dejó caer una pelota que la mujer le lanzó, él trató de cogerlo por exprimiendo sus piernas juntos. La mujer comprendió que Huck no era una muchacha, porque una muchacha acustumbado a llevar un traje habría extendido sus piernas para dejar al vestido cogerlo.

One of my earliest memories of my grandmother, Josefa Fernández Inclan (born in 1895 in San Martin de Laspra), is of her peeling and then cutting up an apple for me to eat. She would always take off the entire skin in one very thin, continuous spiral, without breaking the peel, and would then cut the apple into pieces, removing the core before giving it to me.

I had not thought of this for years before Art's post brought the memory back vividly. I suspect that once again and for a long time to come the smell of fall apples will be for me like the smell of madeleines was to Proust.

I keep my kitchen knives very sharp, but to this day I can't replicate her feat very often.


Bob Martinez

Very interesting, Bob. I vaguely recall my grandfather removing the peeling in one long strip, too, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't add that to the story. I asked my mother, and she wasn't sure either.

My mother did say, though, that her mother used the one long strip method to peel both apples and potatoes. To this day my mother says she uses the same method.

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Este es muy interesante, Bob. Vagamente recuerdo a mi abuelo que quita la peladura en una tira larga, también, pero yo no estaba cierto, entonces no añadí este detalle a la historia. Pregunté a mi madre, y ella no estaba cierta tampoco.

Mi madre dijo que su madre usó un método de tira peladura larga tanto manzanas como patatas. Hasta este día mi madre dice que ella usa el mismo método.

Para mi como mejor sabe una manzana es comerla a mordiscos, claro esta lavandola antes. y si es Asturiana mejor que mejor nunca pelada,dicen los expertos que las vitaminas de las frutas estan debajo de la piel. saludos

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translated by Art

For me, the best way to enjoy the flavor of an apple is to eat it one bite at a time. Well, obviously, you have to wash it first. And if the apple is an Asturiana, the very best way is to never peel it. The experts say that the vitamins in the fruit are just below the skin.
Best wishes

Hi Art,

I answered by sending a Private Message when I intended to Post a Reply. I am still getting used to this.

It was not silly your describing eating an apple. I started to smile when I read it because my Father (Julio Garcia Alonso) used to cut the apple into 4 pieces and then he would eat the entire apple, core, seeds, skin and all.

We used to laugh and tell him that an Apple Tree was going to grow in his stomach. I haven't thought about this for years...Thank you for bringing back a pleasant memory. Barbara Alonso Novellino

Hi,

I was just talking to my husband who is Italian. He told me that his Dad used peel the apple in one strip, then he would core it and cut it into quarters. There were times when he would dunk it into his wine. He would also do that to pears.

My Father In Law came from Naples in the early 1900's. So I guess its a European thing...Barbara Alonso Novellino

En Asturies hay muchas formas de comer una manzana, y algunas de ellas ya fueron mencionadas aquí. Depende de la edad de la persona, del contexto, y también del tipo de manzana. La forma más sencilla de comerla es tal cual, sin pelarla. Lo único que se hace es lavarla bajo el grifo, frotando ligeramente con la mano, para quitar el posible polvo que pueda tener, o alternativamene se toma la manzana y se frota enérgicamente sobre la manga de la ropa. Esto se hace con manzanas "de confianza", es decir, por ejemplo, las de casa. Es más raro hacerlo con manzanas compradas, porque pueden tener restos de fertilizantes, insecticidas o cosas parecidas. Incluso a veces se pueden encontrar manzanas en los supermercados (y otras frutas) a las que se les da brillo con una imperceptible película de cera. No es que sea algo tóxico como los insecticidas, pero tampoco se trata de algo muy recomendable de tragar. Esto lo hacen para dar a la fruta más brillo, de modo que su aspecto las hace más apetitosas.

Pero volviendo al principio, una vez la manzana casera se limpia con agua o frotándola, lo normal es comerla simplemente a mordiscos. Esto es algo que hacen los niños, o bien adultos, pero de una manera "informal". A los niños a veces se les trocea la manzana para que no se hagan daño en las encías, porque según la raza de la manzana puede tener la piel más dura o más áspera. Yo tengo mis encías perfectamente, pero no se me ocurre, por ejemplo, morder directamente una manzana de las llamadas "reinetas", cuya piel es áspera (son unas manzanas muy sabrosas, con la piel de color verde, y que saben agridulces)

En el caso de tener la piel dura o áspera, si se trata de una manzana del supermercado o bien si estamos en un contexto más "fino", donde se quiere hacer demostración de modales, entonces se pela con un cuchillo, y es muy corriente comenzar por la parte del tallo e ir sacando una única tira en espiral, hasta llegar al otro centro, el de la cara opuesta al tallo. Luego se puede morder directamente, o bien ir cortando pedazos que se puedan introducir en la boca de una vez, hasta que sólo queda el centro con las semillas, que se tira.

Todo esto no es en realidad algo específicamente asturiano, creo que es general en toda España. Ignoraba que en alguna parte de Italia se procediera igual, aunque no sé si sólo será en Nápoles o bien por todo el país. Sobre esto me gustaría aclarar que durante un par o tres de siglos más o menos Nápoles perteneció a España, por lo que allí se dejó notar cierta influencia española, tanto en la región de Nápoles como en Sicilia y Cerdeña. Por ejemplo, algunas palabras sueltas de origen español, o el nombre propio Diego, muy corriente. Actualmente existe todavía una ciudad llamada Algher donde la lengua es el catalán, dado que fue la Corona de Aragón, a la que pertenecía por entonces Cataluña, el reino peninsular que alcanzó un gran poderío comercial por todo el Mediterráneo, mientras que Castilla se lanzó hacia el norte de Africa, luego las Islas Canarias, y por último, el Nuevo Mundo. Así que es posible que la costumbre napolitana de pelar así las manzanas puede ser de origen español.

Por cierto, supongo que todos habreis oido hablar de Lucrecia Borgia, la malvada envenenadora. Bien, pues Lucrecia formaba parte de una familia de origen aragonés. Su verdadero apellido era Borja, pero en la época la J no se pronunciaba como la J actual del español, sino como en francés. Así que sonaría algo así como Bór-ya. Lo que hicieron los italianos fue escribir con su alfabeto de modo que sonara igual o parecido. Es algo así como el apellido español Durán, que en realidad es de origen francés: Durand.

Translation:

In Asturies there are many forms to eat an apple, and some of them already were mentioned here. It depends on the age of the person, the context, and also of the type of apple. The form simplest to eat it is so as, without peeling it. Only that becomes is to wash it under the faucet, rubbing slightly with the hand, to clear the possible dust that can have, or alternatively the apple is taken and it rubs energetically on the sleeve of the clothes. This is doing with apples "of confidence", that is to say, for example, those of our own trees. It is rarer to do it with bought apples, because they can have rest of fertilizers, insecticides or similar things. Sometimes apples in the supermarkets (and other fruits) can even be found to which occurs brightness them with an imperceptible wax film. It is not that he is something toxic like insecticides, but is not something very recommendable either to swallow. This makes to give it to the fruit more brightness, so that its aspect makes more appetizing.

But returning in the beginning, once the homemade apple is cleaned with water or rubbing it, the normal way is simply to eat it to bites. This is something that make the children, or adult, but of an "informal" way. To the children sometimes the apple is divided to them so that they do not become damage in encías (the teeth flesh), because according to the race of the apple it can have the hardest or rougher skin. I have perfectly my encías, but it is not happened to me, for example, to directly bite an apple of the calls "reinetas", whose skin is rough (they are very flavorful apples, with the skin of green color, and that have an acid-sweet taste)

In the case of having the skin it lasts or rough, if you have an apple of the supermarket either if we are in "a fine" context the more, where it is wanted to make demonstration of good manners, then it’s peeled with a knife, and is very current to begin by the part of the stem and to be removing an only strip in spiral, until arriving at the other center, the one of the face opposed to the stem. Soon it is possible to be bitten directly, or to be cutting pieces that can be introduced in the mouth, until only it is left the center with the seeds, that is thrown.

All this is not in fact something specifically Asturian, I believe that he is general in all Spain. I ignored that somewhere from Italy it was come at the same way, although I do not know if it will only be in Naples or by all the country. On this I would like to clarify that during a pair or three of centuries more or less Naples she belonged to Spain, reason why she was let there notice some Spanish influence, as much in the region of Naples like in Sicily and Sardinia. For example, some loose words of Spanish origin, or the personal name Diego, very current. Today a city called Algher exists, where the native language is Catalan, since it were Corona de Aragón, to which belonged at that time Catalonia, the peninsular kingdom that reached a great commercial power by all Mediterranean, whereas Castile soon sent towards North Africa, the Canary Islands, and finally, the New World. So it is possible that the napolitan custom of peeling therefore apples can be of Spanish origin.

By the way, I suppose that all you have hear to speak of Lucrecia Borgia, the evildoer poisonness . Well, Lucrecia was a member of a family from Aragonese origin. Its true last name was Borja, but at the time the J was not pronounced like the present J of the Spanish, but like in French. So it would sound to something as well as Bór-ya. What the Italians did was to write with its alphabet so that it sounded equal or similar. The Spanish last name Durán is something as well as, that in fact is of French origin: Durand.


Saludinos.

I've been meaning to post about this, but kept forgetting. My grandfathers, my father and virtually all working men I ever knew used their pen knives to peel and cut apples just as you describe.

Back then working men took their lunch to work from home or had it brought to them by their children. As a child, my mother carried my grandfather's lunch pail at noon, together with other miner's children, until the next sibling was old enough to take over. The knives were needed to cut bread and whatever else they had for lunch (chorizo, cheese, tortilla, etc.).

Apples in Asturias were a basic part of the diet. Everybody had them and they were eaten daily. If you eat 2 or 3 unpeeled apples every day, you end up with belly aches - hence the peeling. In addition most older folks had false teeth so that biting an apple in a youthful style was not adviseable!

That is basically why everybody had little pocket knives and why they peeled their apples.
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Llevo queriendo escribir sobre esto hace tiempo, pero siempre se me olvidaba. Mis abuelos, mi padre y practicamente todos los hombres trabajadores que conocí en mi vida usaban sus navajas para pelar y cortar manzanas como tú lo describes.

En aquellos tiempos los trabajadores llevaban la comida de casa o se la llevaban sus hijos. Cuando era pequeña a mi madre le tocó llevarle la fiambrera a mi abuelo, junto con otros niños hijos de mineros, hasta que el siguiente hermano tenía edad suficiente para hacerse cargo. Las navajas se necesitaban para cortar el pan y lo que tuvieran para comer (chorizo, queso, tortilla, etc.)

Las manzanas en Asturias eran parte de la dieta básica y todo el mundo las tenía y las comía. Ahora, si comes 2 o 3 manzanas sin pelar todos los días acabarás con dolores de barriga - de ahí que se pelaran. Además, casi toda la gente mayor tenía dentadura postiza, de forma que morder una manzana al estilo juvenil no era muy recomendable.

Estos son básicamente los motivos por qué prácticamente todo el mundo tenía una navaja de bolsillo y pelaba las manzanas.

Saludos
Terechu

Ah, this is interesting:

Terechu wrote:If you eat 2 or 3 unpeeled apples every day, you end up with belly aches - hence the peeling.

I experienced that in Asturias, but not here at home. Is it possible that Asturian apples are different from American apples? Perhaps in the skin?

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Ah, esto me interesa:

Terechu wrote:Ahora, si comes 2 o 3 manzanas sin pelar todos los días acabarás con dolores de barriga - de ahí que se pelaran.

Sufrí esto en Asturias, pero no aquí en EE.UU. ¿Es posible que manzanas asturianas sean distinctas que manzana americanos? ¿Quizás en la piel?

Its funny you mentioned taking lunch to the mine. When I was a child my Grandparents lived in Moundsville, West Virginia. My Mother and I would go down for the summer every year, with my father joining us at the end to bring us home.

My Grandfather Adelino Montes worked in the Zinc Works and my Grandmother and I would take him his lunch pail everyday. I remember it was silver in color, the food was at the bottom and on top was a large cup that covered it which my Grandmother would put coffee in and then the lid would go on. We walked up the street across the Highway and then up to the Zinc works where my Grandfather was a Fireman...Oh what sweet memories of a time long gone...Barbara Alonso Novellino

Barbara, if you come from a miner's family you'll love the book "How Green was my Valley". It's about Welsh coal miners, but it's sooo beautiful! Miners are a special breed.

Your lunch pail was probably made of zinc. The lunch pails here had two stories, one for the soup and one for the solids. The men drank wine from a "bota" which are made out of leather and have a spout so you can squirt the wine into your mouth without touching it, and pass it around to your comrades.

My mom still has specific "lunch pail friends" from her childhood years, and she points them out to me sometimes. "That's Lonio over there. We used to carry our fathers' lunch together to the colliery." It's very moving to hear people in their seventies remembering their childhood whenever they see eachother.


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Barbara, si eres de familia minera te gustará el libro "Que verde era mi valle". Es sobre mineros galeses, pero es precioso! La gente minera es una raza aparte.

Tu fiambrera seguramente que era de zinc. Aquí tenían dos pisos, uno para la sopa y otro para la comida sólida. Los hombres bebían vino de la bota, que es de cuero y tiene un pitorro para poder echar un chorro directamente a la boca sin tocarlo, y luego pasarla a los compañeros.

Mi madre tiene "amigos de fiambrera" específicos de cuando era niña y a veces me los enseña: "Aquel de allí es Lonio. Ibamos juntos a la hullera a llevar la comida a nuestros padres." Es muy conmovedor escuchar a gente que pasa de los setenta recordar su infancia cuando se encuentran unos con otros.

Terechu

That is so funny! That is what my grandfather would do when he would sit down to eat an apple. Once he spiraled off the peel in one long strip, he would slice off a piece for me, then one for him....

I had completely forgotten about that until I read this post.