Ethan is an artisan and fabricator who has a penchant for maize. When Ethan is not in Italy, he is in Southern Ohio tinkering with his 1950s espresso machine and a 1976 Lancia Scorpione. Ethan forages and tends to a garden. He smuggled seeds of the Slow Food Presidia, Nero Spinoso and Sassafras albidium plant material into Italy so we had new species to collaborate with in the cantina.
During Ethan’s time in Pacentro we made a batch of nocino steeped with sassafras root, thought a lot about corn, shared recipes, exchanged seeds and found endless synchronicity between Abruzzo and Appalachia. Each new conversation unearthed the vocabulary to understand the role of corn in Italy at the macro and Pacentro in the mirco — la pellagra, lu spogliatura, il mazzocco, i polentoni — to name a few.
We were also invited to Mietitour in Nocciano as guests of Davide Longoni and Forno Brisa of the Breader’s network. Mietitour is a seasonal celebration of the Solina wheat (Triticum aestivum) harvest—la metitura. Ethan’s awareness of plant migration and dedication to seed saving made this event a fitting addition, bringing us into this world of grain cultivation in Italy.
It goes without saying that Ethan and I met here in Pacentro but we grew up in rural Ohio — I in Clinton County and him in Brown County. Our sports teams were rivals. Our upbringing in Ohio bleeds into all that we do whether that is apparent or not. Usually conversations end as soon as someone asks where we are from, but with a fellow Ohioan we do not shy away from the contradictions that come with growing up in the middle of America.
The following is a glimpse into Ethan’s residency attraverso a conversation.
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