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Reflections: What Grows in Silence - I Sepolcri di Grano

Today, as I prepare i sepolcri di grano - those tender shoots of wheat grown in darkness for Holy Week, I’m struck by how much of our heritage is cultivated in shadow. These small grains of wheat will in time sprout into humble and symbolic tender shoots; grown quietly in cupboards and cellars, much like the family stories carried in silence. They belong to rituals that travelled across oceans with our families, reappearing each year in kitchens and parish halls far from Basilicata. I remember my maternal grandmother, nonna Carmela preparing them for Good Friday. I watched her soak the grains, spread them into shallow dishes, and hide them away in darkness. She had carried this tradition from her village to Australia, recreating it in a suburban kitchen that bore little resemblance to the world she left behind. For her, it wasn’t nostalgia; it was devotion and continuity; a quiet way of keeping the rhythm of faith and the old world alive in a new one. I didn’t fully understand the sy...
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Sicilian Antique Forms for Cotognata


In my previous post Quince-Mela Cotogna I spoke about how to make cotognata and the clay forms that my mother in law would use for moulding the quince paste, adding character to the finished product. These moulds came all the way from Sicily with my in laws when they migrated to Australia.


Similar moulds to these were used in ancient times to give shape and form to the quince paste, which are still made and used in Sicily today.  They have various images such as fish, animals, flowers, landscapes as well as religious decorations probably a Spanish influence as a result of the Spanish occupation in Sicily around 1700.







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