Leonardo da Vinci at the table

At the table of a Renaissance Italian workshop or court, the meal was not divided into starter-main-dessert but alternated between two 'services': the credenza (cold dishes arranged on the buffet — herb salads, fresh cheeses, candied fruits, spiced wines) and the cucina (hot dishes from the kitchen — soups, pies, stewed vegetables). Sweet, sour, and spicy flavors flowed throughout the meal, without the modern boundary between savory and dessert.

Juice of unripe green grapes, pressed before maturity, acidic and sharp: it is THE condiment of Leonardo's Tuscan and Lombard cuisine, often replacing lemon and giving dishes that characteristic sour edge. Leonardo, who owned a vineyard in Milan, lived by the rhythm of the grape harvest and this green grape.