La Befana and La Bufala

Pazzo (Crazy) Italian Lession #1:  La Befana and La Bufala
One is a witch, and the other is delicious.  Well, It itself may not be delicious, but what it produces certainly is.

La Befana is a big part of Italian Christmas tradition, which typically lasts through January 6th, The Feast of the Epiphany. (The Twelfth day of Christmas, and yet another Italian National Holiday).  The tale goes as follows:  On the evening of January 5th, the wise men were traveling to the manger and stop at an old womans' house to ask directions.  They then invite her to join them, but she refuses.  Later that night she sees a bright light in the sky and decides that she wants to join them, bearing gifts for the baby Jesus from her own child who had died.  She gets lost, however, and never finds the manger.  Now, La Bufana flies around on her broomstick on the 11th night of Christmas, bearing gifts (fruit and toys for good children and coal for bad) in the hope of finding baby Jesus.

La Bufala is where Buffalo Mozzerella comes from.  Long a fan of Buffalo Mozzerella, I never had stopped to think about what exactly was producing this lovely cheese.  Turns out, it isn't a Buffalo.  At least, not in the American West, herds of thundering sense.  This Buffalo, as you come to find out, is actually a Water Buffalo-- much more like an Asian Yak.  Naples turns out to be is ground zero for la Bufala in Italy.  Small herds of these animals are kept in muddy pastures under the freeways.  Sounds not so romantic, but despite that, the cheese is to die for.