Significance of Sicilian Food and Ingredients

Sicilian food and fresh local ingredients are omnipresent throughout the book. Food plays a large role throughout the narrative and appears in every chapter. Traditional Sicilian foods connect Tembi and Zoela to Saro's culture. Food is also a way that the people in the book show love and support for one another. Eating together and cooking for one another is an act of love and emotional support. Sicilian food is relatively simple but full of delicious and high-quality ingredients. Food becomes symbolic for various aspects of life. Bitter almonds are reflective of the bitterness and sweetness in life, which cannot exist without one another. Learning to make ricotta and tomato sauce connect Tembi and Zoela to Saro and his cultural traditions, while Nonna's food symbolizes "malleability and resourcefulness in loss, in love, and in life" (Loc 3745).