Mezzaluna Amore

This gadget makes my Top 10 Desert Island list for many reasons. On a practical note, it’s almost old enough to vote and still minces fresh herbs like it’s brand spanking new. But I love it for sentimental reasons as well.

When visiting a friend in Italy, I admired the grace with which her mother chopped garlic. She rocked the handles back and forth, pivoting slightly. As the cloves fell into tiny cubes beneath the blade, I fell in love with the mezzaluna. Today, I use it mainly for fresh herbs and find the curved blade provides such a musical flow that I have to force myself to stop chopping before the leaves are pulverized. Truth be told, I sing when I use it and hate to end my mincing session before the final bars of the song.

But I digress… Back to Italy. One morning I’m admiring a knife before dashing off to a museum, and by the time I return I’m the proud owner of an Italian knife. My friend’s mother bought me my own half-moon knife because she wasn’t sure I could get a good quality one back in Canada.

So, as my garden provides enough lemon balm to stuff a pillow, bouquets of basil and a forest of cilantro, I’ll be pulling out my mezzaluna and warming up my vocal chords. Got any requests?