It’s one of the many beautiful traditions growing up Italian. Not only was it a family thing, but friends joined together to share in the culture—no matter how early it was. It’s only 6 a.m. and you can hear people — somewhere in the house — laughing, yakking and clanging pots. Chi sapeva che comincissiano così presto alla mattina? “Who knew they would start this early?”

Well, August is nearly here and it’s time to preserve i pomodori, “the tomatoes,” prima che marciscono, “before they go bad!” Of course, tomatoes weren’t the only food items to conserve. There was la conserva, tomato paste to make and hot peppers to string.  Look in any Italian backyard and you’d find pureed tomatoes spread over wooden trays, and red hot peppers dangling from a pole, basking in the sun to dry.