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Category : Antipasti

26 Sep 2022

Mushroom cotoletta (cutlet)

in air fryer . Antipasti . Autumn

26 Sep 202226 Sep 2022

Spelt schiacciata with grapes

in Antipasti . Baking . Pizza & co . vegetarian

11 Sep 202212 Sep 2022

Farinata (chickpea flatbread) with zucchini and onions

in Antipasti . Finger food . Gluten free . Pizza & co . vegetarian

08 Sep 202223 Sep 2022

Stuffed eggplants (melanzane mbuttunate)

in Antipasti . summer . vegetarian

29 Aug 2022

The golden rules for a perfect bruschetta

in Antipasti . Baking . Finger food . summer . vegetarian

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spaghettiabc

THE IMPORTANCE OF PDO AND PGI LABELS Is food a cu

THE IMPORTANCE OF PDO AND PGI LABELS
Is food a cultural heritage to protect?

My cooking classes are always introduced by a nice aperitivo, where I hand-pick Italian delicacies, mostly labeled as PDO and PGI (Protected Designation of Origin; Protected Geographical Indication).
And it is very common to start a conversation about them, on the importance of labelling quality products and why to choose them.

I believe that eating is an agricultural act, because what we serve at the table has been grown on farmland, using the agricultural resources of that land, with production processes that (although modernized) derive from centuries-old agricultural knowledge.
Some products have made the history of Italy and they are part of our local identities: eating them, you can really discover the different regions.

These are products to protect, and EU labels PDO and PGI work in this direction.
They can be cheeses, fruits and vegetables, bakery products, charcuterie, oils, pasta products...

In this guide I will help you to recognise and appreciate them.
I've also collected some of the iconic PDO an PGI products: it was a hard choice because they are a lot!

If you like it, save it and share it with people who might appreciate it: there is a lot of love and work in it!

Can you name iconic PDO or PGI Italian products?

ph. M. Preis
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#pdo #pgi #acetobalsamicodimodenatradizionale #dop #igp #italianfood #italienskmat #prosciuttodiparmadop #mozzarelladibufalacampanadop #italiancuisine #qualitylabel

ZUCCHINI & ONION FARINATA. Looking for ideas to co

ZUCCHINI & ONION FARINATA.
Looking for ideas to cook the last zucchinis of the season?
Try farinata, chickpeas flatbread from Liguria!
This is my personal version: quick, nutritious and super easy. With the aroma of roasted rosemary
Ingredients and directions are in the link in bio 👆.
Let me know if you like it ☺️

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#zucchini #flatbread #farinata #chickpeas #liguria #italiancuisine #italienskmat #recept #spaghettiabc

September has finally brought some rain. And, with

September has finally brought some rain. And, with it, boletes (soppar) have also arrived. You can find them in pine, birch, and oak forests: these mushrooms actually live in symbiosis with the trees (mycorrhiza) from which, in many cases, they get their name.
Boletes have in common the presence under the cap of tubules that feel like sponges to the touch.

The king of boletes is definitely the porcino (Karljohanssvamp), with firm white flesh. Recognizable by the white reticulate on the stalk. The spongy tubules are white in young specimens, yellow and brown in more mature ones. The cap a beautiful chocolate or caramel brown.

Then there are the rough-stemmed and spotted björksopp (Leccinum scabrum), growing near birch trees (björk).
Similar to this, the tegelsopp (orange birch bolete), with a warm, deep orange cap, unlike the former which has it beige/light brownish.

Smörsopp (Zuillus luteus) and grynsopp (Suillus granulatus), have in common a slimy cap: therefore, before consuming them, the surface layer must be removed, which floods and is difficult to digest. The former have a delicate floral flavor (acacia, jasmine) and a delicate yellow flesh color, like melted butter.

Brunsopp (bay bolete) have a deep brown cap and a yellow sponge that turns to green. Some of them, they turn bluish when you touch it. Magical!

How do I cook them? Definitely with polenta, paired with soft, creamy, washed-rind cheeses (such as Taleggio), or blue cheeses (such as Gorgonzola).
Find the recipe for porcini with polenta in the link in bio.

What are your favorite recipes with mushrooms?

#porcini #boletes #soppar #karljohansvamp #polenta #taleggio #mushroom #svamp #italienskmat #recept

HOW TO BUY A GOOD OLIVE OIL? A few days ago, I had

HOW TO BUY A GOOD OLIVE OIL?
A few days ago, I had a nice chat with some of you about buying olive oil. One of the questions was: "how to look for signs of quality"?

As Italian, olive oil is written in my culinary DNA, it is part of my culture.
In 2018 this passion went further, when I attended the Master "The olive oil sensory science and the culinary art", the best way to deep dive into the subject and approach it in scientific way.

This shopping guide about extra-virgin olive oil comes from these months of studying, tasting, understanding this ingredient. I listed the most important things to pay attention when buying a good olive oil, what to look for, what to avoid.
Save it for the next time you will shop and share it with the people that might appreciate it: I put a lot of love into it.

What else would you like to know about olive oil?

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#extravirginoliveoli #oliveoil #oil #olive #flosolei #avpa #slowfood #gamberorosso #italiancuisine #biol #cultivar #spaghettiabc #groceries #shoppinglist

How’s the sound of a bruschetta in a late summer

How’s the sound of a bruschetta in a late summer afternoon?
Sound on and you’ll get it! 🍅

I also wrote the golden rules for a perfect bruschetta: read them in my latest blog post, find the link in bio, under “my recipes” ☝️

How do you prepare it?
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#bruschetta #italienskmat #matlagning #italiancuisine #tomato #ciliegini #pachino #bread #breadlovers #malmo #spaghettiabc #asmr

Do you know how to recognize quality pasta? One of

Pesto: let’s do it like in Genova! 🌱 It means

Pesto: let’s do it like in Genova! 🌱
It means adding boiled potatoes and green beans, for a richer taste.
I used linguine, you can use trofie or trenette (flat ribbon pasta).
Full recipe in the link in bio ☝️

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#pesto #pestogenovese #pastapesto #pastalover #basil #potato #greenbeans #italiancuisine #vegetarianrecipe #vegetarianpasta #veg #genova

Summer 2022 in Puglia: it’s a wrap. Starring: @i

Summer 2022 in Puglia: it’s a wrap.
Starring: @increasingentropy @carla_does_things @barbaralaneve @discipline_recordings @marijakarinsdotter @davide_fabio_colaci @mariopizzileo @minorosato @lindiehall

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#puglia #salento #weareinpuglia #summer2022 #italia #lecce #italianfood #leuca #tricase #italy

Choose the right tomato for your Italian cooking 🍅

The peak of tomato season is right here, right now : the stalls teem with tomatoes varying in shape, size, color... you are spoiled for choice!
Therefore, I thought to write a guide to help you choose the right tomato, to be enhanced in one or more Italian dish.

If you look closely, we can divide tomatoes into 5 categories, each one with a different shape:

1- 🌍 Globe tomatoes: round, globular, medium-sized, smooth-skinned tomatoes (ramati in Italian, kvist tomat in Swedish). Very versatile in cooking, good both raw (for salads and bruschetta) and cooked (fresh tomato sauce or stuffed with rice).

2 🥩 Beefsteak tomatoes: irregular, ribbed, with firm and thick flesh, they can become super big! Perfect to be sliced (they hold their shape) for panini, amazing in a juicy caprese, together with mozzarella.

3 🍒 Cherry tomatoes: ciliegino in Italian, körsbär in Swedish. Small and round as cherries, different in color (red, yellow, purple, orange), the best tomato for aperitivo and finger food, but also my favorite for preparing a quick fresh sauce, with a lot of basil and garlic. They have the right acidity but if you roast them, triggering the Maillard reaction, they become super sweet: lovely over a slice of sourdough bread!

4 🥭 Plum tomatoes: like San Marzano, oblong and cylindrical in shape. They are conceived to fit perfectly a can, to be processed and preserved for pelati (peeled tomatoes) and passata (tomato sauce). They are also the best tomatoes to be sun-dried.

5 ❤️ Oxheart tomatoes: cuore di bue in Italian, with the peculiar shape of heart. You can use them as the beefsteak tomatoes and also in pasta salad (like crudaiola) or panzanella (scroll down in the feed to see my recipe).

My golden rule? Don't keep them in the fridge (unless they are too ripe): the cold temperature will kill all their fantastic aromas and they will taste less.

What is your favorite recipe with tomatoes?

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#tomatoes #tomatoseason #tomat #pomodori #cherrytomatoes #kvisttomat #plumtomato #sanmarzano #coeurdeboeuf #ciliegino #pachino #datterino #heirloomtomato

☕️ 5 summer coffee you should try when in Ital

☕️ 5 summer coffee you should try when in Italy.🇮🇹
Drinking espresso, feeling the warm chill of caffeine, is always a pleasure, and, when it is summer, ordering coffee at bar, can be quite an experience.
That’s why you shouldn’t miss these 5 gems:

1) CAFFE’ IN GHIACCIO (iced coffee): hot espresso served in a rock glass with 2 cubes of ice. If you are in Salento (Puglia), add a splash of almond syrup (or orzata) to have the CAFFE’ SALENTINO.

2) CREMA DI CAFFE’ (cold coffe cream): fresh cream (or milk), sugar and cold espresso, whipped until having a cream to eat with a spoon in a small coffee cup.

3) GRANITA DI CAFFE’ (coffe slush): a thick drink made from crushed ice and sweet cold coffee. The best way to eat it? With whipped cream, or, like in Sicily, in a soft sweet bun (brioche con il tuppo).

4) ESPRESSINO (or MAROCCHINO or VETRINO): a shot of cappuccino, served in a glass (generally the one for Irish coffee). The foam is thick and sprinkled with bitter cocoa powder.

5) CAFFE’ SPECIALE di Polignano (Polignano special coffee): coffee, fresh cream, Amaretto di Saronno liquor, lemon zest. The pairing of all these flavours it is simply a stroke of a genius by Supermago del Gelo bar in Polignano a mare, a town not far from Bari. Ph credits: @ilsupermagodelgelobargelateria

Which among these 5 is your favorite?

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#caffe #caffèsalentino #espressino #marocchino #caffespeciale #granitadicaffe #coffeelover #summercoffee #icedcoffee #cofeeslush #caffèitaliano #espresso #italiaintavola #italianfood #italiancuisine #barista #tasteatlas

Panzanella (my way). What do you do in summer in I

Panzanella (my way).
What do you do in summer in Italy when you have some stale bread left over? Panzanella, of course!
The Tuscan recipe calls for soaking bread without salt (pane sciocco) in water and vinegar, wringing it out and then seasoning it with summer vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, basil. The secret of this recipe? The longer it rests in the refrigerator, the better it tastes, because then the ingredients, their liquids, blend with each other to give us a fresh alchemy of flavors.

In Puglia, the same dish (with some slight variations), is called acquasale (a name that evokes the saline water of our coastline). The difference with the Tuscan recipe? Pugliese bread is salty and, usually, basil is replaced by oregano, while vinegar is absent.
My recipe is somewhere in between: Tuscan base, with Puglia ingredients, including Acquaviva PDO onion and melon pretending to be ... cucumber (barattiere)!

INGREDIENTS FOR 6 PEOPLE
500 g of stale bread
1 lemon (or 2 spoons of white vinegar)
20 small tomatoes
3 cucumbers
1 red onion
Salt
Extravirgin olive oil
Fresh basil leaves

Let me know if you like this recipe as much as I do.
Baci, Flavia

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#panzanella #summerdish #summersalad #tomato #cucumber #recipe #italiancuisine #tuscany #italianfood #basil

How to correct the taste of a dish that is too bit

How to correct the taste of a dish that is too bitter?
In Italian cuisine, there are ingredients that are naturally bitter: chicory, radicchio, rucola, some types of eggplant or zucchini (especially if they are no longer very fresh).
It often happens that we notice their bitter taste too late, only after we have cooked them.

Rather than throwing everything out, there are small adjustments we can make to balance the flavor of the dish and make it more palatable. For example:
- add salt, naturally adjust the bitterness
- add acidity (lemon juice, vinegar, balsamic vinegar)
- pair the dish with a sweet or neutral-tasting food, such as pasta, bread, rice or pulses.

Did you know that temperature can also affect flavor? The same dish, if served cold, will be less bitter than if served hot.

I hope my advice was helpful to you. If yes, leave me a comment and tell me what you think. It means a lot to me ❤️
Baci, Flavia

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#bitter #bittertaste #chicory #radicchio #senses #italiancuisine #foodpairing #puglia #malmo

Sicilian-style fish couscous 🦑 The Arab dominat

Sicilian-style fish couscous 🦑
The Arab dominations, the continuous trade between Italy and North Africa, left an important trace in Italian cuisine.
In Sicily, and particularly in the province of Trapani, cous cous is one of the traditional dishes, where the local raw material (the fresh catch), is combined with the durum wheat semolina grains of cous cous, to create a fresh and vibrant dish, which changes with the change of the fish we will use in the preparation.
It is no coincidence that San Vito Lo capo is home to Cous Cous Fest, an event that celebrates cultural integration and cuisine as a symbol of peace.

I propose my version of fish cous cous, to be eaten cold, as a summer dish.
I used anchovies and squid but you can substitute them with whatever local fish available (try fresh herrings!) you prefer.

INGREDIENTS FOR 6 PEOPLE
280 g of cous cous
1 large eggplant
2 squids
15 cherry tomatoes
fresh basil
fresh mint
2 lemons
extra virgin olive oil
pepper
spice mix for cous cous (or curry, paprika and chili)
salt

Let me know if you like this recipe and you will try!
Baci, Flavia

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#couscous #sicilianfood #italiancuisine #italienskmat #anchovies #squid #sicily #trapani #sanvitolocapo

Things I bought in Bari for 10 €. Dedicated to t

Things I bought in Bari for 10 €.
Dedicated to those who visit Puglia during the summer season and want to learn more about its typical products and biodiversity.

Yesterday I went to my trusted greengrocer (fruttivendolo) and bought fruits and vegetables that can't miss in my fridge in July. I chose:
- a large globular eggplant, for parmigiana, caponata, pasta alla norma, or to roast;
- a bunch of chicory, to blanch or sauté in a pan with garlic, oil, and chili;
- 6 “fioroni” (early figs). In Puglia, many fig trees produce fruits 2 times. The former are called “fioroni”, have a delicate, grassy flavour and ripen in early summer. Figs, on the other hand, have a more intense, sugary flavour and ripen in August. I eat them for breakfast or they are perfect with a slice of prosciutto di Parma as aperitivo;
- 4 “barattieri”. In Puglia we use them as cucumbers, in salads, in pinzimonio, but, they are actually unripe melons. In Salento they are called cucumarazzi or meluncelle.
- 1/2 kg of “ferrovia” cherries from Turi (a village close to Bari): they are called “railway cherries” because it was said that the trees grew best along railroad tracks. They stay nice and crisp for several days after harvest.
- cornetto (or friggitelli) peppers: elongated in shape, resembling a horn. Green and sweet, for roasting or sautéing. The perfect pairing? With tomatoes and basil.

Buying local and seasonal is always a reward: good for us, good for the planet :)
And you, what fruits and vegetables do you buy in the summer?

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#puglia #weareinpuglia #fioroni #barattiere #italiancuisine #cherries #seasonalfood #slowfood

48 hours in Venosta Valley (South Tyrol): a culina

48 hours in Venosta Valley (South Tyrol): a culinary getaway.
Every summer, we travel by car from Malmo to Bari and it is always an opportunity for us to discover new places, on the road.
For the second time, we stopped in South Tyrol, between the Venosta Valley and the Stelvio Pass.
First stop, Lake Resia and the 14th-century bell tower rising from the waters.
From here we went exploring Glorenza, one of Italy's smallest villages, with Renaissance walls where bold vines climb. Gourmet break at @flurins.turm and his fusion cuisine, which mixes hyper-local products with techniques from international cuisine.
Glorenza is the home of @punidistillery, Italy's only whiskey distillery, an architectural gem by Werner Tscholl, built of red brick, reminiscent of the ancient ventilation systems of Val Venosta farms.
Our home-base for 2 days was the @bellavista.trafoi, owned by the family of Gustav Thöni, the multiple-time world champion alpine skier: here Petra Thöni welcomed us in her traditional floral dress in this large wooden house, filled with memorabilia from the 1970s (skis, boots, medals), at the foot of the Trafoi glacier.
The next day we climbed to the Benedictine abbey of Marienberg, above Burgusio, where at an altitude of 1,340 m lies Europe's highest (biodynamic) vineyard, cultivated by the Calvenschlössl winery.
Second winery, Magdalena Schuster's @befehlhof, which has recovered an ancient native grape variety, Fraueler, processing it in purity for organic wines of the highest quality.
Loving foraging, a walk in the Stelvio Pass, in search of wild herbs and fruits, was not missed.
I have collected in the highlighted stories our itinerary, along with the one we took in 2020, in Val Pusteria, Brunico and, further south, along the Bolzano wine route.
If you would like to continue talking about this trip, write to me in the comments or DM. I'll be waiting for you :)

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#valvenosta #sudtirol #bolzano #foodtour #spaghettiabc #italy #traveltoitaly

Aperitivo or dessert: when to serve cheese? A few

Aperitivo or dessert: when to serve cheese?
A few days ago, a dear client of mine asked me for help as a personal shopper in selecting different cheeses to serve at an event she was organizing.
In order to help her, I asked her - in addition to her cheese preferences - about the menu and the wines she would be serving.
This is because cheese has to be included at the right time, in consideration of what comes before and after.
And then, of course, you have to consider the type of cheese.

In this post I want to share with you my golden rules that I apply when serving Italian cheeses.

Fresh cheeses such as mozzarella, burrata, robiola, scamorza, ricotta, fresh goat cheese, 12-month Parmigiano Reggiano, I prefer to serve them at the beginning of the meal, when the palate is free of other flavors. I am going to pair them with vegetables (raw or cooked) and with white wines, sparkling wines, or not too structured reds. I do not serve jams in pairing: I don't want to immediately saturate the palate with too many flavours.

Matured cheeses with more complex flavors, on the other hand, I prefer to serve them at the end, before or instead of dessert. I am talking, for example, about blue cheese, taleggio, Parmigiano with more than 48 months of seasoning, aged pecorino (or pecorino di grotta), to which I can pair jams (or honey). Indeed, at the end of a meal, my palate has gradually become accustomed to stronger flavors, so it can be receptive to these cheeses with a distinct personality. The wines to pair with them will be full-bodied and structured (I am thinking of barrique reds or even wines with aromatic components, such as passito or malvasia), although I do not disdain bubbles that go to "cleanse the palate" from the cheese's fat.

What is your favorite cheese and how do you serve it?

NB: I talked about wines in this post, but I encourage to explore the paring of cheese with artisanal beers and ciders too.

Photo: Miriam Preis
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#cheeselover #cheesetasting #taleggio #italiancheese #parmigiano #spaghettiabc

AROMATIC HERBS PESTO 🪴: an empty-the-balcony re

AROMATIC HERBS PESTO 🪴: an empty-the-balcony recipe to prepare before to leave for summer vacation.
Summer is here. And while some are organising the menu for Midsommar, others are packing for summer holidays.
So what to do with the pots of basil, mint, parsley on the balcony (or in the kitchen)? If we don't cook with them, we certainly won't find them when we will be back…
Pesto is the solution! Here's how to prepare it.

Ingredients for two:
40 g herbs (basil, mint, parsley)
1 clove of garlic
5 g almonds
5 g pistachios
30 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
160 g of paccheri (or other pasta shape)
Oil
Salt
Pepper

Put all the ingredients in a long, narrow container.
Blend gently with an immersion blender.
Cook the pasta until al dente.
Stir it into a bowl with the pesto.
Serve with a sprinkling of Parmigiano and a few herb leaves.

Enjoy!

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#pesto #pasta #pastalover #pastapesto #paccheri #basil #mint #italiancuisine #italienskmat #cucinaitaliana #pestogenovese #midsommar #parmigianoreggiano

Pulses and vegetables: 3 easy and quick recipes to

Pulses and vegetables: 3 easy and quick recipes to celebrate summer.
Is there a better time than summer to prepare vegetables? Hard to resist the temptation of crispy asparagus, turgid spring onions, fresh and tender spinach...
But what about pulses and legume? They kept us company during the winter, in soups and minestrone, how to use them in summer?

And, still on the subject of legume/pulses, I also thought that during this time of year we have fresh peas and fresh broad beans available. If you think about it, more than 50% of what constitutes fava beans and peas, namely the pods, are not normally used in cooking. We use the pulses (the inner side) but not the pods, which, yet, are rich in fiber and minerals.
How can we enhance them in cooking?

And there is no summer without rhubarb, with its pink and green spotted stem and its unmistakable sour flavor. We use it in desserts, but does it look good in savory preparations?

My personal answer to these 3 questions can be found in my latest post (link in bio 👆), with 3 recipes for you:
1) RED LENTILS, SPINACH AND TOMATO SALAD
2) SAUTÉED FAVA BEANS (POD TO PULSE), GREEN PEAS, SPRING ONIONS
3) ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND SPINACH SALAD WITH RHUBARB MAYO

How do you cook pulses/legume and vegetables in summer?

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#pulses #legume #redlentils #favabeans #asparagus #rhubarb #summersalad #summerrecipes #seasonalfood #spaghettiabc

If you think about it, pasta is a design object. M

Ricotta salata: a cheese you should have in the fr

Ricotta salata: a cheese you should have in the fridge during summer.
🧀 Even if we associate the idea of seasonality mostly with fruits and vegetables, there is a perfect time also for enjoying cheeses.
So, if winter is the season for gorgonzola and taleggio, creamy and rich, summer is the best time to enjoy lighter cheese, like mozzarella or ricotta salata (salty ricotta).

🐑 Ricotta is not properly a cheese but mostly a dairy product, since it is obtained by recooking the whey (serum) resulting from the production of sheep, goat or cow cheeses. Ricotta in fact means re-cooked, cooked twice, referring to this particular process.

A ricotta can be eaten fresh and soft, but it can be also seasoned for a minimum period of 40 days, up to 4-6 months. In this latter case, the ricotta is coated in coarse salt and let it drain for days/months: a ricotta salata (or marzolina) is born!

🍅 It has a semi-hard texture, very white, crumbly, that doesn't melt (instead of Parmigiano). You use the ricotta salata mostly over pasta and vegetables, grating it just before to serve the dish. The most famous way to have it is over "pasta alla Norma" (Sicilian aubergine pasta) and also "crudaiola", pasta salad with raw tomatoes (see next picture).
It works very well also with asparagus, zucchini and pepper, in combination with fresh herbs like basil, mint or thyme.
I suggest to grate it over a shredding holes instead of raspy ones since its crumbly structure.

Have you ever tried it? Or are you in the mood to try it? Let's talk about ricotta salata (or summer cheese) in the comments

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#ricotta #ricottasalata #ricottamarzotica #crudaiola #pastaallanorma #italienskmat #cheesetasting #cheeselover #italiancheese #italiancuisine

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