Nothing says Italy like its food, and nothing says Italian food like pasta. Wherever Italians have immigrated they have brought their pasta and so today it is basically an international staple. Unlike other ubiquitous Italian foods like Pizza and tomato sauce, which have a fairly recent history pasta may indeed have a much older pedigree going back hundreds if not thousands of years. To begin to unravel the long an often complex world of pasta we have to look at its origins and some of the myths surrounding this now worldwide food.
I have lived in the US now for over 20 years. I still go four times a year to Italy so my taste buds have remained pretty much Italian so I had to find a reliable methods to distinguish authentic Italian restaurants from the others -- I will call them "Italian-American" -- which I dislike.
Don't you think it's very sad when you hear a particular breed of animal or a species of plant has almost run into extinction, and even more terrible, when there's no chance of revival? One particular breed of pig, the Cinta (meaning belt) Senese (of Siena) had almost been lost forever.
The sagra is an Italian festival, organized in some towns, or regions, and is always linked to a local tradition or food celebrated in the course of the event.
The term sagra derives from Latin. It is the evolution of the adjective sacrum, meaning holy, which explains the original purpose that gave birth to this type of event: the religious factor. In fact, in the past the sagre were mainly moments of union between Man and spiritual and holy life.
Pizzafest: the world's largest celebration of pizza in Naples.
"Ma tu vuliv a' pizz" are the lyrics of a famous Neapolitan song directed to a woman who only wanted to eat pizza. Do you only want pizza, too? If so, you should take part in the pizzafest at least once in your life.
Vegetarians in Italy: How to Order Vegetarian at an Italian Restaurant
Different countries have different views when it comes to vegetarians. While in India there is a very high percentage of vegetarians (about 30% of the population), Russia is one of those countries that, generally, seems to find it a difficult concept to understand. Italy, meanwhile, is somewhere in the middle. More and more Italians are deciding to abandon their old food habits, saying good-bye to meat in favor of a vegetarian diet.
Italian gastronomic differences: North, Center and South.
When it comes to cooking, pasta is the adhesive that unifies the whole of the nation.
However, those thinking that food is the same in every part of Italy are totally wrong. In fact, only a few dishes are considered 'national'.
Each region has its own typical food and recipes, which have obviously been taken by other regions too and Italians generally know how to cook a dish from another region, even if there are so many!
English speakers call them good manners, the French use the term bon ton, while Italians refer to proper manners as galateo. Despite the differences in terminology, all of these terms refer to the same thing: the correct behavior one must exhibit in any given situation.
In Italy food is culture. It's part of the life style and history of the Country.
The story of great Italian cuisine is a colorful one.
Most of the more traditional dishes are what we call evolution of the poorer cuisine, inventive driven by needs that over time become the cornerstone of one of the most renowned cuisines in the world, one that uses only the best and most fresh natural ingredients.
The most famous salad served in almost every Italian restaurant in the U.S. is actually not Italian at all, but indeed very American. Until a few years ago asking for parmesan cheese and croutons on a salad in Italy would have meant asking for trouble and to be laughed at. In recent years, however, with globalization and more international menus offered in Italian restaurants, some places have begun to offer it. Don't be fooled if you see "Insalata Cesare" on your menu as it still remains an imitation of the American dish.
Every two years Genoa hosts the Pesto World Championship and on March 20, 2010, the city hosted the third edition of the competition. In Genoa's historic Palazzo Ducale one hundred comeptitors from all over the world met to put their pestles and marble mortars to the test in order to gain the title of World Champion.
The participants were both professional cooks and amateurs who competed by preparing pesto sauces using only authentic ingredients and traditional recipes. The pesto sauces were then judged by tasters ranging from restaurant owners and expert cooks, as well as food and wine journalists.
For the fifth consecutive year, Bologna, the culinary epicenter of Italy has hosted an event on the magic of chocolate; the CioccoShow. Between the 18th and the 22nd of November 2009, all the best chocolate sellers of Italy gathered in this wonderful medieval town to showcase the many ways to taste chocolate. For those who missed this year’s event, not to worry, there is plenty of time to plan for the 6th annual CioccoShow in 2010. All chocolate lovers can discover the wonders of Bologna while visiting the many stands selling chocolate of all types that cover more than 2.300 square meters.
(ANSA) - Naples, June 11 - Celebrations were under way here on Thursday to mark the 120th anniversary of the creation of the now traditional Pizza Margherita.
Boasting the three colors of the Italian flag - red (tomatos), white (Mozzarella) and green (basil) - the pizza was invented for the visit to Naples by Italy`s Queen Margherita of Savoy, the wife of Italy`s second king, Umberto I.The pizza`s birthday celebration was highlighted by a parade of local aristocrats in 19th century dress, flag throwers, archers in Medieval costumes and hundreds of Neapolitans and visitors who joined in the fun.
Mediterranean diets are characterized by olive oil, as the dominant fat source and a high to moderate consumption of fruit and vegetables, cereal products, fish, legumes, in combination with little meat and wine with meals.
The 'reference' Mediterranean diet seems to differ according to country, but is associated with good health and a long life expectancy. From the Seven Countries Studies, it has been shown that especially the traditional Cretan diet was associated with very low 25-year mortality rates for coronary heart disease, cancer and all-causes.
Much of what the rest of the world considers Italian food hails from the central regions of Italy. Velvety smooth olive oils, world-famous cheeses, savory cured meats and rich tomato sauces grace the tables of this sun-scorched . Beef dishes can be found more often here and the hills of Tuscan and Umbria are known for their wild boar.
From the Pizza of Naples to the countless types of dried and fresh pasta, the food of the south is the soul of Italy. Here you will find rich and spicy tomato sauces and the almost exclusive use of olive oil in cooking. In fact some of the best olive oil comes from this region, but very little of it is exported.
The use of herbs is so steeped in lore and legend, and the microwave oven so modern, that you would hardly think they complemented each other. Yet they do, and the microwave can be your best friend when it comes to drying and using herbs.
Drying herbs in a microwaveis easy, but you need to make a few preparations first, just as you do with any drying method. First, pick your herbs when the morning dew has dried, and pick only those herbs that look fresh and clean. If there are still some dead leaves or browned patches, remove them when you get indoors. Check the plant material carefully for bugs and insects caterpillars. You don't want any wild life in your dried herb stocks!
Americans have all sort of rules and laws they follow; rules involing queues like stand quietly in line, rules involving driving like stay within the lines. By contrast, Italian have very few rules and most of those can be broken. For example, in Italy, there is no minimum drinking age to which there is any adherence (and imposing one would only encourage underage Italians to drink).
But the situation is the reverse when it comes up to food. Yes Italians do have eating rules!
