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Italian Cuisine

Italian cuisine is as varied as the regions of Italy. Although Italy was officially unified in 1861, the food reflects the cultural diversity the country, regions with culinary influences from Greece, Romans, Gauls, Germany, Turkish, Hebrew, Slavic, Arabic, Chinese and other civilizations. In this sense, it no Italian cuisine because each area boasts its own specialties. Not only is the food of Italy highly regionalized, but also a high priority is placed on the use of fresh produce available.

Although traditional Italian dishes vary by region, but also do not stick to North-South pattern either. The north tends to use more butter, cream, polenta, Mascarpone, Grana Padano and Parmesan cheeses, risotto, lasagna and pasta fresh egg, while the south is more tomato and olive oil-based cuisine, along with mozzarella, Caciocavallo peconrino and cheese and dried pasta. Coastal and central regions often use tortellini, ravioli and prosciutto in their kitchen. Even pizza varies across the country. In Rome, the crusts are thin and cracker-like, as Neapolitan and Sicilian Pizzas have a thicker crust.

For most Italians, pasta is the first course of a meal with the exception of the north, where the risotto or polenta is the standard. Vegetables, cereals and legumes play a regular part of the diet of many Italian beef are usually not a regular part of daily meals, usually olive oil see in its dark green (from the first pressing) in the south, where in the north, a more refined, golden oil is considered.

Basically, the Italian cuisine is a combination of vegetables, grains, fruits, fish, cheese and some meat, with poultry and game generally seen or cooked with oil oil (with the exception of the far north). La cucina povera, the food of the poorest people of Italy to the south coast area, has shaped a diet popular for centuries, but now there is a resurgence of this "food of the poor", the Mediterranean diet, which is now being seen as the model around which we owe the restructuring of our eating habits.

Breakfast is considered a minor meal in Italy, often consisting of nothing but a roll of bread and cafe con leche (coffee with milk). Traditional foods tend to be larger, have several courses and eaten slowly. Italian children do not attend school in the afternoon, and because of the heat, many small businesses near the noon to 4 pm lunch makes social meal of the day.

The structure of the traditional Italian menu basically consists of eight courses, but long traditional Italian menu is typically kept for special occasions like weddings, the daily fee courses including only the first and second with the dish that is served with the second course. As an exception to this order, a unique course, Piatto unico, you can replace the first or second course, pizza, for example.

The traditional menu consists of:

1. Antipasto - Appetizers that hot or cold it literally means "before the pasta", consists of a diverse mix of colorful foods. The ingredients are popular melons and tomatoes, served with ham sliced thin. Lettuce, such as slightly bitter endives or rocket, or green leaves, such as fennel, anise flavor, are often used as a garnish, placed around the edges of the serving platter. Salami, mortadella, coppa and zampone, manufactured meat products, are common in antipasti. The art of food is so important to Italians as the taste. For example, the reddish color of salami provides a good contrast to the green lettuce. Fish and seafood can also be used in the course of antipasti and, of course, olives and artichokes are also common servings, as are mushrooms (fungi), seasoned with salt, pepper and juice lemon.

2. Primo (first course) - which usually consists of a hot dish like pasta, risotto, polenta, gnocchi, or soup, with plenty of vegetarian options. There are many types of pasta, each type is generally the name of your form with the common types, including spirali (spirals), farfalle (butterflies, sometimes described as "bow shaped '). Penne (hollow tubes) and conchiglie (shells). Different shapes are supposed to be better with different types of sauces. Spirals are two strips of pasta revolving around each other and are used with heavier sauces, such as those containing minced meat and vegetables. Rigatoni is cylinders or tubes, with a wide diameter and grooves (or lines) abroad. The grooves are assumed to have the sauce over the pasta, which means that this pasta is good with Fractured sauces. Then paste the group consisting of long thin filaments, which includes the most common type of pasta, spaghetti. Usually you eat this kind of dough rolling their long thin strands around a fork. Another long thin pastas are tagliatelle, noodles and noodles, which are all varieties of flattened spaghetti. Extremely thin strands of pasta are called vermicelli little worms (which means''). Yet another group of pasta is made of flat sheets (lasagna) or tubes (cannelloni), which are layered or stuffed with meat and cheese fillings. Some pastas are "pockets" to keep the sauce inside them instead of outside as ravioli, tortellini, which are the soft sheets of pasta rolled around meat or cheese. Cook pasta of Italian any kind, either fresh or dried, in boiling water until al dente ( 'to the teeth ", ie being a little hard in the center. Then served immediately in a bowl with sauce or cheese.

3. Secondo (second course) - This is usually the main dish of fish or meat. Beef, pork and chicken are traditionally the most common and are often the pan or casserole. The beef is used as fillets (bistecca), while lamb (Agnello) is roasted on special occasions, as the Week Easter and Christmas. Fish and seafood are often used as main dishes.

4. CONTOUR (plate) - this can be a salad or cooked vegetables. Salad is traditionally served with the main course. Common vegetables are beans (greens and vegetables), potatoes (often sautéed), and carrots and salads.

5. FORMAGIIO And Frutta (cheese and fruit) - this is the dessert first and fruit and cheese are usually served together. Grapes, peaches, apricots and citrus fruits are an important product of Italy's agricultural industry and are common.

6. DOLCE (dessert) - cakes and biscuits Italian course produce many sweet desserts and "sweet", including the Amaretti, almond-flavored meringues, which Australians call macaroons, Panforte, a sweet semi-hard 'strong bread' based on nuts and fruits nuts contain (a classic Christmas treat from Siena), y. Pannettone, a very rich cake pan (another Christmas treat).

7. CAFFÉ (coffee) - usually be the espresso

8. Digestive (liquor) - can be Grappa, Amaro, or Limon cello. The wine industry has been important in Italy for centuries and the most common drink associated with Italy is wine. Until recently, and even now in the countryside, most Italians do their own house wine red or white after harvest of grapes. This would be drunk at every lunch and dinner. Even children are given to drink wine, but usually is diluted with mineral water. Before dinner many Italians drink amaro (bitter) to stimulate the digestive system, while after dinner can make sweet wines like Marsala (Sicily). Children are also sometimes given Marsala, beaten with a raw egg and sugar custard, to strengthen them.

PIZZA

Modern pizza has evolved from pizzas by peasants in Naples, Italy, but only a few Mediterranean peoples can claim to have "invented" the pizza. In ancient times, many civilizations created dishes of flat bread with various herbs and seasonings. As a staple food for the poor was a matter of necessity that food could be eaten without covered, and that the "plate" that was served could eat well. They made a bread crust from flour, water and yeast, topped with olive oil, herbs, cheeses, sometimes even leftovers, and baked the whole thing in a stone oven.

Given that most pizza connoisseurs consider today tomato sauce to be the key ingredient, may be surprising that pizza pre-dates the introduction of tomatoes to Europe. The tomato came to Italy through Spain in early 1500s, but were thought to be poisonous. It was decades later that a flat bread topped tomatoes as a pizza.

Italian cuisine is very popular in all its forms and is imitated around the world. Look for some recipes Italian recipes in June page, and visit our marketplace to find Italian cookbooks and herbs and spices to make your family more authentic Italian dishes.

About the Author

A great resource for your family meals is the new e-cookbook, "Good Cooking Central Cookbook". It offers easy-to-prepare, delicious family-tested recipies. Available at: http://www.goodcookingcentral.com/good_cooking_central_002.htm

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