The most important part of all......FOOD!!

The essence of Italian cooking today is simplicity. One uses the freshest seasonal ingredients possible, and then uses basic cooking techniques to simply enhance the natural flavor of the food. Italian food is a surprisingly diverse cuisine. Each of the twenty Italian regions has a distinctive set of flavors, recipes, products, and ingredients.  In fact, the Italian regions were not officially united as a nation until the mid-19th century; therefore, each individual region has retained much of its exclusive identity.

Climate and natural landscape have played a major role in shaping regional cuisines. Creamy risotto and other delicately flavored dishes predominate in the Northern regions, while bright olive oil and tomato-based recipes rule the sunny South. Beef is best enjoyed as Florentine steaks in Tuscany, from choice cattle raised in the Chianina Valley. 

Italy is one of the largest wine producers in the world with a broad span of both white and red varietals. Yet the Sangiovese varietal, originating in Tuscany, is arguably Italy’s winemaking claim to fame. Derived from the words “sanguis Jovis” or “blood of Jobe,” this red wine grape is the main grape in Chianti and Brunello wines.

And of course, who hasn't heard about the cheese from Italy. Cheeses range from the soft, mild Buffalo Mozzarella of Campania to the hard, salty Pecorino Romano of Sardinia. They often carry names indicative of their origins, such as the increasingly popular Grana Padano (a “grainy” cheese from the “Padana” or Po Valley of the Lombardy region).a

Did you know, that location is so important to many Italian food products that laws exist to protect the authenticity of products made in a certain region. For example, any vinegar labeled Modena Balsamic vinegar must be crafted in the town of Modena, and any cheese labeled Parmigiano Reggiano must be produced in one of several provinces in Emilia-Romagna.

One of the most common dishes of the Italian Cuisine is pasta.  But even this pasta is unique from place to place. Fresh homemade pasta abounds throughout Italy and is often simply dressed, so as not to overwhelm its delicate flavor. Dried pasta is most popular in the South and can be adorned in countless inventive ways. Some say there are more pasta shapes in Italy than one person could conceivably eat in a lifetime. Italians have been known to squabble over the proper name and culinary use of a particular pasta shape. Some shapes have legends behind their creation, such as tortellini, from Emilia-Romagna. Legend has it that a lusty innkeeper in the city of Bologna invented this ring-shaped, stuffed pasta after peeping on the goddess Venus through a keyhole. With merely a glimpse of her bellybutton, he ran straight to the kitchen in a fit of passion to make this pasta in honor of her bewitching navel.

Italian food is always a matter of regional pride. But if one were to try and sum up this diverse cuisine,  Italian cooking can best be described as a celebration of local flavors held together by a singular appreciation of high-quality, seasonal ingredients, presented in elegant simplicity. Across all regions, Italian dishes are straightforward preparations of a few choice ingredients, which are artfully combined. Italy is unified by a national concept of classic meal structure. Rather than serving up everything in one or two courses, Italian dinners traditionally include an array of many small plates enjoyed in succession, giving diners an extended time to savor food and company. Meals progress from antipasto (appetizer), to a first course of pasta or other starches, a main dish of meat or fish with a simple side of vegetables, followed by salad, cheese and fruit, coffee, and possibly a digestive (like grappa or sambuca liquor). Contemporary city dwellers, who have largely abandoned this meal structure for convenience sake, often still follow it on holidays, when the long feast still prevails. Yet these time-consuming meals arguably inform the Italian understanding of food as a sensory bliss beyond mere nourishment.

Dessert is sometimes served at the end of a special meal, but more often is enjoyed on its own as a midday snack. Characteristically, Italian dolci are restrained in terms of sweetness. Cookies, cakes, pastries, and tarts can be savored with coffee as a daytime energy boost..

The ever-popular tiramisu literally means “pick me up” and is composed of sweetened mascarpone and Marsala with espresso-soaked lady fingers. One theory asserts that Northern Italian women created this caffeinated dessert to stimulate and fortify troops during World War I. Some sweets are more specific to holiday seasons, such as panettone, a buttery egg bread laced with dried fruit and candied citrus, eaten around Christmas. This famous Milanese treat is quite laborious to make, traditionally taking up to a week to complete.

Gelato is a popular year-round dessert. This rich, intensely flavored Italian ice cream can be enjoyed anywhere at any time. The most exceptional Italian contribution to the field of pastry is probably the Piedmontese invention of gianduja (a sweet chocolate containing 50% hazelnut paste). Gianduja is used as an ingredient in innovative desserts throughout the world. It even inspired the creation of Nutella, one of Italy’s many popular food exports.

Coffee, particularly espresso, enjoys widespread popularity and cultural significance throughout Italian cities. The vast range of espresso drinks served in Italian cafes has been mimicked in coffee houses throughout much of the world. Luigi Bezzera filed the first patent for cappuccino in 1901, deriving its name from this foamy drink’s resemblance to the brown and white hooded garments worn by Capuchin monks. Espresso was first developed in Milan in the early 20th century, although the modern espresso machine did not appear until the mid-1940s. Many people misunderstand the term espresso. Rather than referring to a specific style of coffee bean or roast, espresso is simply a thicker, concentrated extraction of coffee through a highly pressurized brewing process. The barista, responsible for preparing espresso drinks in cafes, is a highly regarded career position in Italy. Busy urbanites rely on local baristas for a delicious pick-me-up at various times of day.

Street foods, such as gelato and panini sandwiches, are also popular in the hectic metropolitan cities. But no street food is as ubiquitous in Italy as pizza. Despite pizza’s global status, most international pizzas bear little resemblance to the thin, crunchy crusts invented in Naples. Served with only a minimal topping of garlic and herbs or fresh mozzarella and basil on sparsely smeared tomato sauce, this tasty, wood-fired bread has a distinctive flavor. The tomato sauce, garlic, herb variety, called Pizza Marinara, is said to be the oldest variety of pizza, and was named for a Neapolitan fisherman who often enjoyed this dish. Baker Raffaele Esposito created another variety, Pizza Margherita, in honor of Queen Margherita, using red sauce, white mozzarella, and green basil to represent the Italian flag. This queen, who could appreciate the splendor of workingman’s food, subsequently rose in the esteem of her people.

A somewhat wider variety of pizzas can be found throughout Italy today.

Nevertheless, the classic Naples pizza remains a perfect symbol of the beautiful simplicity intrinsic in Italian cuisine: the clever uncomplicated preparation of a few delicious ingredients to render a truly world-class dish that is at once humble and supremely epicurean.

When you're in Italy, we suggest stepping out of your culinary comfort zone to try all (or almost all) the country has to offer. Here is a guide to the basics. When it fails, your best bet is to order what the guy next to you is having – “prendo quello che ha preso lui.” 

At the coffee bar

• Caffè – an espresso
• Cappuccino – a breakfast beverage not to be ordered after lunch or dinner 
• Macchiato – an espresso “stained” with milk foam                                                                                                                                               

At the pizzeria

• Pizza – a flatbread, often circular in shape, baked with or without toppings
• Mozzarella – cow’s milk cheese made by pulling or stretching the warm curd
• Peperoni – bell peppers

At the gelateria

• Fiordilatte  - “the flower of milk,” theoretically made with the best part of the milk, meaning the cream
• Panna – cream made without egg yolk
• Crema – cream made with egg yolk
• Cioccolato – chocolate

At the paninoteca 

• Panino – an Italian sandwich
• Panini – more than one Italian sandwich. Panini is plural. 

At the salumeria  

• Prosciutto di Parma – salt-cured, air-dried ham, aged in or around Parma for months.
• Prosciutto San Daniele – salt-cured, air-dried ham from San Daniele in the Friuli region of Northeastern Italy

Good to know

• Colazione – breakfast
• Pranzo – lunch
• Cena – dinner
• Merenda – snack, normally acceptable only if you are under the age of ten
• Pane – bread
• Olio extra vergine di oliva – EVOO
• Formaggio – cheese

Even better to know  

• “Conosco i miei polli.”

Literally – I know my chicken.
What it means – I know what I am talking about

• “Sei come il prezzemolo.”

Literally – You are like parsley
What it means – You pop up everywhere.  

• “Non fare il salame.”

Literally – Don’t act like salame.
What it means – Don’t be a ham, you idiot.

• “Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco.”

Literally - Not all donuts come out with a hole.
What it means – Things don’t always turn out as expected.

• “Non puoi avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca.”

Literally – You can’t have a full wine barrel and a drunk wife.
What it means – You can’t have your cake and eat it too. 

So I guess in Conclusion, what I'm trying to say is that at the end of the day, there really is no other cuisine like Italy's.

BY

Shreya Balaji and Secchione Poindexter