Italian Cuisine is Not Just Pizza and Spaghetti
Italian cuisine is much more than just the usual fare of pizza and spaghetti that we are all familiar with. It is actually comparable in complexity and sophistication to French cuisine. Various regions in Italy have different interpretations of dishes but there are characteristics of Italian cooking that distinguishes it apart from others in the Mediterranean.
Italian cuisine is not very vegetarian friendly. Many of its dishes feature meat as their main ingredient. The Umbria, Marche and Basilicata regions are noted for their heavy use of pork and sausage in their trademark dishes. Northern Italy is famous for its excellent bacon. More exotic fare is used in the island of Sardinia as wild boar and suckling pig is widely used there. Italy’s rural regions also make extensive use of mutton and lamb.
Italian cured meats – locally referred to as “salumi” – is known throughout the world. Beef, pork, veal and even goat are all turned into various cured meats that are mainstays in every Italian kitchen. Salting, smoking, and air-drying are the different methods used in producing these mouth-watering creations. Cured Italian meats are divided into two broad categories: those that use whole cuts of meat and those that use ground or minced meat stuffed into casings. prosciutto or culatello, along with the various varieties of ham and bacon comprise the former while sausages and salami are examples of the latter.
Italians make a wide variety of cheeses and like the French, they name their cheeses after the towns that make them. Also like the French, Italians take great pride in their cheese-making. Many of you may have already tasted mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano, because these two are the most famous among Italian cheeses. But there are lots more that deserve your attention – cheeses from the Lombardy region include gorgonzola, taleggio, robiola and crescenza. Campania mozzarella is said to be the best. Its secret? It’s made from water buffalo’s milk rather than the more plain cow’s milk variety. Genuine Parmigiano Reggiano cheese comes from Reggio Emilia, Parma, Modena and Bologna areas. Tasting nothing like the adulterated variety that you shake from a can, real Parmigiano Reggiano is grated from painstakingly-made huge blocks.
Bread and pasta is a big part of a typical Italian meal. The Emilia-Romagna region’s specialty is pasta – earning it the name, pasta capital of northern Italy. It produces a distinctive sweet flour which it also uses in making its rich breads. Bologna gave rise to more popular pasta variants like: lasagna, tortellini, and tagliatelle. The region of Lazio produces heavier pastas. The use of rice in cooking is not exclusive to Asia. Risotto is an Italian dish famous the world over for its rich taste. We have the region of Lombardy to thank for this luscious creation. The practice of including bread, pasta, and rice in most meals gave the characteristic “heavy” feel to Italian cooking. Add to that the lavish use of butter and heavy creams in everything from soups to pasta and you indeed have a rich meal on your hands.
The Northern and Southern regions of Italy are different in their preference over ingredients and their overall approach to cooking. Southern Italy’s cuisine favors olive oil and local vegetables as pasta toppings. Protein comes from shellfish, pork, and lamb. Provolone and mozzarella cheeses round out the South’s offerings. The North also uses pasta but in combination with Arborio rice and corn for polenta. Entres are more heavy with beef and veal. Keeping with this richer approach, sauces are cream based and utilize cheese varieties that come from milk.
A typical Italian meal would be made up of an appetizer (antipasto or “before the pasta” in Italian), then two main courses (primo and secondo) served with a side dish or salad (contorno) and ending with fruit and cheese (formaggio e frutta) and a dessert (dolce) with coffee (espresso) and wine (vino). After a meal like this, it’s time for a siesta (nap)!
Michelle is an accomplished season article writer to do with family home food preparation. She just really loves expressing her good ideas and tips on creating crockpots or possibly crock pot chicken.