Italian food
Italian food is the food created by traditional Italian cooking. It is not any one thing, because it is strongly regionalised. This means that the cooking is different in different parts of Italy.[1][2]
Naturally there are some basic foods which can be found all over Italy, and now in many other countries. These are pasta, pizza, cannoli pastry desserts, ice cream and red or white wine. Calamari dishes of fried squid (fried calamari) are often on the menu.[3]
Olives have been grown in Italy for thousands of years. They are eaten, and also are the basis of olive oil. Olive oil and vinaigrette or balsamic vinegar are always on the table or nearby. Italians also make many kinds of breads in a different style from French bread. Their styles of coffee have also become internationally famous. Some of their liqueurs, like limoncello, are very distinctive.
Italian food is one of the most refined and varied in Europe, from the piquant flavours of Naples and Calabria to the pesto dishes of Liguria and the cheese and risotto dishes of the Italian Alps.
Italian Food Media
Clockwise from top left; some of the most popular Italian foods: Neapolitan pizza, carbonara, espresso, and gelato
A Roman mosaic depicting a banquet during a hunting trip, from the Late Roman Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily
A restored medieval kitchen inside Verrucole Castle, Tuscany
The oldest restaurant in Italy, Antica trattoria Bagutto in Milan, dates to at least 1284.
Bartolomeo Scappi, personal chef to Pope Pius V
Bucatini with amatriciana sauce, which includes the New World vegetable tomato
L'arte di ben cucinare (The Art of Well Cooking), published by Bartolomeo Stefani in 1662
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
References
- ↑ Capatti, Alberto and Montanari, Massimo. 2003. Italian cuisine: a cultural history. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12232-2
- ↑ Riley, Gillian 2007. The Oxford companion to Italian food. Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-860617-8
- ↑ "Definition of calamari". Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary.