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Italian Food - A Few Facts

Italian food is not just all about the oven pizza. Food has always played a large part in the Italian way of life. Sharing, enjoying, buying and preparing food are all done with a care and love that is not common in other parts of Europe. In Italy a meal is to be savored, whether with friends or with the family - it is a time to relax and slow down and not be hurried.

A meal in an Italian restaurant such as a Trattoria customarily has four or five courses: the antipasto, the primo, the secondo, the contorno and the dulce course. Also coffee and a digestive liqueur will be offered. Some meals such as Christmas, Easter and Weddings have more courses, often nine, ten or even eleven.

The standard Italian night-out would start with what is called an aperitivo. This is an alcoholic drink such as Vermouth, Campari or Prosecco wine, or perhaps a non-alcoholic fruit juice. This is often drunk at a separate bar with friends, prior to moving on to the meal. An Italian meal comes served in smaller portions and on more plates. Thus an Italian meal is really quite different from the equivalent in other countries.

At the restaurant one customarily would begin with the antipasto (literally translating as “before the meal”) which could be either a hot or a cold appetizer.

The first course (the primo) usually contains something hot like broth, risotto or pasta.

The second course is the main dish, ordinarily consisting of meat or fish, normally chicken, pork or veal. Since the World War Two beef has become far more popular in Italian cookery.

The contorno is typically a side salad or a side of grilled vegetables to accompany the second course.

The final course is quite varied. It might be a sweet dessert (such as panna cotta) or just cheese and fruit.

The meal is completed by one of Italy’s illustrious coffees and a liqueur. The liqueur acts as a digestive.

About Pizza

Pizza is the archetypal Italian dish. Actually it was invented in Naples (Napoli) to celebrate the 1889 visit of Margherita of Savoy the Queen Consort of Italy to that city by chef Raffaele Esposito. His first creation was named ‘Pizza Margherita’. To signify the white, red and green of the Italian flag he used tomato (red), mozzarella cheese (white) and basil (green). Prior to the Margherita there had been versions of food using a basic dough which was much favored by the locals.

Let’s Not Forget Pasta

An additional food class Italy is recognized for is pasta. Pasta is a common name for a range of foods that are made out of dough made from wheat and water and sometimes with vegetable flavorings and colors and eggs. There are hundreds of different types of pasta, due to the texture, shape and size. Consequently pasta can be used in countless different ways. Some of the most common forms are spaghetti (thin sticks), lasagne (sheets), macaroni (small tubes) and fusilli (small swirls of pasta).

Let’s Not Overlook Wine

Another chief part of Italian culture is wines. Italy is legendary for its wine and produces and exports more wine than any other country in the world. Vino cotto is a form of wine produced in central Italy, made for private use and not for sale commercially. The wine is cooked in a copper vessel until the volume is condensed to roughly half. This wine is allowed to mature for a some years, every year a a small amount of wine is added to compensate for evaporation.

Commercial Pizza Ovens