The importance of cuisine in Italian life cannot be over-stated. In Italy, the mealtime is the occasion to relax with family and friends, and not just a time to eat. Consequently Italian meals last for a longer time than in other countries often lasting for a number of hours.
Italian food isn’t just all about the traditional pizza cooked in a brick pizza oven. A meal in an Italian restaurant such as a Trattoria commonly has 4 or five courses: the antipasto, the primo, the secondo, the contorno and the dulce course. Furthermore 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.
A standard Italian evening out with friends would start with the aperitivo. This is a light alcoholic drink such as Vermouth, Campari or Prosecco wine, or perhaps a non-alcoholic fruit juice. This is often taken at a separate bar with friends, before going on to the restaurant. An Italian meal comes served in smaller portions and on more plates. This is a major difference from restaurants in the USA, Canada and northern Europe.
At the restaurant one usually 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) commonly contains something hot like broth, risotto or pasta.
The main plate of an Italian meal is the secondo (second course). This is frequently a cooked meat such as chicken or pork. Veal too is common.
The contorno is as a rule a side salad or a side of grilled vegetables to accompany the second course.
The final course is quite diverse. It might be a sweet dessert (such as panna cotta) or just cheese and fruit.
The meal is completed by one of Italy’s celebrated coffees and a liqueur. The liqueur acts as a digestive.
And Now - Pizza
One of the foods Italy is celebrated for is pizza. Pizza is enjoyed worldwide and is cooked in many ways, including in the old style wood pizza oven, and now has a vast range of sizes and flavor toppings. Celebrated at one point as the ‘Neapolitan pie with tomato’ it wasn’t until 1889 that cheese was added to the pizza by chef Raffaele Esposito. It was firstly created in honor of the Queen Consort of Italy and represented the colors of the Italian flag with its green herbs, red tomato sauce and white mozzarella cheese.
Let’s Not Forget Pasta
An additional food class Italy is famed for is pasta. Pasta is a broad name for an assortment of foods that are made out of dough made from wheat and water and sometimes including vegetable extracts and eggs. Pasta comes in a huge range of shapes, sizes, lengths, textures and colors. As a consequence pasta can be used in many assorted ways. Some of the most common varieties are spaghetti (thin sticks), lasagne (sheets), macaroni (small tubes) and fusilli (small swirls of pasta).
Let’s Not Forget Wine
Another main part of Italian culture is wines. Italy is famed for its wine and creates and exports more wine than any other country in the world. Vino cotto is a form of wine created in central Italy, made for personal use and not for sale commercially. The wine is heated in a copper vessel until the volume is reduced to about half. This wine is left to age for a few years, every year a little more wine is added to compensate for evaporation.
Commercial Pizza Ovens
