About Italian cuisine

It's a well-known fact that Italian cuisine is recognized as one of the best in the world. This notion is ingrained in the Italians themselves: they religiously adhere to the culinary traditions of their ancestors. Culinary traditions, like any other, emphasize the uniqueness of a people. The Italian dining style dates back to ancient times: enjoying dishes leisurely, without fuss, accompanied by a light wine, and savoring the flavors of both food and drink.

However, it would be wrong to perceive Italian cuisine as a holistic phenomenon: it is multifaceted, and each facet represents the traditional cuisine of a separate Italian province, with its own preferences and signature dishes.

Chef Artusi was the first to systematize culinary recipes In the late 19th century, he published a cookbook featuring recipes from housewives and innkeepers. Each province contributes its best dishes to Italian cuisine, and today you'll find the best recipes for traditional dishes from Turin and Calabria, Sicily, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Milan, Liguria, and Neapolitan cuisine.

Italian chefs manage to create distinct flavors for the same dishes by using spices typical of either southern or northern traditions. Therefore, Italian cuisine can be roughly divided into southern and northern.

Northern Italian cuisine is characterized by a large number of meat dishes made from lean pork, veal, beef, and lamb. At the same time, the diet traditionally features a high vegetable count, with rice dishes common, and champignons being a popular mushroom favorite. Northern Italy is characterized by flat pastures and dairy herds. The famous Italian cheeses, mozzarella and Parmesan, originate from the northern provinces. Italians have a very special relationship with cheese. Cheese is an integral part of most Italian dishes. Flavorful cheeses are served as desserts and are also used in sauces and condiments to impart a distinctive flavor.

For example, risotto—a dish made with rice broth, vegetables, cheese, and good butter—has northern origins. Cheese and butter were abundant in the northern region of pastures and cow herds.

Seafood becomes a staple in southern provinces. Crab, shrimp, lobster, and rare fish varieties are widely used, as well as octopus, cuttlefish, and mollusks.

A distinctive feature of Italian cuisine is the ubiquitous use of tomatoes and olive oil. These ingredients are used to prepare a wide variety of sauces, of which there are about 50 varieties. Sauces in Italy are used for meat, fish, and pasta dishes, as well as fruit and desserts.

Pasta dishes have been popular in Italy since ancient times. Records of Sicilian vermicelli and macaroni recipes date back to 1000 AD. Over the centuries, recipes and techniques for preparing the pasta itself, fillings, and sauces have been refined. Today, Italian cuisine offers over 300 types of pasta, varying in shape and color. Incidentally, pasta is considered a first course.

Ice cream is especially revered in Italy. Italians make it incredibly delicious, and the variety of flavors is countless. However, world-famous Italian pizza is more popular with tourists than with natives.

You can sample many dishes in Italian restaurants around the world, but those in the know say that only in Italy will you experience the true taste of Italian cuisine.