About Italian Food

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Food has always played a substantial part in the Italian way of life. Sharing, enjoying, buying and preparing food are carried-out with an uncommon sense of pleasure that one doesn't typically find elsewhere. In Italy a meal is something 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 for example a Trattoria usually 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. In more traditional situations, for example a wedding (or Easter or Christmas) a meal will have up to nine courses.

An Italian meal is usually served as a succession of plates. Distinct from the north of Europe and other parts of the world, where different foods are usually served on a single plate, in Italy the foods are brought one by one. So for example, you might have a plate with only a piece of meat on it or a bowl of salad. After that you might be given a plate with grilled vegetables (the contorno). In northern Europe and the USA those foods are served together. Consequently an Italian night out at a restaurant has more courses and a lot more washing-up! Italians often take an aperitivo before eating. This is a light alcoholic drink,for example a white wine. It is often taken at a bar, which in turn becomes the place for people to meet before going to the restaurant.

The meal proper habitually begins with a hot or cold eaten appetizer known as the antipasto.

The first course (the primo) commonly consists of something hot like soup, risotto or pasta.

The second course is the main dish, typically consisting of meat or fish, most commonly chicken, pork or veal. Since the second world war beef has become a lot more popular in Italian cooking.

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

The second main dish would then be followed by formaggio e frutta (cheese and fruits). Many local cheeses would be eaten with fruits of all kinds. The dolce course would follow bringing with it cakes and cookies.

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

About Pizza

One dish Italy is famed for is pizza. Pizza is loved worldwide with obvious variations in size, shape and toppings depending on where it is being cooked. 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 initially 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.

About Pasta

A different food type Italy is renowned for is pasta. Pasta is a universal name for a mixture of foods made from a wheat based dough and sometimes including vegetable extracts and egg. There are hundreds of different types of pasta, due to the texture, shape and size. As a consequence pasta can be used in a lot of assorted ways. Some of the most common forms are spaghetti (thin sticks), lasagne (sheets), macaroni (small tubes) and fusilli (small swirls of pasta).

And Now - Wine

Wine of course plays a key role in Italian culture and the Italian economy. Italy is famous for its wine and creates and exports more wine than anywhere else in the world. Vino cotto is a form of wine created in central Italy, made for individual use and not sold commercially. The wine is cooked in a copper vessel until the volume is reduced to something like half. This wine is allowed to mature for a few years, every year a a small amount of wine is added to compensate for evaporation.

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Commercial Pizza Oven

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