Italian cuisine

About cuisine

Italian cuisine is considered one of the most popular along with French cuisine. It is associated with the use of a huge amount of spices such as oregano, basil, pepper, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, and the use of parmesan cheese. Olive, tomatoes as well as onions and garlic as well as olives are widely used in cooking (Rozpoczynski, 2014). Italian cuisine is characterized by the use of fresh ingredients that occur at certain times of the year. In terms of culinary rules, Italians are very attached to their tradition and one of them is also a constant time of eating meals throughout Italy throughout the day (Rozpoczynski, 2014).

Italian cuisine is characterized by the fact that it is very diverse. In the north of the country, rice pizza, casseroles are  eaten and butter is more often used during cooking, while in the south the most popular are pasta and oil (Rozpoczynski, 2014). The further south, the more fish and seafood there are. Mussels, sea slugs, crawfish, squid and lobsters are popular (Pyszne, 2020). There are 20 culinary regions in Italy, each of which is famous for its own cuisine (Ulrike, 2011)

The most popular Italian dishes

The most popular dishes of Italian cuisine include: pizza, risotto and spaghetti. These dishes are known all over the world and prepared in different ways (Pyszne, 2020).

Less known, but interesting dishes of Italian cuisine are:

Lasagne

Retrieved from: https://ballymaloefoods.ie/recipe/ballymaloe-lasagne-for-two/

A dish made of large rectangular slices of pasta, stuffed and baked. Lasagne stuffing is most often with meat, cheese and tomato sauce (Pyszne, 2020).

Minestrone

Retrieved from:https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/minestrone_23211

Vegetable soup, mainly zucchini, beans, spinach and carrots, served with noodles or rice (Pyszne, 2020).

And also 

• Tortellini which are dumplings with meat, cheese or mushrooms.
• Ravioli which are small dumplings stuffed with ricotta cheese or spinach (Pyszne, 2020).

Famous Italian desserts

Italy is also known for desserts that are very popular all over the world and these are (Ropczynski, 2014):

Panna Cotta 

Retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Panna_Cotta_with_strawberry_sauce.jpg

It is a cream that heats up together with gelatin and various additives and is served cold after cooling

Tiramisu

Retrieved from: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiramisu#/media/Plik:Tiramisu_Fanes.jpg

Dessert which consists of a layer of biscuit soaked in very strong espresso coffee, on which a layer of mascarpone cream, egg yolks and sugar is applied, and the whole is sprinkled with a layer of coarsely ground dark chocolate flakes.

Known Italian cheeses (Stephens, 2010).

• Mozarella is a rennet cheese which originates in southern Italy, from the Campania region
• Parmezan is a rennet hard cheese made from cow's milk
• Mascarpone is a cheese originating in Lombardy, which is located in northern Italy

To sum up, Italian cuisine is very diverse and popular all over the world. Personally, I'm a big fan of Italian cuisine but what do you think about it? I look forward to your comments.

References:

• Penny Stephens: Kuchnia włoska. Ożarów Mazowiecki: Wydawnictwo Olesiuk, 2010
• Pyszne. (2020). Kuchnia Włoska. Retrieved from https://www.pyszne.pl/foodwiki/wlochy/
• Ropczyński Ł: Kuchnia włoska.Kierunek Włochy 2014
• Thoms Ulrike: From Migrant Food to Lifestyle Cooking: The Career of Italian Cuisine in Europe. EGO – European History Online, Мainz: Institute of European History, 2011.