Italian Cooking
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Italian cooking is often really hard to explain. Since almost every city and town in Italy has its own special recipes, and there are also meal trends that vary per region, there are many different local types of cuisines, rather than just one for the whole nation. There are some Italian dishes that can be found anywhere in the country, which makes them standards of Italian cuisine around the world. Even people who are not of Italian descent can identify Italian cooking with some of the most common dishes such as pizza and pasta. Many people mistakenly believe that all Italian food is the same, but traveling through Italy tells a totally different story. Different cities and regions have different recipes and habits and learning to cook like a true Italian can take many years. Italians are very familiar with simple, clean, fresh ingredients combined to make rich delicious meals. A true Italian cook knows that only the freshest and best ingredients and herbs will work when cooking authentic Italian food.
Italy boasts some of the most diverse cuisines in the world. When it comes to food, Italians have so many different dishes that incorporate so many different flavors. Cooking times, seasonings, ingredients and recipes will be different according to the season and the region, but one common theme with meals in Italy is that this is a time for friends and family to get together and enjoy some time together.
Italian food varies depending on each region, but you might be surprised to find that individual towns, communities and valleys have their own recipes and cooking styles too. Each town has an individual way to prepare sausage, they have their own kinds of cheese and wine, and they even have a special, local kind of bread. If you're trying to find out how to make a great spaghetti sauce, you'll get many different answers.
The many differing recipes even in pasta dishes are just one example of the many differences in Italian recipes: from the soft egg noodles that come from the north, to the harder, boiled spaghetti that comes from the south, there are so many different shapes and sizes of the pasta that's used, so there is no shortage for the imagination. It is said that there is no other country in the world that has such as fragmented cooking style. The question often has more to do with why Risotto can be commonly found in Milan and why Tortellini has origins in Bologna?
The difference in cooking styles and recipes in Italy is very similar to the way that while there is one language, there are many different dialects throughout the country. This reason has so much diversity and the differences in menus are just another example of the rich differences in Italian culture.
One thing that many people don't realize is how seasonal Italian cooking really is. In the summer time, you'll find light, refreshing dishes that cook quickly and keep kitchens cool. Fried foods and sautéed meals, as well as lighter soups, or pasta dishes that are easy to make, especially using tomato sauce are also summer favorites. In the winter, however, the focus is on foods that stick with people. They are hot and comforting such as hearty minestrone and other kinds of satisfying soups, pasta with meat sauce, lasagna, stews that have been slow simmered and have polenta in them when they come from the north, and satisfying roasts are common winter meals.
Many people don't realize that the variety in cooking styles and recipes has a lot to do with the different peasants and heritage depending on the geography of the country. Italy is separated from Europe by the highest chain of mountains on the continent. However, it's not just mountains that can provide a complete explanation as to where the wonderful foods of Italy come from. For instance, how did Bologna develop the rich, fat flavors based on meat, butter and Parmigiano come from? How did Napes develop a light, spicy and flavorful style of cooking based on mozzarella, olive oil and seafood? Why is Roman cuisine so full of fresh produce and how is that Sicilian recipes are so full of influences from North Africa?
These questions have answers that come from far in the past. Essentially, it's the history of the country that explains the many different styles of food. The people of Italy were divided into kingdoms, states, princedoms and duchies for many years. Much of the time, these divisions were hostile, so there was no communication between them. In fact, it wasn't until 1861 that the country began to come together politically. There have been many different cultures that have lived in the area that is now Italy and they all helped to provide a contribution to the country. These influences, combined with those of the original residents, the Greeks and Etruscans have helped to shape the rich culture of Italy, the people and the cuisine.
The rich traditions found locally have come from hundreds and even thousands of years of traditions combining with already established habits of the locals. There are still social and cultural differences that are present throughout Italy, even though mass marketing has begun to bring many of the long-standing values to a more level ground. It's nearly impossible to establish just one style of Italian cooking, but no matter what region you're choosing a recipe from, you can be assured that these traditional meals identify culture and sense of identity among the Italian people.
