The Italian Cuisine

The Italian cuisine is one of the most varied cuisines, found in Italian Restaurants worldwide.

Italy was unified in1861, and the Italian cuisine was reflected by the cultural variety of the regions in italy and by the Italian history, which was influenced from Greek, Roman, Norman and Arab civilizations. The Italian cuisine is considered as a prime example for a 'perfecto' cuisine, and is imitated all over

Regional differences in the italian cuisine

The Roman cuisine for example usually uses sheep's cheese and organic meat , on the other hand, Tuscan cooking is using white beans and bread without salt. In Rome the pizzas are very thin like crackers, and Neapolitan and Sicilian pizzas are thicker. than their counterparts. The Northern Italian dishes are influenced by French cooking, because of the proximity of the French border. Emilia-Romagna is the number one with wheat production in italy, and is also known for their stuffed pasta. Napoli is considered as the home of pizza and mozarella.

Northern Italian cooking versus Southern Italian cooking

The northern and southern Italian cuisines are very different, mainly because of the cooking fat and the style of pasta which is commonly used. The Northern Italian cuisine use butter, cream, Mascarpone cheese, risotto and fresh egg pasta, on the other hand, the southern Italian cuisine use Mozzarella cheese from buffalo, olive oil and dried pasta. The Southern Italian cuisine use larger amounts of tomatoes

traditional Italian menus in Italian Restaurants will probably consist of the following Italian Names

Antipasto - these are hot and cold appetizers.
- Primo (The First Course), which usually consists some hot dish like pasta, risotto
or soup. Usually there are also vegetarian options.
- Secondo (The Second Course), which is also the main dish, usually fish or meat,
- Contorno (The Side Dish) usually is a salad or vegetables.

History of pasta

The Italian cuisine although being varied, pasta has been its main pride and glory thoughout history. When Italians left and settled throughout the world they bought their pasta with them and it found its way into everyones life style.

Today it is a worldwide comfort food that we take for granted, served in Italian restaurants worldwide.

The origins of pasta are as tangled as spaghetti in a bowl, however here we can give you a brief look at the History of pasta.

Dried past become popular round about the 14th and 15th Centuries as it could be stored quiet easily on ships. By the 17th Century pasta had become part of the daily diet throughout italy as it was cheap and available and you could do almost anything with it.

Old World Pasta Meets New World Tomato

In the 16th century the Spanish introduced their food discoveries to the old world. One of the foodstuffs that was later to become a permanent fixture in most households all over the world was the Tomato. In these days tomatoes were quiet pale in colour and were called "Golden Apple", however the first recipe for tomatoes with pasta was not written until 1839 and untill the arrival of tomato sauce pasta was eaten with the fingers.

Maccheroni arrives pasta is spread

In Naples, pasta making as an industry came before the machine, The pasta maker was seated supported as he kneaded the dough with his feet. At this time the King of Naples, Ferdinand II was not happy with this method of producing pasta and he found an engineer who invented the first pasta machine.

The climate of Naples is perfect for drying pasta as it is not too wet and not too dry. Naples has become the center for Italy's Pasta.

Types of Dishes made with Pasta

• Spaghetti – usually made with tomato sauce
• Linguini with Red Clam Sauce
• Ravioli – squares of pasta filled with cheese or meat or vegetables, usually covered with a sauce or eaten in soups.
• Lasagna – layers thick strips of pasta covered with meat and sauce.

Pizza is one of the most recognized food world wide today. Although it was in the beginning a poor mans food it has become today a dish for everyone. – Pizza is the trade mark of Italy.

Through the centuries pizza developed by itself and became the dish that we know and lover of today. Its existence is certified way back around the year 1000 in the city of Naples. – At this time pizzas were made with lard cheese and herbs. Pizza as we know today was developed after the tomato was introduced which came originally from the Andes and was bought into Europe by the Spanish setting the stage for the pizza of today.

Tomatoes weren't successful immediately and in the beginning were thought to be uneatable. The fruit was small, yellow and were used for decoration. – Tomatoes were only used to prepare pizza in around 1850.

The "Pizza Margherita" is the most famous pizza and it is known that in 1889 King Umbert and the Queen Margherita and on their annual trip to Capodimonte requested to taste the Pizza that they had heard about and the most famous pizza chef if Naples was called upon to prepare it and after 3 pizzas he added tomatores, Mozzarella and basil which produced the colours of the Italian Flag. The queen liked this pizza especially and the king promply named it the"Margherita".
Of course since then the Pizza has become very popular over the world and in Italian Restaurants, however the making of a pizza hasn't really changed over the years and a lot of pizza parlours are still using the brick oven to cook pizzas where the temperature reaches 750°F. You can watch also the pizzaiolo preparing and cooking the pizza where he tosses the dough into the air and catches it.

The pizza today is made very simply with various dough and can be deep pan or regular which consists of a tomato base and a variety of toppings which can range from Olives, sardines, sweet corn, sausage and not forgetting the cheese and finished off with Oregano.