Cooking TipsItalian Cuisine - Its Exclusive Regional Variation
Most people"s idea of Italian cuisine is a combination of tortellini, minestrone, spaghretti, and lasagna. If you visit Italy with such an narrow view of Italian cuisine, you will be pleasantly surprised at the variety of food that the Italians eat.
The reason for this variety is simple. Italy has nineteen regions, each with its distinct cuisine. In addition, Italian cuisine changes according to the seasons. Fresh ingredients are of utmost importance in an Italian kitchen. As a result, you will discover that the summer cuisine is different from the winter cuisine.
North Italian Cuisine
Usually, Americans are familiar with the part of Italian cuisine that is typical of north Italy. All the heavy dishes loaded with cheese and rich sauce comes from this reason. You will enjoy a stay in north Italy if you enjoy the Italian food available in America.
Although you will be familiar with north Italian cuisine, you will still be surprised by the wonderful differences in authentic north Italian food and the Italian fare available in America.
South Italian Cuisine
The cuisine of south Italy is different. The people of south Italy use more fish in their diet. This variant of Italian cuisine is named "Mediterranean food."
In general, south Italian dishes are lighter and healthier. Due to their food habits, south Italians are the healthiest people in the world. One of the factors that makes south Italian diet so healthy is the use of olive oil in most of their dishes.
Spices in Italian Cuisine
Don"t limit your ideas of Italian cuisine to a few dishes of spaghetti and meatball. Italian cuisine is rich, complex, and diverse. More spices find their way into an Italian dish than just garlic.
Many people are under the misconception that the Italians use an over abundance of spices in their food. This is because, in America, people who have neither been to Italy nor tasting Italian cuisine cook Italian food.
Italians use spices only to enhance the natural flavor of particular dishes. Moreover, the nature of Italian food depends on the seasons, and due to this, Italians do not depend heavily on the use of spices. Their meats, pastas, and sauces usually have a fresh flavor of their own. Travelers, however, has discovered that north Italians use more spices in their food than south Italians.
When considering Italian cuisine, it is of great importance to realize that there isn"t any standard Italian cuisine. With nineteen region, there are nineteen variants of the Italian cuisine. Each region has its unique style of cooking, its dishes featuring local vegetables and animal products. In spite of the variations, a traveler in any part of Italy will find that something about Italian cuisine is familar, and this comforting feeling of familiarity is what makes Italian cuisine a hot favorite in most of the world.