Italian Cuisine

Cuisine is definitely a very important aspect of Italian culture. Italian food is highly famed: greatly loved and tirelessly imitated the world over, it has been a source of endless pleasure and joie-de-vivre in countries far and wide. And everyone knows how a tired, depressed individual will react if they come across a sign for Italian dining in the midst of a busy, industrial city anywhere in the world: their hearts will quite simply will glow!

Italian cookery is exceptionally varied, nutritious and healthy; traditions have been handed down from one family to the next over the centuries, and are associated mainly with country life in that dishes are directly linked to what the Earth produces over the changing seasons: in other words, wholesome cooking whose goodness depends on all-natural ingredients. Italian cooking is full of marvellous single pasta dishes made with all types of vegetables and pulses. These are also the prime ingredients for many local specialities though countless types of meat dishes abound, as well as fine fish from the plentiful seas around the peninsula, fragrant cheeses and exceptional desserts. But the undisputed star of Italian dining is the famous “first course”, in all its many varieties, including pasta “dry” or in broth, soups, many kinds of noodle soups and minestrones, risottos and timbales.

It must always be remembered that generally speaking, the origins of the most widely known traditional dishes derive from humble peasant cooking and from what was eaten by the poorer classes, which over the years have transformed into veritable “specialities”: one only has to think of soups made from stale bread and vegetables, such as the “ribollita” or the “acquacotta” from Tuscany, and many more recipes containing fairly modest ingredients that have nonetheless become absolute “classics” of Italian cookery. All of this goes to show that the goodness of any dish depends above all on the magical combination (always “unique”) achieved through an unrepeatable fusion of flavours and aroma, cooking times and the balancing of single ingredients, individual “creative” skills and care taken over all stages of preparation. At times all that’s needed in cookery is a single detail or a tiny touch to transform an ordinary dish by “normal” standards into a veritable triumph of taste. Passion therefore is a fundamental requisite of Italian cooking and without it, as with life in general, not much can be achieved. Regardless of any local differences, the most classic dishes in Italian cookery are kept alive across the nation, and are turned into more sophisticated delicacies when spiced up with a fuller range of ingredients by the skilful hand of a creative chef.

And now let’s look at how a typical Italian-style lunch might be prepared. A good starter might be an hors d’oevres of Neapolitan croutons and then, when palates have been suitably satiated with such typically Mediterranean flavours, maccheroni with Sicilian broccoli would make a fine first course to follow. After that comes the second course which could be a splendid roast leg of mutton with new potatoes. And that might be as far as it goes! But a tiny space can always be found for dessert: a fragrant tiramisù makes an excellent tail-piece to any fine lunch “with bows on”!!

Just like there is a special art to preparing top class Italian food there is the art of eating Italian food. Over the years the Italians have developed their own culture surrounding the eating of their food. It is a well known fact that the Italians are very serious about their food. Why shouldn’t they be? After all it is the food that brings together the friends and families after a hard days work in the office. This is why we find the Italians to be very fond of spending long hours on the table and meal times expanding over the span of a couple of hours.
Eating is the favorite pass time cum recreational activity for families. Unlike the faster paced societies in the world meal time in Italy is a time to kick back and relax. When the Italians sit down to eat they literally forget about the world and are in no hurry whatsoever to gobble down their food and get back to work. This is why the culture of Italian food is relaxed and slow paced with families getting the chance to bond with each other.
Family Meals
In cases where the extended family is being invited over for dinner the preparations go underway well in advance. The tradition in Italy is such that the hosts generally prepare a lot more food than could actually be consumed during the event. One of the strikingly different things about the food culture in Italy is that the event does not get underway unless and until all the members on the guest list have arrived and all the food has been prepared. You would often see children pinching little bites off the table in anticipation of the food.
The actual sitting down and eating process on an Italian dinner table is long, relaxed and spread over a couple of hours. To be precise the average Italian meal is three hours long during which the people consume their food in ten courses. Another prevalent tradition in Italian homes is that each guest brings with himself and interesting homemade dish as well which adds to the already overwhelming menu. Since the courses are so many in numbers they are usually small in quantity so as to be able to get a taste of everything. The food is served in large platters which make it easy to reach but as a guest you ought to be careful not to stuff yourself up on the first few servings because there is always more to come on an Italian dinner table.
It is fascinating to witness the culture that has developed around Italian food over the years. Even the people that are sitting down to eat on the table have their unsaid places as the elders sit at the head of the table with the younger generation sitting at the center of the table and the women rushing back and forth from the kitchen. Most people like to stay on and keep talking even after the meal has ended and the dinner party goes on for as long as there is an after taste in your mouth.