Italian Cuisine

Italian Cuisine

~Blog Post #1~

April 12, 2013

By Johnny Agosti

                When people speak of Italian food the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind is pizza, pasta, and cheese.  Although these dishes are very common in Italy, there is a lot more to the Italian food culture. To Italians food is more than just a meal; it is a way of life. Pasta is one of the main dishes for an Italian family to have for lunch. Pasta comes in many shapes and sizes like spaghetti, linguine, fusilli, lasagna, and penne. There are thousands of different ways to make pasta and each region of Italy has its own style. Polenta and risotto are common in the North along with tomatoes. In the South pasta is served with tomatoes cooked in the sauce which also includes other ingredients like peppers, olives and garlic. When Italians immigrated to other countries they brought their style of pasta with them. Even when they were in a different country there food gave them a sense of their home culture and Italian identity. Over the years many countries have taken pasta and made their own version of it, but its Italians roots will always be prominent. The reason Italy is the home to pasta is because in Italy durum wheat grows well in Italy’s climates. Italy is a major producer of this kind of wheat. Soon, dried pasta became popular because of its nutrition and long shelf life. Today many kinds of pasta can be found all over the world but no one can make it as good as Italians.

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/pasta-history.asp