Italy 1994-1996 Italian Food

5 Mar 1994

Bread ( Pane) 

5 Mar 1994

Pasta ( Pasta ) 

4 Mar 1995

 Rice ( Riso ) 

Rice has been grown in southern Italy for centuries. From the south, rice gradually made its way north toward northern Italy, where the marshes of the Po Valley were suitable for rice cultivation.

 

Risotto is believed to have originated around Lombardy. The first recipe identifiable as risotto dates from 1809. It includes rice sautéed in butter, sausages, bone marrow, and onions with broth with saffron gradually added.

 

There is a recipe for a dish named as a risotto in the 1854 Trattato di cucina (Treatise on Cooking) by Giovanni Vialardi, assistant chief cook to kings.

 

 

A high-starch, round, medium- or short- grain white rice is usually used for making risotto.  Such rices can absorb liquids and release starch, so they are stickier than the long grain varieties.

 

The principal varieties used in Italy are Arborio, Baldo, Carnaroli, Maratelli, Padano, Roma, and Vialone Nano.  

 

 

 

4 Mar 1995

Olive Oil ( Olio )

Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained by pressing whole olives, the fruit of Olea europaea, a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, and extracting the oil.

 

It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods or as a salad dressing. It can also be found in some cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, and fuels for traditional oil lamps. It also has additional uses in some religions. The olive is one of three core food plants in Mediterranean cuisine, together with wheat and grapes. Olive trees have been grown around the Mediterranean since the 8th millennium BC.

 

 

20 Mar 1996

Wine ( Vini )

Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world.

 

Vines have been cultivated from the wild Vitis vinifera grape for millennia in Italy. 

 

The origins of vine-growing and winemaking in Italy stretched back even before the Phoenician, Etruscans and Greek settlers, who produced wine in Italy before the Romans planted their own vineyards. The Romans greatly increased Italy's viticultural area using efficient viticultural and winemaking methods.