Antipasto (plural antipasti) is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. Usually made of bite-size small portions and served on a platter from which everyone serves themselves, the purpose of antipasti is to stimulate the appetite.What is Antipasto?
/ref> Typical ingredients of a traditional antipasto include

cured meat Curing is any of various food preservation and flavoring processes of foods such as meat, fish and vegetables, by the addition of salt, with the aim of drawing moisture out of the food by the process of osmosis. Because curing increases the solu ...

s, olives,

peperoncini Peperoncino (; plural peperoncini ) is the generic Italian name for hot chili peppers, specifically some regional cultivars of the species ''Capsicum annuum'' and '' C. frutescens'' (chili pepper and Tabasco pepper, respectively). The sweet pep ...

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

artichoke The globe artichoke ('' Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green artich ...

hearts, various cheeses (such as

provolone Provolone (, ) is an Italian cheese. It is an aged ''pasta filata'' (stretched-curd) cheese originating in Campania near Vesuvius, where it is still produced in pear, sausage, or cone shapes long. Provolone-type cheeses are also produced in othe ...

mozzarella Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method. Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...

), pickled meats, and vegetables in oil or vinegar. The contents of an antipasto vary greatly according to regional cuisine. Different preparations of saltwater fish and traditional southern cured meats (like

soppressata Soppressata is an Italian dry salami. Although there are many variations, two principal types are made: a cured dry sausage typical of Basilicata, Apulia, and Calabria, and a very different uncured salame, made in Tuscany and Liguria. It ...

'nduja 'Nduja () is a spicy, spreadable pork sausage from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. It is similar to sobrassada from the Balearic Islands in Spain, and is loosely based on the French andouille. It is Calabria's contribution to the many ...

) are popular in the south of Italy, whereas in northern Italy it is common to serve different kinds of cured meats and mushrooms and, especially near lakes, preparations of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of ...

. The cheeses included also vary significantly between regions and backgrounds, and include hard and soft cheeses. Many compare antipasto to hors d'oeuvre, but antipasto is served at the table and signifies the official beginning of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

meal. It may also be referred to as a starter, or an

appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the m ...

See also

References

Further reading