Italian Food

Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet — the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.

Italian cuisine includes deeply rooted traditions common to the whole country, as well as all the regional gastronomies, different from each other, especially between the north, the centre and the south of Italy, which are in continuous exchange. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Italian cuisine offers an abundance of taste, and is one of the most popular and copied around the world. The cuisine has influenced several other cuisines around the world, chiefly that of the United States.

One of the main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, with many dishes made up of few ingredients, and therefore Italian cooks often rely on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the complexity of preparation. Italian cuisine is at the origin of a turnover of more than €200 billion worldwide. The most popular dishes and recipes, over the centuries, have often been created by ordinary people more so than by chefs, which is why many Italian recipes are suitable for home and daily cooking, respecting regional specificities, privileging only raw materials and ingredients from the region of origin of the dish and preserving its seasonality.

The Mediterranean diet forms the basis of Italian cuisine, rich in pasta, fish, fruits and vegetables. Cheese, cold cuts and wine are central to Italian cuisine, and along with pizza and coffee (especially espresso) form part of Italian gastronomic culture. Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours such as citrus fruits, pistachio and almonds with sweet cheeses like mascarpone and ricotta or exotic tastes as cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon. Gelato, tiramisù and cassata are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts, cakes and patisserie. Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products; the country has a large number of traditional specialities protected under EU law. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine varieties in the world.

History

Italian cuisine has developed over the centuries. Although the country known as Italy did not unite until the 19th century, the cuisine can claim traceable roots as far back as the 4th century BC. Food and culture were very important at that time evident from the cookbook (Apicius) which dates to the first century BC. Through the centuries, neighbouring regions, conquerors, high-profile chefs, political upheaval, and the discovery of the New World have influenced its development. Italian cuisine started to form after the fall of the Roman Empire when different cities began to separate and form their own traditions. Many different types of bread and pasta were made, and there was a variation in cooking techniques and preparation.

The country was then split for a long time and influenced by surrounding countries such as Spain, France and others in Central Europe. Trade and the location on the Silk Road with its routes to Asia also influenced the local development of special dishes. Due to the climatic conditions and the different proximity to the sea, different basic foods and spices were available from region to region. Regional cuisine is represented by some of the major cities in Italy. For example, Milan (in the north of Italy) is known for '' risottos'', Trieste (in the northeast of Italy) is known for multicultural food, Bologna (in the centre of Italy) is known for its '' tortellini'', and Naples (in the south of Italy) is famous for its pizzas. Spaghetti for example is believed to have spread across Africa to Sicily and then on to Naples.

Antiquity

The first known Italian food writer was a Greek Sicilian named Archestratus from Syracuse in the 4th century BC. He wrote a poem that spoke of using "top quality and seasonal" ingredients. He said that flavours should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings. He placed importance on simple preparation of fish.

Simplicity was abandoned and replaced by a culture of gastronomy as the Roman Empire developed. By the time '' De re coquinaria'' was published in the 1st century AD, it contained 470 recipes calling for heavy use of spices and herbs. The Romans employed Greek bakers to produce breads and imported cheeses from Sicily as the Sicilians had a reputation as the best cheesemakers. The Romans reared goats for butchering, and grew artichokes and leeks.

Some foods now considered traditional were imported to Italy from foreign countries during the Roman era. This includes the jujube (giuggiole), which is now celebrated as a regional cuisine in Arquà Petrarca. The Romans also imported cherries, apricots, and peaches.

Middle Ages

Arabs invaded Sicily in the 9th century, introducing spinach, almonds, and rice. They also brought with them foods from foreign lands that are now celebrated as traditional Italian foods: citrus fruit, artichokes, chickpeas, pistachios, sugarcane, eggplants, and durum wheat, which is used to make pasta. During the 12th century, a Norman king surveyed Sicily and saw people making long strings made from flour and water called , which eventually became , a term still used for spaghetti in southern Italy. Normans also introduced the casserole, salt cod (baccalà), and stockfish, all of which remain popular.

Food preservation was either chemical or physical, as refrigeration did not exist. Meats and fish were smoked, dried, or kept on ice. Brine and salt were used to pickle items such as herring, and to cure pork. Root vegetables were preserved in brine after they had been parboiled. Other means of preservation included oil, vinegar, or immersing meat in congealed, rendered fat. For preserving fruits, liquor, honey, and sugar were used.

The oldest Italian book on cuisine is the 13th century ''Liber de coquina'' () written in Naples. Dishes include "Roman-style" cabbage (), which were "small leaves" prepared in the "Campanian manner", a bean dish from the Marca di Trevisio, a , , dishes similar to dishes the modern day. Two other books from the 14th century include recipes for Roman , Lasagna pie, and call for the use of salt from Sardinia or Chioggia.

In the 15th century, Maestro Martino was chef to the Patriarch of Aquileia at the Vatican. His ''Libro de arte coquinaria'' () describes a more refined and elegant cuisine. His book contains a recipe for , made by wrapping dough around a thin iron rod to dry in the sun. The macaroni was cooked in capon stock flavoured with saffron, displaying Persian influences. Martino noted the avoidance of excessive spices in favour of fresh herbs. The Roman recipes include (air-dried salami) and cabbage dishes. His Florentine dishes include eggs with , and Genoese recipes such as (sweets), macaroni, squash, mushrooms, and spinach pie with onions.

Martino's text was included in a 1475 book by Bartolomeo Platina printed in Venice entitled '' De honesta voluptate et valetudine'' (). Platina puts Martino's "Libro" in regional context, writing about perch from Lake Maggiore, sardines from Lake Garda, grayling from Adda, hens from Padua, olives from Bologna and Piceno, turbot from Ravenna, rudd from Lake Trasimeno, carrots from Viterbo, bass from the Tiber, and shad