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Risotto (, , from meaning "rice") is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is one of the most common ways of
cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...
rice in Italy. Saffron was originally used for flavour and its signature yellow colour. Recipes 78-80. Still, in print, there are many editions in many languages. Risotto in Italy is often a
first course ''First Course'' is the debut album by jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour. The album was released on LP by Epic Records in 1976 and on CD by Columbia Records in 1990. Reception ''First Course'' was made when Ritenour was considered the best session mu ...
served before the main course, but ''risotto alla milanese'' is often served with '' ossobuco alla milanese'' as a main course.


History

Rice has been grown in southern Italy since at least the 14th century. From the south, rice gradually made its way north toward northern Italy, where the marshes of the Po river valley were suitable for rice cultivation. According to a legend, a young glassblower's apprentice of the
Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano ("Venerable Factory of the Duomo of Milan") is a 600-year-old organization that was established to supervise the construction of the Cathedral of Milan (the "Duomo"). The organization is still active and ...
from Flanders, who used to use saffron as a pigment, added it to a rice dish at a
wedding feast A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...
. The first recipe, identifiable as risotto, dates from 1809. It includes rice sautéed in butter, sausages,
bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...
, 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 chef to kings. However, the question of who invented the risotto in Milan remains unanswered today. The rice varieties now associated with risotto were developed in the 20th century, starting with Maratelli in 1914.


Rice varieties

A high-
starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
( amylopectin), low- amylose 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 Wood grain is the longitudinal arrangement of wood fibers or the pattern resulting from such an arrangement. Definition and meanings R. Bruce Hoadley wrote that ''grain'' is a "confusingly versatile term" with numerous different uses, including ...
varieties. The principal varieties used in Italy are Arborio, Baldo,
Carnaroli Carnaroli is an Italian medium-grained rice grown in the Pavia, Novara and Vercelli provinces of northern Italy. Carnaroli is used for making risotto, differing from the more common arborio rice due to its higher starch content and firmer textur ...
,
Maratelli Maratelli is a ''semifino'' rice native to the Asigliano Vercellese province of Vercelli in northern Italy. It is a stable rice genotype that maintains its features. In 1970 it covered 8% of Italian rice-cultivated fields. Maratelli rice keeps i ...
, Padano, Roma, and
Vialone Nano Vialone Nano is an Italian ''semifino'' (medium-grain) rice variety. It is typical of the flat, rice-growing areas of the southern Provincia di Verona (''Bassa Veronese'', "Veronese lowlands"), in Veneto. Vialone Nano is a cultivar of the Japon ...
. Carnaroli, Maratelli (historical Italian variety) and Vialone Nano are considered to be the best (and most expensive) varieties, with different users preferring one over another. They have slightly different properties. For example, Carnaroli is less likely than Vialone Nano to get overcooked, but the latter, being smaller, cooks faster and absorbs condiments better. Other varieties such as Baldo, Originario, Ribe and Roma may be used but will not have the creaminess of the traditional dish; these varieties are considered better for soups and other non-risotto rice dishes and sweet rice desserts. Rice designations of superfino, semifino, and fino refer to the grains' size and shape (specifically the length and the narrowness) and not the quality.


Basic preparation

There are many different risotto recipes with different ingredients, but they are all based on rice of an appropriate variety, cooked in a standard procedure. Risotto, unlike other rice dishes, requires constant care and attention. The rice is not to be pre-rinsed, boiled, or drained, as washing would remove much of the starch required for a creamy texture. The rice is first cooked briefly in a '' soffritto'' of onion and butter or
olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
to coat each grain in a film of fat, called ''tostatura''; white wine is added and must be absorbed by the grains. When it has been absorbed, the heat is raised to medium-high, and boiling
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
is gradually added in small amounts while stirring constantly. The constant stirring, with only a small amount of liquid present, forces the grains to rub against each other and release the starch from the outside of the grains into the surrounding liquid, creating a smooth creamy-textured mass. When the rice is cooked the pot is taken off the heat for ''mantecatura'', vigorously beating in refrigerated balls of grated parmesan cheese and butter, to make the texture as creamy and smooth as possible. It may be removed from the heat a few minutes earlier and left to cook with its residual heat. Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy even if no cream is added due to the starch in the grains. It has some resistance or bite (''
al dente In cooking, al dente () describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The etymology is Italian "to the tooth". In contemporary Italian cooking, the term identifies the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking t ...
'') and separate grains. The traditional texture is fairly fluid, or ''all'onda'' ("wavy" or "flowing in waves"). It is served on flat dishes and should easily spread out but not have excess watery liquid around the perimeter. It must be eaten at once, as it continues to cook in its own heat, making the grains absorb all the liquid and become soft and dry.


Italian regional variations

Many variations have their own names:


See also

*
Congee Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most o ...
* Paella *
Pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...
*
List of Italian dishes This is a list of Italian dishes and foods. Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BC. Italian cuisine has its origins in Etruscan, ancient Greek, and ancien ...
*
List of rice dishes This is a list of rice dishes from all over the world, arranged alphabetically. Rice is the seed of the monocot plants ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple fo ...


References


Further reading

* Barrett, Judith, and Wasserman, Norma (1987). ''Risotto''. New York: Scribner. . * Hazan, Marcella (1992). ''Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. . {{Rice dishes Italian rice dishes Swiss cuisine National dishes