The Italian Meal
The significance of food in Italian traditions cannot be over-stated. The meal time in Italy is the time to unwind with family and friends and not just a time to eat. Accordingly Italian meals last longer than in other countries and can sometimes go on for a number of hours.
A traditional Italian meal has four courses; primo, secondo, contorno, digestivo, translating as first course, second course, side dish and digestive. In more ceremonial situations, for example a wedding (or Easter or Christmas) meals will be made of up to nine courses. Shorter meals are of course taken, pizza baked in a traditional wood burning pizza oven being one example.
A normal Italian evening out with friends begins with what is called an aperitivo. This is a light alcoholic drink such as Vermouth, Campari or Prosecco wine, or possibly a non-alcoholic fruit juice. This is often taken at a separate bar with friends, before going on to the meal. Italian meals are served in a number of courses with each type of food served separately. Thus an Italian meal is really quite different from the equivalent in other countries.
At the restaurant one commonly would start with the antipasto (literally translating as “before the meal”) which could be either a hot or a cold appetizer.
The first course (the primo) usually contains something hot such as soup, risotto or pasta.
The main plate of an Italian meal is the secondo (second course). This is typically a cooked meat such as chicken or pork. Veal too is common.
The contorno is typically a side salad or a side of grilled vegetables to accompany the second course.
The secondo is followed by formaggio e frutta (cheese and fruits). Many local cheeses would be eaten with fruits of all kinds. The dolce course would follow bringing with it cakes and cookies.
And, of course as Italy is celebrated for a choice of diverse varieties of coffee, which is enjoyed after the food before the round of liqueurs.
Let’s Not Forget Pizza
One dish Italy is celebrated for is pizza. Pizza is enjoyed worldwide and now has a vast range of sizes and flavor toppings. Known at one time as the ‘Neapolitan pie with tomato’ it wasn’t until 1889 that cheese was added to the pizza by chef Raffaele Esposito. It was firstly created in honor of the Queen Consort of Italy and represented the colors of the Italian flag with its green herbs, red tomato sauce and white mozzarella cheese.
Pasta
Another food class Italy is famed for is pasta. Pasta is a general term for a range of foods that are made out of dough made from wheat and water and occasionally including vegetable extracts and eggs. There are hundreds of different types of pasta, due to the texture, shape and size. Consequently pasta can be used in scores of different ways. Some common forms are spaghetti (thin sticks), lasagne (sheets), macaroni (small tubes) and fusilli (small swirls of pasta).
Let’s Not Forget Wine
Wine of course plays an essential role in Italian culture and the Italian economy. Italy is famed for its wine and produces and exports more wine than anywhere else in the world. Vino cotto is a form of wine produced in central Italy, made for private use and not for sale commercially. The wine is heated in a copper vessel until the volume is condensed to around half. This wine is left to age for a few years, each year a little more wine is added to make up for evaporation.
