Food in Italy
Introduction
There is a saying that states ‘one either lives to eat or eats to live’ and Italy as a country is ruled by the former. Italy is a culture that is rich and saturated in their traditions of cooking. They take pride in their food and live by the credo that food is only used if it is fresh, local and in season. There has been much debate on what defines Italian food and through research one can see that Italian food is not typical of a specific dish, rather that each region offers a new variance of depth and originality that is not common to the Americanized beliefs of solely pasta and pizza. Yes one could lump Italian food into categories such as breads, pasta, olive oil, cured meats and cheese but each of these foods is made in such a different way depending on the region that to really understand the country and the roots of its food one must look deeper into the individual regions.
The twenty regions of Italy, as shown in Figure 1 are full of their individual gastronomy and it would take days to discuss all of them. For the purpose of this research paper the regions of Piedmont, Tuscany, and Sicily will represent the regional cuisines from northern, central and southern Italy. This paper will describe the cuisines of each region through the geography, starches, fats, fruits, vegetables, proteins and dairy, comparing differences that exist from one region to another and the connection between diet and the domestic capacity to provide the necessary ingredients. This paper will go on to discuss the health benefits of the Italian Mediterranean diet and what the country has done to sustain it.
Figure 1: Regional Map of Italy
Source: Kostioukovitch, E. (2009). Why Italians love to talk about food. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. ix. Copyright 2009 by Jeffrey L. Ward.
Taste of Northern Italy: Piedmont Food in the north has made a big impact on the culture of northerners as regions gather at festivals and parties to celebrate the harvesting of
There is a saying that states ‘one either lives to eat or eats to live’ and Italy as a country is ruled by the former. Italy is a culture that is rich and saturated in their traditions of cooking. They take pride in their food and live by the credo that food is only used if it is fresh, local and in season. There has been much debate on what defines Italian food and through research one can see that Italian food is not typical of a specific dish, rather that each region offers a new variance of depth and originality that is not common to the Americanized beliefs of solely pasta and pizza. Yes one could lump Italian food into categories such as breads, pasta, olive oil, cured meats and cheese but each of these foods is made in such a different way depending on the region that to really understand the country and the roots of its food one must look deeper into the individual regions.
The twenty regions of Italy, as shown in Figure 1 are full of their individual gastronomy and it would take days to discuss all of them. For the purpose of this research paper the regions of Piedmont, Tuscany, and Sicily will represent the regional cuisines from northern, central and southern Italy. This paper will describe the cuisines of each region through the geography, starches, fats, fruits, vegetables, proteins and dairy, comparing differences that exist from one region to another and the connection between diet and the domestic capacity to provide the necessary ingredients. This paper will go on to discuss the health benefits of the Italian Mediterranean diet and what the country has done to sustain it.
Figure 1: Regional Map of Italy
Source: Kostioukovitch, E. (2009). Why Italians love to talk about food. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. ix. Copyright 2009 by Jeffrey L. Ward.
Taste of Northern Italy: Piedmont Food in the north has made a big impact on the culture of northerners as regions gather at festivals and parties to celebrate the harvesting of
References: Alexander, D. (2000). The geography of the Italian pasta. Professional Geographer, 52(3), 553-566. Blengini, G. A., & Busto, M. (2009). The life cycle of rice: LCA of alternative agri-food chain management systems in Vercelli (Italy). Journal of Environmental Management, 90(3), 1512-1522. Costanzia, V. (2009). Fooditalia: A journey through the country of taste. Belgium: Tectum Publishers. Crescimanno, M., Di Marco, S., & Guccione, G. (2002). Production and trade marketing policies regarding organic olive oil in Sicily. British Food Journal, 104(2), 175-186. doi: 10.1108/00070700210425642 Fidanza, F., Alberti, A. (2005). The healthy Italian Mediterranean diet temple food guide. Nutrition Today, 40(2) 71-78. doi: 00017285-200503000-00005 Karampola, M., Panandreou, D., Makedou, K. (2011). The role of Mediterranean diet in health and disease: An updated mini review. Nutrition & Food Science 41(1) 63-72. doi: 10.1108/00346651111102900 Kostioukovitch, E. (2009). Why Italians love to talk about food. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Ohrback, B.M. (2006). Dreaming of Tuscany. New York: Rizzoli International Publications Inc. Riley, G. (2007).The Oxford companion to Italian food. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Roden, C. (1990). The good food of Italy: Region by region. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc.