Food in Italy has a heavy influence on its culture. Not all of Italian cooking is about pizzas and pasta. Italian cuisine is very diverse and inspired by many different influences. Italy's geographical location and its history are an important part of today's Italian cooking.
Due to the fact that people had a hard time traveling around the country long ago, many different styles of Italian food arose nationwide. Most people were not introduced to different ways of cooking in their own country. With there being twenty different regions across Italy, there are a lot of specific kinds of food classified in Italian cuisine. So in a small country, there still can be a very large array of foods.
The weather varies across Italy. In the south the weather is very warm, while in the north the climate is much colder. This affects the types of food grown in different parts of Italy as well as food preparation. Pasta can be made dried or not. Dry pasta is made more in southern Italy as the warm climate makes it easier to dry. Rigatoni and spaghetti are two examples of dry pasta. Drying pasta is more difficult in places like northern Italy where the climate is cold. Instead pasta like pappardelle, tagliatelle, and tajarin are made more. Stuffed pasta like ravioli is also popular in northern Italy.
The types of food and plants grown in Italy depended on how well they could grow in the different types of weather. Olive trees, for example, grow better in warmer climates and so were grown a lot in southern Italy. This resulted in olive oil being used much more in these parts. However, in northern Italy olive trees could not grow as easy and so butter and lard were used instead.
Black leaf kale, cabbage, radicchio and cardoons are vegetables that grow well in cold weather like in northern Italy. Vegetables like broccoli raab and eggplants were grown in southern Italy because they thrive in warm weather. Tomatoes also grow well in warm climates, and so in the south red pasta sauces were more common.
One type of food that is older in Italy than pizza and pasta is polenta. Polenta is very widely used today in Italian cooking, but once it was a staple among the poor in Italy. Now there are many different ways to prepare polenta due to the wide use of it among the large impoverished population long ago.
France and Austria both border Italy. These countries have an influence over Italian food in the northern areas. English, Spanish, and Arab influences also inspired Italian cooking due to their occupations in parts of Italy at some point in history.
As in many countries, food is a major part of culture. In Italian culture it is important to sit down with family for a pleasant, big meal. With all the different kinds of foods in Italy it would be easy to believe that there are typically ten courses lasting around 3 hours in the Italian culture. Taste is very important in eating meals in Italy, so portions are smaller to make room for the amount of food at meals.
Food in Italy today reflects the various influences over time. The diverse weather conditions in Italy give way to the different dishes and food preparations. Italian food has many foreign influences from neighboring countries and countries directly involved with Italy historically. The lack of travel within the country long ago gave way to the different dishes. Find Out more about these influences on http://restaurantesanmarco.net/ have affected both Italy's food and culture.
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