Gourmet food

Although mainly known as a country producing some of the world's best wine, over the last decade Italy has started to become famous also for craft beers. Up until 20 years ago, the country’s beer reputation relied on major brands which produce tasty beer yet made for mass consumption. Thanks to a handful of visionary men from Lombardy and Piedmont, who decided to fight the cultural bias linked to brews, a brand new movement of Italian craft beer was born: the same one that is now making Italy Europe's most vibrant beer scene. Since 1996, when the first microbreweries moved…

One of the pleasures of the Italian food culture is that each meal is treated as a serious matter, following unwritten rules that are meant to add extra joy to the enjoyment of food itself. Slow is the word, especially at dinner time during weekends when the clock does not seem to tick as fast as during work days. If a proper meal is divided into three courses (starter, pasta, main course), its final part is another ritual in itself: first dessert, then espresso coffee and finally a digestive liquor. Simply put, digestivo is an alcoholic drink served at the…

Famous for being an essential ingredient in Tiramisu, mascarpone is an Italian triple cream cheese prepared with unskimmed cows' milk. Because of its high perishability, in the past mascarpone used to be produced only during the winter season; nowadays, of course, it is available all year round. Despite being classified as cheese, mascarpone is not exactly a real one because its preparation does not involve the use of rennet: it is obtained from milk cream to which citric acid or lemon juice are added to help it solidify; the resulting curd is then gently heated until it reaches the perfect…

Famous for its mild taste, Stracchino is a fresh cheese produced in northern Italy – mainly in Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto - using whole cow’s milk and raw curd. It usually comes in square slabs, one to two inches thick, that may vary in size and it is always wrapped in paper to keep its natural moisture. Low in calories and in fat, Stracchino is rich with high-quality proteins, phosphorus and vitamins; its nutritional values - together with its enjoyable soft texture and delicate flavor of milk - make it the perfect complement in a healthy meal. Besides its flavor,…

Whether we are entertaining or just looking for a savory snack, cured meats always make for an easy, healthy option to us an Italy. Out of the over 700 varieties of charcuteries available in Italy, there are two that are particularly appreciated by food lovers all over the world: prosciutto and bresaola. Prosciutto generically means ham in Italian: what is usually called prosciutto abroad is cured ham (prosciutto crudo). Although it has many regional variations - several of which are true food excellences covered by the Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), such as San Daniele from Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Cinta…

Potatoes, flour and eggs: it only takes a few ingredients to make one of the most loved main courses in Italy, Gnocchi. Shaped like dumplings, their preparation is similar to pasta as they are cooked in boiling water and then served with the preferred sauce. The information about the origin of their name are rather debatable: some say that the word gnocchi comes from nocca, which means knuckle in Italian; other sources claim that it derives from the ancient Lombard knohha, that used to indicate a wood knot. Although their etymology is still unclear, it is interesting to notice that…

Among all the Italian cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano is probably the most famous all over the world. There is another one though which may be less popular abroad but that definitely plays an important role in the cooking routine of many Italians: Pecorino. Generally speaking, Pecorino is the name given to all Italian cheeses made from ewe's milk; its name comes from pecora which in Italian means ewe. Specifically, it refers to three main varieties from central Italy and the island of Sardinia which enjoy the DOP* seal: Pecorino Sardo from Sardinia, Pecorino Toscano from Tuscany and Pecorino Romano from Lazio.…

There is something about Italy that makes this country so special: it is not just the abundancy of art or the variety of landscapes, it is its food. The beauty of it is that each region has its own recipes and they are all so tasty that a trip to Italy could easily be organized as a culinary tour of the so-called Bel Paese (beautiful country) via its most traditional dishes. Starting from the North-West of the country, one of the most popular is pasta with Pesto Genovese. Typical of the city of Genoa (Genova, in Italian), from which it…

It is almost impossible to discuss Italian food without mentioning the three Ps that make it so popular all over the world: pasta, pizza and pane (bread). To be fair, there is a fourth element that should be added to this list as it has become more and more popular in recent years: focaccia, a delicious flatbread that looks like pizza but resembles bread in its preparation. Despite being so up and coming worldwide both as a healthy street food and a posh substitute for bread in top-rated restaurants, the Latin origin of its name (panis focacius literally means bread…

The essence of Italian food is simplicity: a few seasonal ingredients and basic cooking techniques can produce all those delicious dishes that are now famous all over the world. Risotto is one of them. Made by combining rice with a few ingredients of choice, its very first recipe originates from Northern Italy where rice - introduced by the Arabs in the Middle Ages - has been grown since the 14th century. The humidity of that area is ideal for the cultivation of those shorter-grained varieties which, after so many centuries, are still used to prepare a main course that easily…

  Apart from the fact that gelato comes from Italy, people usually consider gelato and ice cream synonymous terms, but that is absolutely not the case. There are four main differences – let’s have a look at them. 1 - Italian gelato has much less fat. American ice creams have to contain at least 10% fat by law, while gelato usually contains an average of 3.8%. That’s because, unlike ice cream, gelato is made with fresh milk and not powdered milk or cream. 2 - Italian gelato is blended slowly, so it contains less air than industrially produced ice cream…

It’s winning over everyone: Michelin-starred chefs, food and wine critics, food bloggers, entrepreneurs and, of course, consumers. We’re talking about gourmet street food: the modern-day reinterpretation of street food that uses top-quality ingredients. It’s still a niche market but it is rapidly growing, particularly in big cities where the number of food trucks offering sophisticated delicacies from all over the world is increasing. Today, meal times have changed due to busy lifestyles and the lack of spare time. So-called "metro eaters" eat on their way from one appointment to another and they have two priorities: quality and speed. According to food…