Cibo: Traditions & Tastes

Hey again everyone! This week I decided to focus on food ("cibo") as a response to Aubrey’s comment asking about being interested in the food and what people eat here in Italy (by the way, thank you all for being so expressive in the comments!) There are so many delicious foods here in Italy, and I am so grateful to be able to eat something that tastes so good with every meal I eat here. 

In Italy there is a very specific culture surrounding the consumption of food and eating meals. Eating is known as a communal activity, where time is carved out of the day to dedicate to sitting down and enjoying a full meal with family or friends, often consisting of multiple courses. First and second plates are the cultural norm here. “Primo piatto” is first plate, and “secondo piatto” is second plate. This is a difference from the meal-eating culture back home in America, where we usually just eat one big plate for our meals!

Breakfast (“prima colazione”) is often coffee, like a cappuccino, a caffè latte, or an espresso, enjoyed with a sweet pastry such as a croissant (“il cornetto”), or a biscuit, (“il biscotto”), or bread rolls with butter and jam. My favorite breakfast to eat here is a cappuccino e cornetto. My cousin Livia, who lives in Southern Italy, usually enjoys an espresso e biscotti for breakfast. When I asked Livia what her favorite food is, she said “white lasagna, without tomato sauce, made with mushrooms and meat or with pesto. I also love mozzarella and all types of cheese”. Livia’s best friend Claudia says her favorite foods are “pizza and lasagna, and sweets!”

Lunch (“pranzo”) is often one or two plates, and usually consists of a pasta dish, or pizza, or a frittata, which is like a cake made with eggs and vegetables such as zucchini and onion/a quiche without the crust, or a panino, which is a sandwich made with Italian bread and is usually grilled and served warm. Dinner (“cena”) is usually two plates, such as a pasta dish, pizza, fish, lasagna, or an eggplant dish, as well as a dessert. Some common desserts are tiramisu (a cake made with ladyfinger biscuits, chocolate, and cream) or gelato, which is similar to ice cream but is traditionally made with less milk and more sugar. With my family, on Easter, I also ate a traditional cake from the Bari (Southern Italy) region called “scarcella” which has almond paste, plum jam, sugar, and is coated in cream. Delizioso! 

While I was visiting Turin, in Northern Italy, with my school group, I had the opportunity to attend a cooking class where we learned to make ravioli, tortellini, and orecchiette (the small-shaped pasta we call ‘little ears’), all from scratch! It was a great experience to learn to make the dough, roll it out, and shape it ourselves. It is very common here to make ones’ own pasta, so it is very fresh! It is a tradition here to eat food that is very fresh. As opposed to America, it is not common here in Italy to eat much fast food or frozen food, and I believe that eating the fresh food is much healthier for our bodies! Do you all enjoy eating Italian food? What are your favorite foods and desserts? What else are you all interested in learning about and hearing about? See you all soon!

 

This painting is by Jaune Flamme, of a tomato, or a “pomodoro”, which is a very common fruit eaten with meals:

Also, here’s a really fun and funny poem about Italian food by Shel Siverstein:

         Italian Food

I eat it all the time,

Not just ‘cause how good it tastes

But ‘cause how good it rhymes.

Minestrone, cannelloni,

Macaroni, rigatoni,

Spaghettini, scallopini,

Escarole, braciole,

Insalata, cremolata, manicotti,

Marinara, carbonara,

Shrimp francese, Bolognese,

Ravioli, mostaccioli,

Mozzarella, tagliatelle,

Fried zucchini, rollatini,

Fettuccine, green linguine,

Tortellini, Tetrazzini,

Oops—I think I split my jeani.