Pasta e Fagioli (pasta with beans) is a delicious, hearty soup well known in both Italy and North America. In the United States, it’s sometimes referred to as “pasta fazool,” carrying the southern Italian pronunciation of the first Italo-Americans.
Pasta e Fagioli represents a great example of Cucina Povera (cuisine of the poor), being a traditional dish made with simple and inexpensive ingredients. Many important Italian dishes belong to Cucina Povera (e.g. ‘polenta’, ‘osso buco’, ‘pasta cacio e pepe’) – nowadays they are no longer made out of necessity, they are rather considered sophisticated delicacies.
There are many ways to make Pasta e Fagioli, my favorite makes use a particular kind of small white beans called ‘cannellini’ and a short pasta called ‘ditalini’, ‘tubetti’, or ‘ditaloni’ (as in the featured picture). This recipe uses tomato sauce, but there are variations without it.
Pasta e Fagioli
Yield: 2 servings
Total Time: 45 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 small carrot
1 stick of celery
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup crushed tomatoes
1 can cannellini beans
2 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
60 g ditalini pasta (3 handfuls)
Preparation
Finely chop carrot, celery, onion, garlic and rosemary.
Make a 'soffritto' (stir fry in olive oil, at medium heat, until tender).
Add the cannellini (drained and rinsed).
Add the crushed tomatoes and the vegetable stock; adjust salt and pepper.
Simmer for ½ hr.
Add the pasta and cook for another 10 minutes (or the time indicated on the box).
Breakfast in Italy is called ‘prima colazione’, or simply ‘colazione’. It’s the first meal of the day and many say it’s the most important one too. However, North Americans and Italians have fundamental differences of opinions in what to eat for breakfast. The first main difference is that savory breakfast items are almost absent in most parts of Italy. You would never see an Italian eating bacon and eggs, or even a bagel, which is standard in North America – and these items don’t appear on restaurant menus either. Things are quite different on the sweet side as well: no cereals, no peanut butter, no pancakes, no waffles or scones. What do Italians eat for breakfast then?
These are the components of a typical Italian breakfast: ‘caffè latte’ (hot milk with coffee) with a baked product, such as:
Bread or toast (with unsalted butter and jam, or just jam);
‘Fette biscottate’ (called rusk in English) (also with butter and/or jam);
Pastries (e.g. croissants) or cakes (e.g. brioches);
‘Biscotti’ (generic name for cookies, but more like the Italian version of cereal), typically ‘frollini’ (butter shortbreads), usually dipped in the caffè latte.
Hot chocolate or plain black tea (with milk or lemon) is sometimes an alternative to coffee. Other options that are generally reserved for young children include milk with barley or malt coffee substitutes, or milk with cocoa powder.
Italians follow more rules in general as to when to eat what. A cappuccino, for instance, is a morning treat, it’s OK in the afternoon as an alternative to espresso during coffee breaks, but it’s definitely not a replacement for the after-dinner espresso. Everything has a purpose, and the espresso after a meal is meant to be one last strong punch of flavor – the delicate nuances of a cappuccino would be out of place, and the milk would be heavy on a full stomach.
In Italy, a small selection of cereals with milk or yogurt cater to the diet-conscious but aren’t very common. Fruit juices are quite popular, especially pear, apricot, peach, and apple. With the exception of citrus, Italian-style juices are generally thicker compared to their North American equivalents, are also sold in individual glass bottles (20 ml), and are sometimes considered a complete meal. Fresh squeezed orange juice is also well-liked, especially during winter.
As you can see, sweet things are the preference. This is the case almost everywhere in Italy, with the Alto Adige region being the most notable exception. In Alto Adige, also called Südtirol, the Austrian influence can clearly be seen in the tradition of having cheese, ham, and eggs for breakfast.
A somewhat limited savory presence can also be found in hotels. Italian hotels generally just offer an expanded version of a home breakfast, but with the possible addition of a sample of cold cuts and cheese, in line with what is internationally known as Continental Breakfast.
A truly Italian routine, however, is to go have breakfast in what Italians call a “bar”. These have very little in common with North American bars. Italian bars are essentially licensed coffee shops that typically serve espresso all day, breakfast in the morning, sandwiches and beer around lunch time, appetizers (called ‘aperitivi’), and long drinks near dinner, and are usually closed in the evening. Bars are extremely popular in Italy – in the big cities you can find them at every corner, and they are all different from one another being usually privately owned (there are no major chains). Bars’ consistent quality, contained prices, and prompt service make them the preferred choice for people who commute to work or to school – it takes less time to get breakfast in a bar than it does to have it at home, and most Italians would also find it more satisfying. Prompt service however comes with a caveat. The busier the place, the more you should know what you want to order before you go in – you don’t want a “no cappuccino for you!” reaction from the bartender. Cash payment is also much preferred because of its speed. Then, after you get served, you are supposed to step aside and consume your breakfast quickly, trying not to exasperate the server and patrons behind you (the fact that it is your turn to be served doesn’t buy you all the time that you want to choose your pastry or dawdle in the bar). Most bars even encourage a quick turnover by having high tables and no sit-down service. You can read more on the Italian Bar in this article.
Bar-style breakfast consists almost exclusively of what the Italians call ‘cappuccino’ and ‘brioche’. We’ve already talked about cappuccino, and its alternatives such as ‘latte macchiato’ (with more milk), coffee ‘macchiato’ (with less milk), or just plain espresso (with no milk at all). By “brioche”, Italians actually mean any kind of baked good, the most common of which is in fact a croissant (‘cornetto’ in Italian) and almost never an actual brioche. A croissant can be “empty” (‘vuoto’), or filled (e.g. with ‘crema pasticcera’ -pastry cream-, apricot jam, chocolate cream, whipped cream, apple filling, almond filling, etc.). Other breakfast pastries which are also usually filled are: ‘fagottino’ (the equivalent of the French ‘pain au chocolat‘, when filled with chocolate), ‘sfogliatina’ (puff pastry pockets), ‘bombolone’ (also called with its German name ‘krapfen‘, the equivalent of a filled donut), ‘girelle’ (twirls) with raisins. Savory croissants, with optional ham and/or cheese, can also be found, but are definitely far less in vogue than the sweet versions. Other savory options are ‘pizzette’ (small puff pastry pizzas, usually with tomato and mozzarella), but are quite hard to find.
In Italy, the maximum price of the main bar menu items is regulated by the law. This makes it so all bars tend to charge the same maximum amounts allowed. While not competing on prices, bars still compete on quality. Pastry shops that are also cafés (called ‘bar pasticceria’) generally offer higher standards for baked goods, compared to regular ‘bars’; this is especially true in small towns. In big cities the bars with the higher customers turnover often get their pastries delivered fresh from pastry shops even multiple times a day and the quality of their baked goods is excellent. Smaller bars instead often bake their croissants themselves (from an industrially made base), and while smelling fantastic because of the onsite baking their croissants are not as good (and sometimes are thought of as more buttery and harder to digest). Still, smaller bars make good business in small towns where the competition is less, still providing a service to their customers.
In conclusion, breakfast is for the Italians a brief yet dear parenthesis in the morning. Even on weekends and holidays people generally don’t go out for sit-down breakfasts. In fact, there are no ‘all day breakfast’ places in Italy (though it’s definitely possible to have a cappuccino all day, it’s uncommon to see people have a croissant in the afternoon, so much so that bars tend to run out of pastries early and don’t replenish). As a result, breakfast in Italy is not necessarily a moment of social aggregation; it’s at most a meet-up point for 2 or 3 individuals.
The lack of savory options in the Italian breakfast also originates other interesting differences between Italy and North America. One difference is that for the Italians eggs are totally a lunch option (as the main or the second course). Another difference is that in Italy there is absolutely nothing like North American brunch; being the Italian breakfast so different from lunch, the two don’t mix: after sleeping in on weekends Italians may just decide to skip breakfast altogether and have their Sunday’s lasagna!
Italian cuisine, like many cuisines of the Mediterranean, is considered “vegetarian-friendly” because it features plenty of meatless dishes. Since not everybody has the same definition of “vegetarian,” let’s first clarify the terminology. By vegetarian dish, I mean a dish where no meat or fish in any form was ever used (so, no shrimp, no chicken broth, no anchovy paste), but where animal products may be involved (so, yes milk, eggs, honey). This type of vegetarianism is referred to as lacto-ovo, and it does include cheese made without using animal-derived rennet. For a list of Italian vegetarian cheese (updated to 2018), please download the pdf (courtesy of GreenMe).
North American cuisine tends to be very meat-centered, with the exception of some “vegetarian-heavy” cities (see here for a Top Ten list) where a higher percentage of vegetarians tends to live. In Italy, instead, a number of meatless dishes are fully part of everyone’s diet, and they can also be found in pretty much every restaurant. As a result, there aren’t many dedicated vegetarian restaurants in Italy (but you may find some in the big cities). Another consequence is that imitation meat is not as common as it is in North America – Italian people that become vegetarian generally have plenty of options and don’t need to resort to imitations.
One slight problem with vegetarian food in Italy is that it is sometimes hard to recognize which dishes are in fact vegetarian (and restaurants don’t help by generally not tagging vegetarian dishes on their menus). Italians don’t call a pasta dish “vegetarian,” they simply call it pasta al pomodoro, trenette al pesto, pasta alla Norma. Many pizzas are also vegetarian, but they go under the names of marinara, margherita (mozzarella is generally made without rennet), funghi (mushrooms), olive (olives). There is, however, one type of pizza explicitly called “vegetariana” or “ortolana”, which topped with grilled veggies.
As for the reasons why meat is not the main star of the show as it is in North America, a few theories can be made:
North America has a tradition of cattle ranching due to its vast prairies and veggies tend to be seen more as a side dish, something that you have to eat because it’s healthy, but that doesn’t add much to the flavor. There isn’t much tradition around vegetable preparations, and, in some cases, they are even considered more of a garnish that you don’t have to eat.
Italy, on the other hand, has a very different geography that makes cattle ranching more challenging. Also, the postwar years were especially tough, and meat hasn’t always been as available to everyone as it is nowadays. As a result, traditional cuisine naturally drifted towards using more produce and more starches.
But there may also be a more practical reason why produce is considered so differently: many of the vegetables grown in southern Europe are simply tastier than their North American counterparts. Possibly because of the favorable climate and soils, vegetables actually taste amazing! Better veggies make for more successful vegetarian dishes and, in an environment where the cuisine is centered on a few clean flavors and a handful of high-quality ingredients, interesting vegetables with complex flavor profiles simply claimed a central role in a number of dishes.
Unfortunately, Italian restaurants in North America tend to feature few, if any, meatless dishes on their menus. This is probably an adaptation of the expectation of the general public. Pizzerias tend to be more reliable in featuring at least a few vegetarian options.
Potato gnocchi are a common alternative to pasta in first courses. They are made by mixing riced potatoes with flour and egg. There are, however, several other types of gnocchi, such as ‘gnocchi alla romana’ (typical of central Italy) which are made with semolina flour (and without potatoes). In the area near the Austrian border, flour ‘gnocchetti’ (the equivalent of the German spätzle) are used as an accompaniment instead of rice or potatoes.
Potato gnocchi can be served with any pasta sauce. However, some sauces pair more successfully with their flavor and texture: tomato sauce, butter and sage, Gorgonzola sauce.
This recipe yields 5-6 servings. It’s quite simple to make but may easily take 2 ½ hours.
Potato Gnocchi
Yield: 5-6 servings
Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
2 ¼ pounds (1 Kg) whole unpeeled Russet (Bakers) potatoes.
about 2 ½ cups (350 g) white all-purpose flour.
1 egg.
½ teaspoon salt.
Preparation
Boil the whole unpeeled russet potatoes, previously washed and scrubbed (fig. 1). This will take 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. Alternatively, the potatoes can be baked in the microwave for about 6-8 minutes after having punched holes in them with a fork. Russet potatoes (also called Bakers) are particularly suitable because high in starch and low in moisture.
Cut each boiled potato in half and mash it in a ricer; the skin will remain in the ricer to be disposed.
Allow the mashed potatoes to cool, then add the flour (fig. 2).
Work together flour and potatoes until you obtain an evenly crumbly mix.
Add the whole egg and the salt (fig. 3).
Mix and kneed for 2 minutes. The dough should feel light and fluffy, sufficiently elastic and not too sticky (fig. 4). If later on, during the process, the dough starts to feel sticky again, add enough flour to prevent it.
Cut the dough in fist-size pieces, then roll out each piece until you have a long roll about ½ inch in diameter. Cut the rolls into 1 inch pieces (fig. 5).
Roll each gnocco over on a fork to produce the well known indentations (see the picture below) - the corrugated texture will help the sauce bind.
Let the gnocchi rest on a well floured plate or tray, ensuring they stay separated (fig. 6). Note: Gnocchi can be frozen at this stage, and then kept in the freezer in air-tight containers for up to 4 weeks.
Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water until they float. Frozen gnocchi can also be boiled directly without thawing, just ensure you do so in small batches to avoid interrupting the boil.
Warm up the sauce in a skillet. Drain and add the cooked gnocchi to the sauce allowing them to become fully coated.
Serve in pre-heated plates with Parmigiano cheese if the sauce calls for it.
Mineral water is extremely popular in Italy. The major brands of mineral waters are from specific springs, which are sometimes also renowned spas, and therefore have a precise location of origin.
But is mineral water just water? No, it also contains a unique mix of minerals and ions. Every spring is different, and the concentration of minerals can vary substantially across them. Most waters have mild diuretic properties or help digestion, but the composition of some makes them suitable as an aid in treating specific medical conditions. Waters that have low amounts of minerals (“oligominerali,” in Italian) are generally suitable for everyone, but those are under a low-sodium diet still need to pay special attention to the label (which by law must list the full composition.)
Most Italian waters that aren’t naturally carbonated are sold in two varieties: still (liscia -smooth, plain- or naturale -natural-) and sparkling (gassata -gasified, carbonated- or frizzante -fizzy-) where carbonation is artificially added. Rarely, spring water may have mild natural carbonation, generally also associated with higher amounts of minerals.
Most Italians have their own favorite brands of mineral waters. And even if they don’t, they certainly have a strong preference on whether they like still water or sparkling water. Carbonated drinks, in general, are obtained by adding pressurized CO2, which partly combines with water to form Carbonic Acid (H2CO3). H2CO3 is a weak, unstable acid that spontaneously separates back into CO2 and water when at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The tingling sensation that comes from drinking sparkling water is caused by the formation of bubbles as well as because a small amount of H2CO3 is still dissolved and gives a slight burning sensation. That’s why carbonated mineral water has more flavor than still mineral water from the same spring.
Still mineral water aisle in an Italian supermarket
All mineral water is subject to a mandatory bacterial analysis and certification from a reputable university. As for the bottle, PET is becoming more popular, but glass bottles are still used and preferred for carbonated water because the carbonation can slowly escape from porous PET. In either case, the empties are usually returned to the store where the water was bought, either to be recycled or -in the case of glass bottles- returned to the manufacturers to be reused (washed, sanitized, refilled, and re-labeled).
Even though Italian tap water is suitable for drinking and has good flavor in most areas, it’s more common for households to consume bottled mineral water. This is because of a few different reasons: 1) A good portion of Italians like carbonated over still and home carbonation systems are not very common; 2) There is definitely more appeal for a bottled water certified to come from a natural spring in the mountains than for tap water from decades-old city pipes that has stagnated in a distribution tank; 3) Mineral water is relatively inexpensive in Italy and, because of its popularity, is easy to find and convenient home delivery is often available.
Unlike in North America, restaurants don’t offer complimentary iced tap water. You can ask for it, but normally people order bottled mineral water, sparkling or not. However, by law, every bar and café open to the public has to offer a glass of tap water if requested, even to non-customers.
Imported bottled water is becoming more and more popular in North America, usually in its sparkling version. And since it’s imported water, which was even bottled in Italy, Italian mineral water can be quite expensive. The market is increasing not only because of the appeal of a novelty but also because carbonated mineral water is a zero-calorie option that tastes better than soda water and actually pairs up with food. There are even mineral water tasting classes which give the qualification of Idrosommelier.
To enjoy properly, mineral water should be served chilled and, optionally, with a lemon slice. Ice should be avoided since, as it melts, it would dilute the dissolved minerals as well as the carbonation. Sparkling water is also best from a bottle that has just been opened since the cap causes the pressure from released CO2 to build up, in turn preventing more CO2 from being produced, thus preserving the carbonation.
Italian dressing. Obviously you can’t find such a thing in Italy, exactly like you’ll hardly find anything called “Chinese food” in China. But it isn’t just the name that doesn’t exist, Italians don’t even know the concept of a (premixed) dressing that you can buy in a store.
The main reason why Italians don’t buy any bottled dressing is that there is only one really popular salad dressing – a simple mix of oil and vinegar, plus salt. Now, oil and vinegar don’t actually mix… and that is probably another reason why there is no “Italian dressing” in a bottle: it would look gross!
So, how does mixing of oil and vinegar work? They are applied separately; it’s recommended that vinegar and salt go on first (salt dissolves in vinegar, and doesn’t in oil – some people even premix salt and vinegar in a tablespoon before adding it to the salad), then after a quick toss olive oil is added on, just enough to lightly coat the greens and enhance their flavor.
Now, what kind of oil and vinegar? A light olive oil (e.g. a delicate extra-virgin from Tuscany or Liguria, or a less flavorful non extra-virgin olive oil) is generally preferred on delicate greens (such as lettuce). Vegetable oils can also be used. For stronger greens (such as arugula) a fruity and aromatic extra-virgin is instead recommended. As for the vinegar, regular red wine or white wine vinegars are the most common, but balsamic vinegar is becoming more and more popular. Balsamic vinegar originates in the regions surrounding the cities of Modena and Reggio Emilia. It’s now also made elsewhere, but the one produced in Modena and Reggio Emilia is certified as Protected Designation of Origin, and guaranteed to be made using traditional methods. As an alternative to vinegar, lemon or other citrus can be used to add acidity.
Instead of bottled dressing, households always have oil, vinegar, salt and pepper on the table as, generally speaking, people prefer to dress their own salad themselves. The same goes for restaurants and cafeterias – oil and vinegar are brought to the table whenever a salad is ordered and the waiters never ask what kind of dressing the customer would like.
Typical leafy greens used in Italian salads are lettuce and its variants (Romain, lamb’s lettuce or ‘soncino’), endive, spinach, arugula (a.k.a. rocket), radicchio , chicory, cabbage. Other vegetables commonly used are sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers (with optional onions), fennel, any kinds of cooked and chilled beans, chilled boiled potatoes and green beans.
Italians love their salads, but they normally have them only as a side to the second course (which is normally meat or fish), or at most as an appetizer. Unlike in North America, salad is never served as a side to a pasta or rice dish. Lately, “big salads” (‘insalatone’) have become a popular lunch choice, they usually have some leafy greens with a combination or all of the following: corn, canned tuna, hard-boiled egg slices, ham, cheese dices (e.g. Fontina or Swiss). Big salads’ dressing is normally the usual oil and vinegar, or just oil.
The smell of bread… Freshly baked bread has such an evocative fragrance. Italian bread, just like most artisan kinds of bread, is usually made of just yeast, flour, water, and salt.
The Chemistry
Yeast. The kind most commonly used is baker’s yeast, which is also used for brewing alcoholic beverages (in fact in Italian it’s called ‘lievito di birra’, beer leaven). Unlike sourdough (a symbiotic combination of a lactobacilli culture and yeasts that naturally develops when a mix of flour and water is left at room temperature for a certain amount of time, and where lactic acid is produced as a byproduct), baker’s yeast is a cultivated form of just yeast (Saccharomyces) and it’s preferred because not sour.
As part of the leavening process, the yeast eats the sugars contained in the flour and transforms them through an enzymatic process in dextrose and fructose, while producing carbon dioxide (CO2) and alcohol. The CO2 is responsible for the rising of the bread, but the fermentation itself and the caramelization of the sugars that occurs in the oven are responsible for the resulting flavor and smell. To lengthen the fermentation and increase the flavor, a starter (also called pre-ferment or ‘mother dough’) is often used. The classic Italian starter is called biga (a thick mixture of baker’s yeast, flour, and water that gets prepared ahead of time and then added to the fresh yeast). As an alternative, a portion of dough from a previous batch can be used.
Flour. Flour from several kinds of grains can be used (including rye, barley, corn), but Italian bread mostly uses high-gluten wheat flour. The gluten content is fundamental to give “structure” to the bread so that it holds its shape while rising and that prevents it from collapsing during the baking.
The salt is responsible not only for the taste but also for the color of the bread. Common table salt or sea salt is added near the beginning of the mixing process, but avoiding direct contact with the yeast. Tuscan bread is an exception where salt is completely absent.
Regular drinking water mediates between yeast and flour. The minerals naturally contained in Italian water also affect the bread’s flavor and texture.
The Cultural Significance
Now that we have the complex chemistry of bread out of the way, let’s talk about what bread means to the Italians.
Bread is very dear to the Italians; it’s so dear that it is synonymous of ‘good’ (a common Italian saying calls a good-natured person “good like bread”, ‘buona come il pane’). Bread is considered essential to every meal (except of course for meals which are made of bread, like pizza), so much that it traditionally represents the center of the banquet and every other food that is served with it is generally referred as ‘companatico’ (something that goes with bread). And since bread is a given in every meal, it’s free in restaurants (or, better, it’s included with service), and refilled as needed without charge.
Italians eat bread without any butter. As a result, people generally take one bun or bread slice from the basket where it’s served, place it directly on the tablecloth by their plate and eat it with hands, one bite-sized chunk at a time (biting off directly is instead a big no-no).
All Italian bread would probably be considered as ‘fancy’ in North America, there is, in fact, nothing like the standard day-to-day sandwich bread. The closest thing is called “pan carré”, French for ‘square bread’, a long-preservation preparation meant to be toasted, somewhat popular in Northern Italy, but that doesn’t compare with traditional Italian bread.
Bread used to be bought fresh every day at a bakery. And since bakeries used to be closed on Sundays (pretty much like everything else in Italy), on Saturday people would buy double amounts and accept to eat stale bread the next day. Now of course bread can also be bought in superstores, and many people freeze it and every day they thaw the desired amounts (if properly bagged and frozen when very fresh, bread remains almost unaltered for a few weeks).
Is there such a thing as Italian bread?
Not really. Bread in Italy comes in a big variety of shapes and kinds, from small rolls to big loaves, which vary across the peninsula. The most known kinds of Italian bread include:
“michetta” o “rosetta” (Lombardy): round shaped bun, with flat base and star incision. Completely empty inside because of the long leavening.
“biova” (Piedmont): slightly heavier than michetta because only partially empty and slightly denser.
“carasau” (Sardinia): a flatbread, extremely thin and crunchy.
“francese”, “francesino”: French-style bread (loaf or bun).
“ciabatta” (not ciabbata!), classic denser bun, rectangular shaped, used for instance to make “panini” (singular “panino” !), grilled sandwiches where the bread is cut horizontally and filled with one type of cold cut or ham and optionally cheese and roasted vegetables.
“filone”, “sfilatino”: similar to a baguette.
Special bread featuring the addition of other ingredients (from simple milk or oil to olives, raisins, or grapes) is also quite common. It has to be noted that the law imposes the use of the “Special Bread” label for any kinds of bread containing more than 4.5% of fat.
Focaccia (not foccacia!) can be considered a type of special bread containing olive oil. The most basic focaccia is simply sprinkled with coarse salt, but there are many variations (even a sweet one covered with sugar). The most famous focaccia comes from Liguria, and particularly the city of Recco (topped with Crescenza cheese).
A slice of classic Panettone
Panettone is also a type of special bread, definitely the most representative sweet bread, a typical Christmas cake that originated in the city of Milan, but is common all throughout Italy (though usually only around the Christmas time). Panettone contains eggs, butter, sugar, raisins, and candied citrus peel and its complex preparation requires different stages of leavening.
A typical preparation that uses a slice of toasted bread as its base is the famous bruschetta (brus-‘ket-ta, not bru-‘shet-ta!). The most classic bruschetta is topped with diced tomatoes, garlic, onion and olive oil and originates in Central and Southern Italy.
Two other regional specialties (both from Emilia Romagna) are Piadina (a flatbread which is traditionally eaten with fresh creamy cheese and cold cuts) and ‘gnocco fritto’, fried dumpling which is also eaten with cold cuts or cheese. Both kinds of bread can also be served as desserts (usually with chocolate spreads, gnocco fritto can also be served with honey).
Finally, several preparations are based on stale bread, either diced and softened in milk or grated. One preparation typical of the eastern Alps is Canederli (though originated in Germany and Austria), bread dumplings usually containing cheese and smoked cured meat, served in broth or with melted butter.
Gelato is not Italian for ice cream. In Italy, the word ‘gelato’ (plural: ‘gelati ‘, literally meaning ‘frozen’ and with nothing to do with gelatin) refers to a product that resembles ice cream, but that is technically quite different, especially in its artisan version.
Gelato is based on a custard typically made with egg, sugar, and whole milk (though there is also a variation called ‘sorbetto’ that doesn’t contain dairies). The hot mix is then allowed to slowly cool off for the water to bind with the milk proteins and ultimately give smaller crystals when frozen. Real fruit, chocolate, nuts are then added as flavors. The freezing process happens in small batches in a mixer, and this incorporates air increasing the volume by 25-30%. Gelato should be stored at a temperature between -10 and -15 °C and consumed within a few days.
Ice cream is usually made with half cream and half milk, normally through a cold mix process. The production lines work in air to double the product’s volume. Ice cream is stored at a temperature around -20 and -25 °C and can last for a few months.
What makes gelato authentic?
What is served as ‘gelato’ is not likely to be authentic if:
Too sweet. Italian gelato gains its flavor from being denser, slightly warmer, and from containing natural, high-quality ingredients, not just sugar. The flavors are generally quite simple (see below) – in Italy, you will find no marshmallows, peanut butter, Oreos, Reese’s and -please!- nothing savory.
Served too cold. Authentic gelato is preserved at a less cold temperature to preserve its creaminess – if the store has too many flavors for what they can sell daily, this is a sign that the product is not freshly made and is deep-frozen to extend its fridge life.
Containing too much fat. Artisan gelato would be completely solid in a deep freezer. If the product is still partly soft, this is a sign of higher fat content (if you get a chance to see it melt, gelato melts quickly turning into a milky drink, ice cream instead slowly separates into a thick foam and a watery runoff).
What is gelato to the Italians?
So, now that we know how to differentiate ice cream (or bad gelato imitations) from authentic gelato, let’s talk about what gelato really is for the Italians.
Gelato is a dessert, a refreshment, a summer treat, and even a small meal. The main place to get gelato is in a ‘gelateria’ (gelato parlor). Gelaterie are very common all throughout Italy, but especially in those cities where it gets particularly hot during the summer. During winter, the ones that stay open often only have limited flavors, or even alternatives such as ‘gelato caldo’ (warm gelato, a relatively new invention which is more of a mousse) or just whipped cream (with cocoa or cinnamon powder). Gelaterie serve gelato to go either in individual portions (in cones or disposable cups), or larger quantities in insulated containers (priced by the liter and considerably cheaper than the equivalent amount bought in individual portions; in some cases empty cones are also available, complimentary or for a fee). More elaborate preparations are sometimes offered, usually intended for sit-down customers (compositions with wafers or biscuits, melted chocolate, whipped cream). Gelaterie, as well as most pastry shops, also may offer ‘semifreddi’ (gelato cakes), and, like many cafés, also use gelato as the base for ‘frullati’ (Italian-style milkshakes), or for ‘affogati’ (gelato drowned in coffee and/or liquors).
As far as flavors go, as we were saying gelato can be of two main types: milk-based (creams – or ‘creme’ in Italian), or water-based (sorbet – or ‘sorbetto’ in Italian), which originated in southern Italy, but is available all throughout the country. Traditional cream gelato flavors include: fior di latte (a neutral gelato base), cioccolato (chocolate), vaniglia (vanilla – which, by the way, has an intense flavor and doesn’t mean flavorless!), stracciatella (fior di latte and chocolate shavings), nocciola (hazelnut), torroncino (from ‘torrone‘), caffè (coffee), pistacchio (pistachio). Newer flavors include Tiramisù and panna cotta (from the corresponding desserts). Traditional sorbets flavors include: limone (lemon), fragola (strawberry), pesca (peach), mango, and other fruits. It has to be noted that even the biggest and most popular gelaterie don’t usually have more than 50-60 flavors, the smaller ones only have 10-20 (a good turnaround is needed since gelato can’t be stored for too long and is usually produced overnight, directly on the premises).
Restaurants also offer gelato as a dessert, either by itself or with fresh fruit. During formal dining, a sorbet is sometimes served as a palate cleanser in-between courses.
Industrially made gelato can also be bought in supermarkets, though this type, slightly higher in fat, is stored at lower temperatures (to extend its shelf life), and needs to be taken out of the freezer ahead of time before being served.
Even though Italy is a pretty small place, its regions are quite different from one another. And cheese (formaggio , in Italian) is one of the products that changes the most across the territories. Since the area of origin is a big part of what defines each cheese’s properties, many Italian cheeses have a protected denomination under European Union law (PDO – “Protected Designtrecciation of Origin”, or DOP – “Denominazione di Origine Protetta” in Italian). For a cheese to be labeled as PDO, every step of its production needs to happen in a specified geographic area: from local cows eating local hay, through production happening entirely in local facilities, to aging (or, for fresh cheeses, just packing) occurring rigorously in place.
Since Italian cheese names are so representative, in Italy they are never used as adjectives. For instance, you just say Mozzarella, not formaggio Mozzarella. And this even when the cheese name is indeed an adjective (for instance in the case of Parmesan which means ‘from the city of Parma’ – in Italian you just say Parmigiano, in English Parmesan cheese is instead more common). It has to be noted, however, that the name alone doesn’t guarantee the origin. For instance, “Mozzarella” isn’t a PDO cheese per se, while Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is (http://www.mozzarelladop.it/).
Specialized cheese stores in North America can provide a good sampling of the most important cheeses found all around Italy. However, even the best stores are incapable of handling fresh cheeses (some need to be consumed within 3-4 days from their preparation), and locally made equivalents are sometimes sold instead (although, generally, they don’t compare with the originals).
Cheese is considered very highly in Italy. Italians are very proud of and take their cheeses very seriously. They use them in their cuisine, but mostly eat them on their own, just with some bread or accompanied by fruit (pears, grapes), by compotes (figs), or kinds of honey. All aged cheeses go very well with wine. Often, cheese is a course on its own (served at the end of the meal, before fruit or dessert). Eating Italian cheese is a true multi-sensorial experience, from the look, to the aroma, to the deeply multi-faced flavor. And, with the many varieties found from north to south, cheese is also a fascinating journey, both geographically and historically.
Let’s go over the main Italian cheeses, classifying them by the process used to make them.
Formaggi a Pasta Cruda (Uncooked Cheeses)
Fast ripening (less than 30 days):
Caciotta (e.g. Caciotta Toscana DOP) –usually a blend of ewe (70%) and cow (30%)– traditional creamy farmhouse cheese.
Mascarpone –cow– one of the main ingredients of Tiramisù, also used in other preparations as an alternative to heavy cream or butter.
Stracchino –cow– gets its name from the word ‘tired’ (in Lombard dialect: stracco), referring to the fact that used to be made from the milk of cows who were tired because of the transhumance to the valley after the alpine summer.
Taleggio (PDO, Taleggio Valley, Lombardy) –cow– [pronounced “ta’leddʒo”, not “ta’lejeeo”!] when very young, tastes similar to Bel Paese.
Gorgonzola (PDO, Lombardy) –normally, cow– soft and creamy if is less than 2 months aged, crumbly and spicy-hot when aged for longer.
Formaggi a Pasta Semicotta (Semi-cooked Cheeses)
Medium ripening (1-6 months):
Fontina (PDO, Aosta Valley) –cow– soft when younger, harder and more pungent when aged. Differs from Danish fontina which has a red wax rind.
Asiago (PDO, Veneto region) –cow– great on its own as a table cheese, can be used on pasta (grated or in slivers).
Montasio (PDO, Friuli and Veneto regions) –cow– also consumed on its own or added as an ingredient to several dishes.
Piave (trademark, Veneto region) –cow– mostly a table cheese, three varieties are produced: mezzano (medium aged), vecchio (old), and stravecchio (extra-old).
Formaggi a Pasta Cotta (Cooked Cheeses)
Slow ripening (more than 9 months):
Grana Padano (PDO, northen Italy) –cow– considered inferior to Parmigiano Reggiano because aged less (9 months minimum) and produced with less strict quality regulations.
Parmigiano Reggiano (PDO, Provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Mantua) –cow-, one of the most representative Italian cheeses in the world – its origins can be traced back to the middle ages and the recipe hasn’t changed substantially (this cheese is aged at least 12 months and up to 30). It’s eaten on its own or used as a complement to hundreds of recipes, most pasta dishes, and risottos.
Aged Pecorino – (4 varieties of PDO: Sardo, Romano, Toscano, Siciliano from the corresponding regions) –sheep– a mildly aged variety also exists.
Mozzarella –cow, water buffalo– can be made of cow milk, but the one made of water buffalo milk is more renowned and “Mozzarella di Bufala Campana” is PDO. Small sized mozzarellas, usually with high water content are called bocconcini. Similar products are fior di latte and Treccia.
Scamorza (from the Naples area) –cow– both smoked and mild varieties are used for instance on pizza and with pasta.
Burrata (also from southern Italy) –cow or water buffalo- mozzarella on the outside and cream plus mozzarella on the inside. Eaten as is at room temperature is a true delicacy.
Medium ripening (1 month):
Caciocavallo (southern Italy, e.g. PDO Caciocavallo Silano) –sheep, cow– a smoked variety also exists.
Provolone (e.g. PDO “Provolone Val Padana”) –cow– [pronounced provolone-eh!] originated in the south but is now produced mostly in northern Italy.
One characteristic of Italian cheeses that definitely stands out in North America is that they often have some kind of moldy rinds. In general, the rinds are not meant to be eaten (with a few exceptions, e.g. scamorza and provola which have edible rinds), but they are essential for the aging process. Italian stores, whenever possible, try to keep the cheese wheels whole and only slice them to order (this is especially true for fresh or medium ripened cheese; aged cheese gets more “stable” and better maintains its properties when stored).
Even though Italy is a big producer of cheese, a few foreign brands managed to make their way into the Italian cheese market, with moderate success. For instance, in 1971 the American Kraft introduced Philadelphia, a pre-packed cream cheese, and in 1975 a type of cottage cheese (sold under the brand name “Jocca”). Kraft also introduced a kind of processed cheese slices called “Sottilette” (Italian for “thins”). It has to be noted that the words “cottage cheese” and “cream cheese” don’t even exist in Italian, let alone “processed cheese” – these products are exclusively known by their brand names (to Kraft’s advantage).
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