The biodiversity of Italian food products

In Italy, every single Region, from the northern mountains down to the Sicily, have different history and recipes.

We introduce in our cooking class the most famous recipes of each region with its own typical food products.

Different history: Italian cuisine descends from the ancient kitchens of the Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans.

Different flavors: Italian soil is so varied that the same ingredient will reveal different if it grows in another region.

So the basil from Cinqueterre is different from Naples basil, the mozzarella comes only from Campania or Puglia.

Different kind of prosciutto are from Parma, Tuscany or San Daniele in Friuli Region.

The olive oil is very different depending on the Region: Tuscany, Liguria, Puglia, Veneto.

If we speak about wine, the same vine grown in Tuscany produces a different wine in Veneto.

Not only different ingredients but also different way to cook: look at the variety of bread, pasta, pizza, panzerotti and focaccia. Bread is tall, flat, thick or thin depending on where you are.

When we go to the market, we can see the fruit or vegies origin on the label on it, so we have more than ten different kind of tomatoes. We know which one to choose depending on the recipe to cook.

If you think about rice, so common  in my town, Milan: our rice has thick and short grains and we use to do the most famous milanese recipe: yellow risotto with veal ossobuco. If you come to do cooking class you can learn it.

CHRISTMAS DINNER IN ITALY

Well it’s a big challenge to guess what italian eat for Christmas! In northern Italy a good boullion made with a beef bone, chicken wings, celery, carrot and onion and then add a peeled potato, boil for 3 hours,then filter and add salt. This goes with tortellini, filled pasta with meat, parmisan, prosciutto, eggs…

After the “tortellini or cappelletti in brodo” we can have boiled meat with mostarda fruit and green sauce (parsley, vinegar, anchoives and garlic all crushed together)

Panettone or Pandoro with mascarpone cream is the typical dessert in Milan and torrone (nougat) from Cremona

In southern Italy fish it’s a must : capitone (marinated eel), different kind of pasta with fish and vegies. The most importants are the dessert : the honey is the Christmas king with struffoli and cartellate 

In Italy we have 20 regions and I can say that we have 20 different kind of Christmas dinner