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Italian cuisine is characterized by its flexibility, its range of ingredients and its many regional variations. It is an important element of the Italian lifestyle, and mainly reflects the rural culture and history of the many peoples of the country. Italian cuisine is regarded as a prime example of a Mediterranean diet.
Risotto - Rice that has been saut饤 and cooked in a shallow pan with stock. The result is a very creamy, and hearty dish. Meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and cheeses are almost always added depending on the recipe and the locale. Many restaurants, families, towns, and regions will have a signature risotto or at least style of ristotto, in addition or in place of a signature pasta dish (risotto alla Milanese is famous Italian classic).
Arancini - Balls of rice with tomato sauce, eggs, and cheese that are deep fried. They are a southern Italian specialty, though are now quite common all over.
Polenta - Yellow corn meal (yellow grits) that has been cooked with stock. It is normally served either creamy, or allowed to set up and then cut into shapes and fried or roasted.
Wine
Wine is a popular beverage in Italy. Italians drink it with every meal and between meals, and offer it to guests as soon as they arrive. Grapes are grown in almost every part of Italy. Each region is proud of its carefully tended, neatly pruned vines. In some places the vines are trained along low supports. In others they climb slender saplings. The people of each region are also proud of the wine they make from their own grapes. Most winemaking in Italy is done in modern wineries. But villagers, making wine for their own use, tread the grapes with their bare feet until the juice is squeezed out. They believe this ancient method still makes the best wine.
List of popular italian wines:
Chianti is Italy's most famous red wine. It used to be easily identified by its squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called fiaschi.
It is produced in Tuscany, in strictly delimited areas among the provinces of Florence, Siena, Arezzo and Grosseto. It is based mainly on Sangiovese grapes but also includes other varieties. Chianti is a DOC, but corresponds to a much larger area than the region originally known as Chianti. Wine from this smaller region is labeled Chianti Classico and is a DOCG. It typically has a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle. Chianti Classico that meets slightly more stringent requirements, primarily with respect to aging, may be labelled Chianti Classico Riserva.
Risotto - Rice that has been saut饤 and cooked in a shallow pan with stock. The result is a very creamy, and hearty dish. Meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and cheeses are almost always added depending on the recipe and the locale. Many restaurants, families, towns, and regions will have a signature risotto or at least style of ristotto, in addition or in place of a signature pasta dish (risotto alla Milanese is famous Italian classic).
Arancini - Balls of rice with tomato sauce, eggs, and cheese that are deep fried. They are a southern Italian specialty, though are now quite common all over.
Polenta - Yellow corn meal (yellow grits) that has been cooked with stock. It is normally served either creamy, or allowed to set up and then cut into shapes and fried or roasted.
Wine
Wine is a popular beverage in Italy. Italians drink it with every meal and between meals, and offer it to guests as soon as they arrive. Grapes are grown in almost every part of Italy. Each region is proud of its carefully tended, neatly pruned vines. In some places the vines are trained along low supports. In others they climb slender saplings. The people of each region are also proud of the wine they make from their own grapes. Most winemaking in Italy is done in modern wineries. But villagers, making wine for their own use, tread the grapes with their bare feet until the juice is squeezed out. They believe this ancient method still makes the best wine.
List of popular italian wines:
Chianti is Italy's most famous red wine. It used to be easily identified by its squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called fiaschi.
It is produced in Tuscany, in strictly delimited areas among the provinces of Florence, Siena, Arezzo and Grosseto. It is based mainly on Sangiovese grapes but also includes other varieties. Chianti is a DOC, but corresponds to a much larger area than the region originally known as Chianti. Wine from this smaller region is labeled Chianti Classico and is a DOCG. It typically has a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle. Chianti Classico that meets slightly more stringent requirements, primarily with respect to aging, may be labelled Chianti Classico Riserva.