There is a lot more to Italian cooking than pizza pies and pasta. Today’s Italian cuisine is the product of Italy’s geographic location, as well as the history behind the people who live there. Italy’s tasty cooking plays a major role in the culture of its people.

Although Italy may seem like a smaller country geographically, it developed different types of cuisines across the nation. Historically, Italians were unable to travel around the country and so stayed in their native cities or villages without exposure to other styles of cooking. This resulted in very specific tastes and methods of cooking in about twenty different regions of Italy.

The weather varies across Italy. In the south the weather is very warm, while in the north the climate is much colder. This affects the types of food grown in different parts of Italy as well as food preparation. Pasta can be made dried or not. Dry pasta is made more in southern Italy as the warm climate makes it easier to dry. Rigatoni and spaghetti are two examples of dry pasta. Drying pasta is more difficult in places like northern Italy where the climate is cold. Instead pasta like pappardelle, tagliatelle, and tajarin are made more. Stuffed pasta like ravioli is also popular in northern Italy.

The types of food and plants grown in Italy depended on how well they could grow in the different types of weather. Olive trees, for example, grow better in warmer climates and so were grown a lot in southern Italy. This resulted in olive oil being used much more in these parts. However, in northern Italy olive trees could not grow as easy and so butter and lard were used instead.

Tomatoes are another kind of plant that grows better in warm climate. In southern Italy cooking tomatoes are used heavily along with red sauces. Broccoli raab and eggplants are two other types of plants that grow well in warmer weather. Vegetables that thrive in colder climates like in the northern areas are black leaf kale, radicchio, cardoons, and cabbage.

Economy has also affected Italian food. Polenta is a very old staple in Italy. Although it has widespread use today, polenta used to be only eaten by the poor as it was very easy to prepare and grow. Eventually different types of wheat were experimented with, which gave way to the many different ways to prepare polenta today.

France and Austria both border Italy. These countries have an influence over Italian food in the northern areas. English, Spanish, and Arab influences also inspired Italian cooking due to their occupations in parts of Italy at some point in history.

As in many countries, food is a major part of culture. In Italian culture it is important to sit down with family for a pleasant, big meal. With all the different kinds of foods in Italy it would be easy to believe that there are typically ten courses lasting around 3 hours in the Italian culture. Taste is very important in eating meals in Italy, so portions are smaller to make room for the amount of food at meals.

Italian food today is representative of different influences. Climate naturally affects the types of vegetation grown in different areas of Italy. It also changes food preparation like drying pasta. Limitations people had historically helped to make Italian food so diverse, as well as foreign influences. Many aspects contribute to the distinct tastes of Italian cuisine, which in turn affects the culture of Italy. Check out http://restaurantesanmarco.net/ for more information.

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