Here's something I did earlier!
For part of my course, I had to find two articles on a style of cuisine, and write an essay about said cuisine with the information I gleaned from them. Now, I got a little carried away. This is what I come up with, and I hope you find it entertaining and at least slightly informational. I'm proud of it, but I don't reckon it's quite what my teacher is after.
Italian Cuisine.
“Italy is a country of great variety, and cooking is just another aspect of the diversity of Italian culture.” That statement comes from Anna Maria Volpi, author of the article ‘What is Italian Cooking?’ and indeed she would seem right about the diversity of Italian cuisine, for how could a country that has had such a vibrant and colourful history have a single cooking style? Simply, it can’t. When a country is split into mountains, valleys, plains and coastline, it is obvious that different cuisines would come out of necessity if nothing else.
If we start at the top of the country, we see Piedmont, one of the key towns in Italian unification and a name known to pop up in any half-decent history book on the subject. The north of Italy was invaded quite a few times over the centuries by its European neighbours France and Austria, and therefore shows their influences in the food - it’s impossible to be invaded that much and not pick up a few hints and tricks from the invaders you’re meant to be feeding.
However, according to Wikipedia it was in Sicily that “the first real Italian cuisine” developed. Muslim invaders invaded Sicily back in the 9th Century, bringing with them their national food types - spinach, almonds and rice, and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, spaghetti. It claims that the Normans saw people making ‘trii’, which means ‘spaghetti’ in Southern Italy, so it would seem that big information bucket of the internet appears to have its facts right about this. Interesting.
Yet today it is Bologna that hold the culinary limelight, is the “gastronomic capital” of modern Italy. More known for its Bolognese sauce than the invaders that trampled through, it is where most of the food we would classify as ‘Italian’ is presumed to have come from - tortellini, lasagne and tagliatelle. All of these are common-place types of pasta. However, Parma can wave the ham hock trophy for cured pork products, with its aptly named Parma ham and salami.
Note that both Bologna and Parma both lie to the North of Italy, making it seem as if the North came up with all the bright ideas and the South sat back and waved at culinary progress as it passed them on by. Not so, for the mozzarella that the English prize comes from Campania, as do the pizzas that this buffalo cheese is put on (amazing co-incidence that). It is actually a misconception to think that all modern Italian food that we eat comes from Bologna. Perhaps the traditional food yes, but Italian-American food? No. It comes from Campania and Sicily. If you don’t believe it, take it up with Wikipedia.
On a different note, if you’re a vegetarian, you might be inclined to visit Puglia or Liguria, where there are a lot of vegetables, but not a great deal of meat products. In fact, goats and lambs are only seen “occasionally” in Puglia, which makes one wonder where they all went. Perhaps they wandered over to Piedmont, to look at the wine collections or to Sardinia to swim with the fish that make up the many dishes there.
Truth be told, you could go anywhere in Italy, and still find something that will tickle your fancy. Italian cuisine is just that diverse that there is literally something there for everyone - even the pickiest eater on the planet. It also has the added bonus of a history both varied and interesting, and beautiful landscaping to go with it. What more could you ask for?
Italian Cuisine.
“Italy is a country of great variety, and cooking is just another aspect of the diversity of Italian culture.” That statement comes from Anna Maria Volpi, author of the article ‘What is Italian Cooking?’ and indeed she would seem right about the diversity of Italian cuisine, for how could a country that has had such a vibrant and colourful history have a single cooking style? Simply, it can’t. When a country is split into mountains, valleys, plains and coastline, it is obvious that different cuisines would come out of necessity if nothing else.
If we start at the top of the country, we see Piedmont, one of the key towns in Italian unification and a name known to pop up in any half-decent history book on the subject. The north of Italy was invaded quite a few times over the centuries by its European neighbours France and Austria, and therefore shows their influences in the food - it’s impossible to be invaded that much and not pick up a few hints and tricks from the invaders you’re meant to be feeding.
However, according to Wikipedia it was in Sicily that “the first real Italian cuisine” developed. Muslim invaders invaded Sicily back in the 9th Century, bringing with them their national food types - spinach, almonds and rice, and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, spaghetti. It claims that the Normans saw people making ‘trii’, which means ‘spaghetti’ in Southern Italy, so it would seem that big information bucket of the internet appears to have its facts right about this. Interesting.
Yet today it is Bologna that hold the culinary limelight, is the “gastronomic capital” of modern Italy. More known for its Bolognese sauce than the invaders that trampled through, it is where most of the food we would classify as ‘Italian’ is presumed to have come from - tortellini, lasagne and tagliatelle. All of these are common-place types of pasta. However, Parma can wave the ham hock trophy for cured pork products, with its aptly named Parma ham and salami.
Note that both Bologna and Parma both lie to the North of Italy, making it seem as if the North came up with all the bright ideas and the South sat back and waved at culinary progress as it passed them on by. Not so, for the mozzarella that the English prize comes from Campania, as do the pizzas that this buffalo cheese is put on (amazing co-incidence that). It is actually a misconception to think that all modern Italian food that we eat comes from Bologna. Perhaps the traditional food yes, but Italian-American food? No. It comes from Campania and Sicily. If you don’t believe it, take it up with Wikipedia.
On a different note, if you’re a vegetarian, you might be inclined to visit Puglia or Liguria, where there are a lot of vegetables, but not a great deal of meat products. In fact, goats and lambs are only seen “occasionally” in Puglia, which makes one wonder where they all went. Perhaps they wandered over to Piedmont, to look at the wine collections or to Sardinia to swim with the fish that make up the many dishes there.
Truth be told, you could go anywhere in Italy, and still find something that will tickle your fancy. Italian cuisine is just that diverse that there is literally something there for everyone - even the pickiest eater on the planet. It also has the added bonus of a history both varied and interesting, and beautiful landscaping to go with it. What more could you ask for?