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Italian Cuisine

Page history last edited by Njeri-Amira 15 years, 1 month ago

By Kenya Earls and Njeri Shabazz  

Introduction                                                                                                                                            

        When you think about Italian food you think of pizza and pasta right? It's time for that to change, because there is so much more Italian food has to offer. Italian recipes are known for there uses of herbs and spices but when did Italian food come to be? It is believed that the history of Italian cuisines date back to the eighteenth century BC. This is when Greek settlers colonized Sicily and Magna Graecia, a region in Southern Italy. 

        Italian cuisine is one of the most varied cuisines because Northern Italy and Southern Italy are extremely different.  The main reason they are different is because of the use of fats for pasta. Extra virgin olive oil is used all throughout Italy now, but before that, Northern Italy used butter and lard. That is because it is cold, so olive trees don't grow. The way that they make pasta is different, as well. Southerners use durum wheat, water, and a pinch of salt. The north makes fresh pasta using eggs, flour, and salt. They also made stuffed pasta such as ravioli and tortellini. There was not always pasta in the north, though. People there ate polenta and risotto before they ate pasta.

     Another thing that makes Northern and Southern Italian cuisines different is the vegetables. In the south where it is hotter, there are always plenty of vegetables such as eggplant, broccoli, and especially tomatoes. As a result, there are many more dishes involving tomatoes. In the north, there are more cabbage, kale, cardoons, and radicchio. One more thing that makes North and South so different is the influences of other countries. In the southwest, there is a French influence. There is a Spanish influence in the south. Mostly in Milano, which was ruled by Spain for some time. There is English influence in Tuscany and Jewish influence in Rome. There is also some Arab influence because Sicily used to be an Arab province.

Food!!!

     Here are some foods that are Italian. 

     Risotto is very good, but very hard to make. It is sensitive to timing, and that is why eating it at a restaurant isn't the same as making it yourself.  It involves rice (which was brought over by the Arabs to Italy). The rice should be short-grained round or semi-round.  It should be made by mincing onions and herbs. It should then be sautéed.  Once it is sautéed, rice and then wine (heated) are stirred in. When the wine dries up, broth is added and it should be stirred constantly. When it reaches the "al dente" stage, it should be covered with butter and cheese (if the recipe says so) and then it is done. It was made popular in the north and it would be easier to cook if you have the right materials. Risotto should be cooked in a pot that evenly distributes heat, and if it is cooked in a pressure cooker, it will speed up the process and you wont have to stir as much, and you will still have the same results.

     A common Italian appetizer is Bruschetta. It only takes a few minutes to make. It is made by toasting Tuscan bread, rubbing it with a clove of garlic (not too hard or it will be ruined), then adding olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs.

                                        

     Gelato is like ice cream, but there are a few differences. Gelato has 10% butterfat but ice cream has 26%. Another difference is that air is added to ice cream to double the quantity of it. Gelato has no air and it has a richer, creamier taste. Finally, gelato is served warmer, although they are both served under 35 degrees fahrenheit.

     Pizza started off as seasoned flatbread. It changed when tomatoes were introduced to Europe. Many Italians thought that they were poisonous and they only grew them for decoration. Starving peasants started using them in almost everything they made, including pizza. For a while, only poor people ate pizza, but then everyone began eating it and it's popularity spread. In Italy it was made to look like the Italian flag because of the tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella (it is the only cheese they use).

     

     Ricotta cheesecake is like American cheesecake, only lighter. 

 

 

  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (16 ounce) container ricotta cheese                                                             
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 pint sour cream

Directions!

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a springform pan.
  2. Mix the cream cheese and ricotta cheese together in a mixing bowl until well combined. Stir in the sugar, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, cornstarch, flour, and butter. Add the sour cream last and stir. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven 1 hour; turn oven off and leave in oven 1 hour more. Allow to cool completely in refrigerator before serving.

     

    

 

     Tiramisu is a common dessert.

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese
  • 1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 (12 ounce) packages ladyfingers
  • 1/3 cup coffee flavored liqueur 
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
  • 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate
Directions!
  1. Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.
  2. Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.
  3. Split the lady fingers in half, and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl. Brush with coffee liqueur. Spoon half of the cream filling over the lady fingers. Repeat ladyfingers, coffee liqueur and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa and chocolate curls. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
  4. To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.

      During Christmas, Italians eat Panforte and Ricciarelli. Panforte is a type of fruit cake eaten mainly in Tuscany.No one knows for sure how it was really created. Some people think that it was invented by a nun named Suor Leta. She discovered her bags of nuts, sugar, and spices mixed together (mice had eaten holes into them). Instead of throwing it away, she put the mixture in a pan and cooked it. A lot has been added to Panforte over the years, even chocolate! Ricciarelli is an orange-laced almond paste cookie that is mainly eaten during Christmas, but they are also eaten all year round.

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources: 

"Italian Regional Cuisines" by Kyle Phillips. Retrieved Monday, January 26, 2009 from the World Wide Web from

http://italianfood.about.com/library/weekly/blregional.htm 

 

"Making Risotto" by Kyle Phillips. Retrieved Monday, January 26, 2009 from the World Wide Web from 

http://italianfood.about.com/od/tipstricks1/a/aa091697.htm 

 

"Tiramisu" by Kyle Phillips. Retrieved Monday, January 26, 2009 from the World Wide Web from 

http://italianfood.about.com/od/spoondesserts/r/blr0290.htm

 

"Bruschetta" by Kyle Phillips. Retrieved Monday, January 26, 2009 from the World Wide Web from

http://italianfood.about.com/od/veggieantipasti/r/blr0204.htm 

 

"What is Gelato?" from Caffe Gelato. Retrieved Tuesday, January 27, 2009 from the World Wide Web from 

http://www.caffegelato.net/html/gelato.html 

 

"Pizza: The Soul of Italy" by Jusin Demetri. Retrieved Tuesday, January 27, 2009 from the World Wide Web from

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/pizza-history.asp 

 

"Italian cream cheese and Ricotta cheesecake" by April. Retrieved Thursday, January 29, 2009 from the World Wide Web from

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Cream-Cheese-and-Ricotta-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx

 

"Classic Tiramisu" by Carol. Retrieved Thursday, January 29, 2009 from the World Wide Web from

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Classic-Tiramisu/Detail.aspx 

 

"Ricciarelli--Sienese Christmas Cookies" by Kyle Phillips. Retrieved Tuesday, Febuary 3, 2009. From the World Wide Web from

http://italianfood.about.com/od/biscottietc/r/blr0518.htm

 

"Siena's Panforte--A Christmas Delight" by Kyle Phillips. Retrieved Tuesday, February 3, 2009 From the World Wide Web from

http://italianfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa120397.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (4)

John Silva said

at 12:10 pm on Jan 23, 2009

Make sure you talk about the differences between regions of Italy. Food is different in the north than in the south. Also, talk about some of the different types of pasta and how pasta came to be Italian.

John Silva said

at 12:34 pm on Jan 27, 2009

This is a very good start but you don't really mention pizza yet you have a picture of a pizza. Same thing with cheesecake. Make sure your pictures fit your text. Also, some of your pargraphs are missing words. Almost like you copied them and tried to change them so it doesn't look like you copied. Read what you wrote very carefully and make necessary changes.

John Silva said

at 12:42 pm on Feb 3, 2009

This is looking very good but you may have too many images. They take up a lot of room and distract from the text. Choose pictures wisely

John Silva said

at 9:57 am on Feb 9, 2009

20 - good detail about the food but what about cultural aspects of the food? What is the purpose of the map?

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