Spotlight on: Six Facts About Italian Food
Italian food goes beyond the two Ps—pizza and pasta—way beyond. Here are six facts that might have you thinking differently about Italian cuisine.
It’s okay to put butter on your bread.
Though many believe that an authentic Italian restaurant will serve bread only with olive oil, the truth is that the preference for olive oil is characteristic of southern Italy. In northern Italy, it’s much more common to find bread served with butter and lard.
Apple strudel is a legit Italian dessert.
In the north, the cuisine is influenced by the neighboring Austria; thus, dishes such as sausage, sauerkraut, and spaetzle are popular there. Along these lines, apple strudel and other Austrian-style desserts are common throughout some northern regions, according to cooking academy Academia Barilla, one of the foremost authorities on regional Italian cuisine.
Pasta isn’t the only thing.
Though Italians from all regions eat pasta, in the north, diners are more likely to choose rice or polenta, while in the south—particular in Sicily—couscous is popular.
Sicily is influenced by other Mediterranean cuisines.
Throughout history, Sicily was invaded by many of its neighboring countries, among them Greece, Spain, French, and Arabic nations. And its cuisine reflects this, incorporating ingredients such as apricots, saffron, fava beans, and cinnamon. Arancini, a dish of fried rice balls made with cheese and beef, has Arabic origins, and pasta dishes might arrive bearing currants and almonds.
Real Italians eat fish.
Many Americans don’t consider fish to be particularly Italian, even though a love of seafood unites many Italian natives—15 of the country’s 20 regions have some sort of coastline. So for an authentic Italian experience, go beyond the frutti di mare or fried calamari, and try the whole-cooked fish.
Tomato sauce is (sort of) modern Italian.
According to some historians, the first Italian tomato sauces were more of a preference for Italian immigrants in 20th century America, rather than native Italians. It wasn’t until then that the tomato sauce and pasta dinner was born. Part of the reason was that for a long time people believed that tomatoes, because they were part of the nightshade family, were poisonous. Soon, though, the demand for Italian tomatoes grew. Today, chefs widely regard san marzano tomatoes (grown in the Campania region) as some of the finest tomatoes in the world.