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.

There are about 20 regions in Italy and different types of food can be found in each one. Long ago it was difficult for Italians to travel to other regions within Italy. This resulted in distinct styles and ways to prepare food in each region as few people were exposed to other types of cooking. So even though Italy does not seem to be a very large nation geographically, it still has a wide range of flavor.

The different climates across Italy played a role in the kinds of pasta used regionally. Dry pasta made from wheat, water and salt was easier to make in the southern areas of Italy where the warm weather could dry the pasta quicker. So pasta like spaghetti and rigatoni was more popular here. In the North pasta made from eggs and flour was used more, such as tagliatelle, tajarin, or pappardelle. The north also made a lot of stuffed pasta like ravioli.

In today’s Italian cooking, olive oil is used a lot, but not all of Italy had access to this. Olive trees only grew in southern Italy where the climate was warm. Due to the cold weather in the north, olive trees were unable to grow. Instead northern Italians used butter and sometimes lard.

In the south, vegetables that grow better in hotter weather conditions are popular, like tomatoes, and so red sauces are used a lot. Other warm weather vegetables are eggplant, and broccoli raab. In the north, vegetables that grow well in colder weather conditions are used a lot, like cabbages, black leaf kale, cardoons, and radicchio.

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.

There are also many foreign influences in Italian food. Close bordering countries like France and Austria have directly influenced Italian cooking. Spanish, English, and Arab influences manifested in the areas that were at some point in time occupied by those countries.

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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