Ana Maria Da Costa Vasconcellos asked:


The main reason for the popularity of Italian food is probably its taste that pleases all cultures. Another one could be the quality of its ingredients. A good Italian dish depends directly on the freshness and genuinity of its ingredients. During the present times, it is important to preserve quality standards to avoid a quality loss while looking for convenience in international markets.

Quality Brands

To protect the originality of some typical products and processes, the European Union created the quality brands PDO (Protected designation of origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). The PDO protects both the origin of the raw material and the typical production process. The PGI protects the typical process, allowing the raw material to come from other parts.

The weak ring is the low knowledge people have about these brands. They are created to foster the typical products, benefiting the customers, as they distinguish the real typical products from the common ones that are maybe sold as an equal quality product. Some researches showed that the number of people who knows about these brands is still a minor part of the customers.

The most known example regards the parmesan cheese. Most of the customers know parmesan as a type of Italian cheese. How many of these customers know about the sentence from European Union stating that Parmesan is the cheese produced in a determined region of Italy, under the rules of Parmigiano Reggiano consortium? Only this cheese can be called Parmigiano or parmesan. The other ones, produced all around the world (this sentence regarded a german cheese) cannot use this name. If they do so, they are doing it unproperly.

Typical food quality and Tourism

This example shows the importance of preserving the food culture. Otherwise, in a few years, in this globalization environment, we were going to eat the same things everywhere, losing this important culture factor that is made of typical processes and products.

When we travel, we do not go visiting museums or monuments only… each place carries its culture also concerning food.

Studies show that the number of tourists that consider the food as an important factor while choosing a destination is growing. A relevant number wants to experience it visiting wineries, agritourist sites and “touching with hand” the process of producing typical products. Often also buying local products to take home part of that experience lived in that specific territory.

Hunger and quality

Quality is for comfortable people. It should not be like this, but it is. People is able to look for quality when is not hungry. Talk about quality brands and typical products has sense when people is already replete, and have the possibilities to choose. This fact doesn’t mean quality shoudn’t be present in every product, but it means that look for a special extra virgin olive oil has sense for someone who already uses and know what an extra virgin olive oil is.

This may be a risk for poor civilizations that may loose their typical process while looking for cheaper food. They may buy from the outside more convenient food rather than evaluating their own typical processes, that may cost more and give less harvest.

Quantity x quality

The process of obtaining smaller harvests began with a huge production of butter in the 70’s, that was storaged in European warehouses. In a world where there is still people who die for hunger, such economic measure to avoid the prices decrease isn’t correct. So, what shoud be done to avoid this inconvenient problem (too much food stored)? Produce less! The biologic products were born then to fulfill this need: smaller harvests using less chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The process continued and people began to notice that “less is better”. Typical products with small outputs began to be considered specialties. If a kind of olive tree gives less harvest, their product is a niche product.

But how a common customer can notice this difference? Through the quality brands. It’s a powerful tool for quality food lovers. A unique product has no need of a quality brand. Some special brands of balsamic vinegar are sold by more than 2000 US dollars per litre. These are unique products by themselves, as a Ferrari is between machines. But regarding the good products that can be confused with similar in appearance, the quality brand is necessary and allows the gourmets to buy and enjoy special food that continue to be produced as they used to be, respecting the local traditions and allowing us to live in a global world that preserve the differences cultures need to keep the history alive.

Ian asked:


You might have found lots of databases on Italian cooking through the Internet and be excited about trying to delve into the world of parmagiana, pesto, and pasta.

It would be useful to have on hand some basic ingredients that are found in lots of Italian cooking. By that way, you will be able to serve your Italian food most days without having to do an extensive grocery shop.

Lets look at the ingredients that you need to have in your grocery list.

Garlic: This may sound like a cliché to you, but this modest bulb has its own place in all Italian kitchens. Keep garlic in a dry and cool place, such as a pantry or root cellar. Look for bulbs with no discoloration on the bottom when buying garlic as these discolorations indicate moulding and age.

Tomato Sauce: You do not have to buy the expensive tomato sauce. The national brand or house brand at your nearby local grocery store will be fine in your Italian dish. Local made tomato sauce does not affect the taste of your Italian cooking. Try not to buy from the “pre-seasoned” blends, as you will be adding your own spices and herbs.

Pasta: Do not buy a huge quantity of any one specific pasta. It is preferable to keep a little amount of the most regular types such as wide egg noodle, large and small shells, elbow macaroni, linguine and spaghetti. It will be good if you have storage so that you can keep the long noodles in a long container. Moreover, you can find many tuppaware makers that are specially design to keep the pasta in to maintain freshness.

Parmesan Cheese: Freshly ground Parmesan cheese is always a welcome addition to the top of any Italian dish even though it may not always be needed in the ingredients of the Italian recipe you are cooking. The famous cheese brand, Kraft, has a new product with a block of cheese in its container along with its grater. The price is not expensive and it works very well with Italian cooking.

Olive oil: One of the mistakes that many Italian food amateurs make is using pricey olive oil for things like pan-frying. Using the standard olive oil, which is yellow in colour is just fine for this.

Keep these ingredients well stocked and you will be ready and prepared to cook any Italian dish.

Giammarco Schisani asked:


Italian food is famous throughout the world for being healthy, delicious and easy to prepare. Catering for a variety of tastes, famous Italian food includes pizza, pasta dishes with a variety of sauces as well as a variety of red meat dishes. Whatever your preferences, you can be sure to find a great Italian dish that you will love.

Mushroom Pesto Lasagna

This is a great dish to allow vegetarians to have a taste of Italy! For best results you should make with fresh egg pasta rather than using dried lasagna noodles. This can be served along with parmesan cheese for best results.

Shrimp Scampi

Getting this recipe right involves cooking the scampi to perfection. This recipe is great with garlic and butter, while serving crusty bread alongside it will ensure that diners have an opportunity to sop up any residual sauce.

Fish Soup with Gremolata

This can be found in different forms and with different regional takes throughout Italy. The seafood you decide to use can vary based on the preferences of the diner, and what is available for you to use at a given time. Usually cooked in white wine, this dish was originates from the Adriatic coast where it first became popular decades ago.

Chicken Scarpariello

This is a dish which is often referred to as being Italian American, translating as shoemakers chicken, the dish comprises of chicken in a lemon sauce. The chicken should be cooked until golden brown and the meal should be served alongside a dry white wine.

Chicken Marsala

This is a unique dish because it looks so elegant that it is suitable for the most sophisticated of occasions, however it is so easy to prepare. The dish is healthy because it is does not use much oil, and the chicken is usually served in a bed of flavored herb rice, alternatively it can also be served alongside potatoes.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

The trick to perfecting this recipe is to use the best possible ingredients you can find and take advantage of them. The quality of chopped tomatoes that you use can really make or break this dish. If you are making the meatballs then you could either opt for beef and veal or beef and turkey; they are probably the most suited to the sauce.

Beef Carpaccio

This dish consists of thin slices of raw beef and is generally served as an appetizer or a starter. The dish was originally conceived in Harry’s Bar in Venice where it has since became popular throughout the world. The variations between Arugula Leaves, lemon wedges and raw beef make the taste so unique.

Zuppa Toscana

This dish consists of turkey sausage, onions, bacon and potatoes. Although not an overly healthy recipe, that does not stop thousands of people around the world naming it their favorite Italian dish of all time. A great aspect of this dish is that it can really be tailored to anyone’s taste, such as changing the ratio of Chicken Broth and heavy cream – or alternatively including or leaving out certain meats.

Steve Buchanan asked:


Nowadays Italian food is getting popular day by day all over the world. People of every country have started liking this food. If you are one of them who like pasta very much then you must love this cooking because this is one of the main ingredients of most recipes. As with all ethnic foods, this eating uses its own group of spices. These are a number of most popular spices which are used in this cooking; these spices are garlic, oregano, basil and thyme. If you will use fresh spices in your cooking then it will really add a special touch to any dish, but if you are unable to find fresh and then you can use the dried spice. You can buy these spices in small quantities and you need not keep them stored in a cool, dark place, not over your stove on a rack.

The heart of this cooking or eating is the use of ingredients. These ingredients are available in all the seasons. These ingredients are used to change ordinary items into works of art in the form of pastas, side dishes, breads, sauces, main dishes, deserts and soups. The possibilities are rally endless and very exciting. If you are really Italian food lover then you must buy cookbooks so that you can easily increase the taste of your food. These are a number of recipe books that have pictures of the completed dish so that you will able to know what it should look like. These books can help you a lot if you have never seen the dish anywhere. It is really best to follow a recipe when you first start to learn a new recipe but don’t be panic to start experimenting once you have the basics down.

Following are some ingredients that you need to have in your grocery list.

1) Tomato Sauce:

Tomato Sauce is one of the important ingredients. You need not have to buy the expensive tomato sauce. The national brand or house brand at your nearby local grocery store will be fine in your Italian dish. Try not to buy from the “pre-seasoned” blends, as you will be adding your own spices and herbs.

2) Pasta:

It is highly recommended that you should not buy a huge quantity of any specific pasta. It is preferable to keep a little amount of the most regular types such as wide egg noodle, large and small shells, elbow macaroni, linguine and spaghetti. It will be good if you have storage so that you can keep the long noodles in a long container. Moreover, you can find many Tupperware makers that are specially design to keep the pasta in to maintain freshness.

3) Parmesan Cheese:

Freshly ground Parmesan cheese is always a welcome addition to the top of any Italian dish even though it may not always be needed in the ingredients of the recipe you are cooking. The famous cheese brand, Kraft, has a new product with a block of cheese in its container along with its grater.

4) Olive oil:

Olive oil is also one of the integral parts of ingredients. One of the mistakes that many Italian food amateurs make is using pricey olive oil for things like pan-frying. Using the standard olive oil, which is yellow in color, is just fine for this.