Italian cuisine

"Italian restaurant" redirects here. For the television series, see Italian Restaurant.

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Clockwise from top left; some of the most popular Italian foods: Neapolitan pizza, carbonara, espresso, and gelato

Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine[1] consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora.[2][3][4] Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize, and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century.[5][6] It is one of the best-known and most widely appreciated gastronomies worldwide.[7]

Italian cuisine includes deeply rooted traditions common throughout the country, as well as all the diverse regional gastronomies, different from each other, especially between the north, the centre, and the south of Italy, which are in continuous exchange.[8][9][10] Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated with variations throughout the country.[11][12] Italian cuisine offers an abundance of taste, and is one of the most popular and copied around the world.[13] Italian cuisine has left a significant influence on several other cuisines around the world, particularly in that of the United States in the form of Italian-American cuisine.[14]

A key characteristic of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, with many dishes made up of few ingredients, and therefore Italian cooks often rely on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the complexity of preparation.[15][16] Italian cuisine is at the origin of a turnover of more than €200 billion worldwide.[17] Over the centuries, many popular dishes and recipes have often been created by ordinary people more so than by chefs, which is why many Italian recipes are suitable for home and daily cooking, respecting regional specificities, privileging only raw materials and ingredients from the region of origin of the dish and preserving its seasonality.[18][19][20]

The Mediterranean diet forms the basis of Italian cuisine, rich in pasta, fish, fruits, and vegetables.[21] Cheese, cold cuts, and wine are central to Italian cuisine, and along with pizza and coffee (especially espresso) form part of Italian gastronomic culture.[22] Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours such as citrus fruits, pistachio, and almonds with sweet cheeses such as mascarpone and ricotta or exotic tastes as cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon. Gelato,[23] tiramisu,[24] and cassata are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts, cakes, and patisserie. Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products; the country has a large number of traditional specialities protected under EU law.[25] Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine varieties in the world.[26][27]

  1. ^ David 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103
  2. ^ "Italian Food". Life in Italy. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  3. ^ "The History of Italian Cuisine I". Life in Italy. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  4. ^ Thoms, Ulrike. "From Migrant Food to Lifestyle Cooking: The Career of Italian Cuisine in Europe Italian Cuisine". EGO (http://www.ieg-ego.eu). Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. ^ "The Making of Italian Food...From the Beginning". Epicurean. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  6. ^ Del Conte 2004, pp. 11–21.
  7. ^ For example, in 2019, the American network CNN ranked first in a ranking of the best cuisines in the world; see: "Which country has the best food?". 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021. According to a survey conducted by the British market analysis company YouGov, out of 24 countries, Italian cuisine was the most internationally appreciated gastronomy with 84% of total preferences; see: "Sondaggio YouGov:l'84% delle persone nel mondo preferisce la cucina italiana". Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  8. ^ Related Articles (2 January 2009). "Italian cuisine". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Italian Food – Italy's Regional Dishes & Cuisine". Indigo Guide. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  10. ^ "Regional Italian Cuisine". Rusticocooking.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  11. ^ "Cronistoria della cucina italiana" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Piatti regionali a diffusione nazionale" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  13. ^ "How pasta became the world's favourite food". BBC News. 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  14. ^ Freeman, Nancy (2 March 2007). "American Food, Cuisine". Sallybernstein.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  15. ^ "Intervista esclusiva allo chef Carlo Cracco: "La cucina è cultura"" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Storia della cucina italiana: le tappe della nostra cultura culinaria" (in Italian). 25 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  17. ^ "La cucina italiana nel mondo: un business da 229 miliardi" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Individualità territoriale e stagionalità nella cucina italiana" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Regole e stagionalità della cucina italiana" (in Italian). 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Nonne come chef" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  21. ^ The Silver Spoon ISBN 88-7212-223-6, 1997 ed.
  22. ^ Marshall, Lee (30 September 2009). "Italian coffee culture: a guide". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  23. ^ Jewkes, Stephen (13 October 2012). "World's first museum about gelato culture opens in Italy". Times Colonist. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  24. ^ Squires, Nick (23 August 2013). "Tiramisu claimed by Treviso". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  25. ^ Keane, John. "Italy leads the way with protected products under EU schemes". Bord Bia. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  26. ^ "L'Italia è il maggiore produttore di vino" (in Italian). 25 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  27. ^ "L'Italia è il paese con più vitigni autoctoni al mondo" (in Italian). 3 June 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.