The History of Italian Cuisine: Delicacies and Traditions

Italian cuisine, ingredients, and flavors will delight you as soon as you have had a taste. Once you have had a taste of Italian food you will envision beauty such as imagining the famous Italian paintings and arts. Italians are skilled at both cooking and eating. There is so much more to Italian food than most may know about. How often do you eat it and how much do you know about it? You may know and eat the basic Italian delicacies such as pizza, spaghetti, ravioli, etc but what other famous and traditional Italian cuisine are you familiar with. Like many countries or states, food is a way of connecting with friends and family, but this is especially in Italy. Italians connect as they eat or drink because it is a time for them to relax and talk to each other, they may also sometimes chat and gossip with their friends and family. Their cuisine has grown and expanded as their art, history, and creation of regions had a big part in their changes and growth of their unique style.

For Italians, food is not just something you eat, and cooking is not just a way of making your food but an art. Italian cuisines are deeply embedded with mixtures of flavors and years of culture deep within their food. The food made by Italians may be passed down from their mom or dads and their grandmothers or grandfathers, and so on. The passing of their families' recipes shows the heritage and roots of their family history, by this they show care and pride towards their past. The Italians also have table manners that many may not be familiar with. Table manners such as where Italians drink water as well as wine along with most of every meal, but on some occasions- beer. Instead of milk, Italians drink cappuccino in the morning as they eat their morning pastries. Just like most people, Italians also eat three meals a day, the Italians eat a light breakfast most of the time. Lunch is their most important meal of the day just like in the United States. There are two meals that many may not know or hear about, Spuntini and Merenda. They are both loaves of bread-covered toppings. Spuntini is usually a mid-morning snack, as Merenda is, for example, bruschetta, focaccia, or crostini. Pastries were traditionally not appetizers but a way to absorb the leftover sauce of the dish you ate, they were not to be dipped in sauces and such but only used to clean the leftover condiments.

Religion was also a big factor in what the Italians were told to eat and what not to eat. Christianity exercised the individual's behaviors, habits, and the way they would eat. Eating said a lot about a person, it is associated with their sins or sexuality. Besides religion, the government controls how much food is and will be produced. At one point in the history of Italy, the monks had a diet of only consuming bread, legumes, and sometimes cheese, egg, and fruits if they were given acquired. There are more than four hundred types of cheese made in Italy, such as mozzarella and parmesan that are now worldwide. Back then meat was not eaten often, the Italians did not like that production to get meat involved violence and how it may affect one's hormones. They then opened up all food as they would then believe feasting was an offering to the greatness and goodness of God, a celebration and honoring of the lord.

Compared to other cultures, Italy has a diverse set of flavors as they add spices from the middle east, grains from northern Africa, fish from the Mediterranean, and different types of meat from roman tables. The Italians also include olive oil to many of their dishes, including vegetables, cheese, and legumes. Wine especially was added to many of their dishes, wine is a big part of their culture as Italy is home to one of the world's most famous vineyards. The Barbarians introduced their flavors where they added such things as butter or beer, and the Romans introduced to wine and olive oil. Countries like France, Switzerland, Austria, and other bordering countries have greatly influenced the Italian culture.

The history of Italian cuisine has evolved as there were changes in their history. Their delicacies are just as rich as their history. The centuries of wars, cultural mutations, and contacts help shape their now rich and diverse recipes. Italy is divided into regions, and in each of those regions, they have their unique tastes, styles, and different ways of cooking. The Italians eat locally and seasonally. The common ingredients of the North of Italy are fish, potatoes, rice, sausages, pork, and of course cheese. The North also showed a mixture of German and Roman culture. The north also used rice, polenta, and pasta which was also common in the south. Those in the north were famous for their pasta and pizza. The South commonly uses tomatoes, peppers, olives, garlic, artichokes, eggplant, and capers. Different from the North of Italy, the South serves their dishes fresh or cooked into sauce. The center mostly used pork fat. The common people ate differently from those who were rich as they relied on locally grown beans, grains, vegetables, greens, and herbs. It is one of the Italian traditions where the Italians prepare and cook based on fresh ingredients. The more traditional ingredients are condiments like olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pasta, basil, rosemary, and farro. In the past the Italians had also served birds and decorated the dish with their feathers, also serving pork with its head still attached as its sides with surrounding the dish.

Along with the diverse flavors, many ingredients, and the history of Italy, their food expansion, the Roman empire held a major component in each of the factors. This is also because the roman empire constantly expanded from place to place, from the middle east to north Africa and the Mediterranean, conquering more and more places. The Romans were originally known for their feasts including many dishes and bottles of wine. They experimented with different ingredients, flavors, and spices in the preparation of complex dishes. Including such ingredients as garlic, onions, sage, and rosemary as well as bacon or pig. Towards the end of the roman empire, invading the barbarian tribes introduced new flavors and components. This is where the diversity of all flavors and ingredients began.

All in all, the Italians have a large history for the growth and expansion of traditional and unique delicacies. Besides the actual history of Italy, the history of each of the Italian families also plays a big factor in what the Italians may cook, as their family recipes and foods may be passed down by generation. Religion also affected what the Italians made as their different religions had different specifications of what can and can not be eaten. Italy is also known for its unique flavors as they include many different ingredients to make their rich and traditional dishes. The Roman Empire also was a big component in the expansion of the delicacies in Italy, as it conquered different regions adopting different flavors, ingredients, and condiments. The separations and divisions of Italy and how each of their regions has their taste as well as special cuisines are not as advertised as it should be. If advertised more individuals can taste what each of the regions specializes in when it comes to the food their region is known for. The general Italian history, as well as their food expansion from the beginning of time, has been a big factor in Italy and their delicacies.