The roots of the Italian cookery date back to the 4th century b.C. and its development has been going through political and social changes during the centuries.  The variety of the different regional dishes is one of its main characteristics as well as its simplicity, recognized all over the world. The Italian chefs prefer to give importance to the quality of ingredients, rather than to methods, as our grandmothers used to do. That’s why all the recipes of Italian cookery ...

Balsamic vinegar: a product of excellence The term aceto balsamico (balsamic vinegar) is being used in general for a typical dressing, manufactured in the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena in the Emilia Romagna region. On the contrary, it’s very important to know the difference between a non traditional balsamic vinegar and DOP balsamic vinegar. The non traditional balsamic vinegar is obtained from the fermentation of one part of concentrated must (or partially concentrated) and one part of balsamic vinegar ...

It’s often considered a cheese, but actually is a dairy product obtained from reheated whey left from the production of cheese. Its name comes from Latin, re-coctus means cooked again. Ricotta has a very old history as the first evidence of its production dates back to Sumer civilisation and Ancient Egypt. It is mentioned in the ninth book of Odyssey, when Ulysses (Odysseus) meets Polyphemus while preparing it. This means that it was spread among the Greeks and the Romans. ...

Home made pasta has an old tradition: tagliatelle, tagliolini, lasagna, ravioli, tortellini and maltagliati were made from the egg pasta dough many years ago already. Home made pasta was for our grandmothers the only pasta available for their families; it was prepared on Sunday and consumed during the week. Nowadays, women who work do not have much time to dedicate to cooking and can seldom prepare a dish of home made tagliatelle. Yet, altogether, it doesn’t take much time to ...

MINESTRA (soup) is a vegetable broth enriched with cereals or pasta and dusted with grated parmigiano. The word ZUPPA (soup)  has a German origin and means soaked bread. It’s made of vegetables and pulses, without rice or pasta. It’s served with croûtons and it’s less liquid than minestra MINESTRONE is similar to both ZUPPA and MINESTRA. The variety of vegetables and pulses mixed with pasta, or cereals like rice and barley makes this dish thick and rich. VELLUTATA (creamed dish) ...

Mozzarella di bufala Campana DOP (PDO Buffalo Mozzarella) is an excellence among the Italian food products and is mainly manufactured in Caserta and Salerno areas. Today, it’s the most important product with Protected Designation of Origin in Southern Italy. Its name is derived from the fact that the cheese strings obtained from the curds are “mozzati” (cut off) by the cheesemakers. The Twelfth century documents prove that the monks living in San Lorenzo in Capua Monastery (near Aversa, Caserta) used ...

The origin of the gnocchi lays in the old cookbooks. If related to durum wheat pasta, the gnocchi are very easy to prepare at home, with just a few ingredients available in all kitchens. The simplicity of the recipe has actually encouraged the creation of different variants of this dish, so gnocchi are not to be considered a mere pasta shape, but a separate family of dishes. Nowadays the are three kinds of gnocchi (potatoes, semolina and “canederli” or Knödel) ...

The spelt soup is as delicious as ancient; this cereal was a staple ingredient of the Roman Legions diet, thanks to its very important and valuable organoleptic properties. Spelt was so important that it was always served during wedding ceremonies; actually wedding was called confarreatio by Ancient Romans (Spelt = Farro in Italian) a term indicating the focaccia bread prepared with spelt that the newlyweds should share.

Do you know the difference between raising (or currant) and sultana? The two terms are often thought to be synonyms, on the contrary Sultana is a grape variety, while raising is dehydrated grape, under sun or in stove. The misunderstanding is due to the fact that raising is mainly produced with Sultana grape, besides Corinto and Malaga varieties. Sultana variety comes from south Western Asia, it’s good as table grapes and for the production of juices, distillates and obviously to ...

The first example of pounded sauce at Romans’ time, was the MORETUM, described by Virgilio. The first recipe of PESTO ALLA GENOVESE (Genoese-style pesto) dates from mid of XIX century, made by Giovanni Battista Ratto, and it’s described in his “La Cuciniera Genovesa” book. From the excerpts we know that: <we need a clove of garlic, basil or, in case this is not available, marjoram and persil, Dutch cheese and Parmesan, both grated and mixed together, pine nuts, all ingredients ...