Did you know the typical Italian meal consists for four courses and can last more than five hours? Prior to the first course, it's common to eat bread with butter or oil and drink wine.
Did you know spaghetti with meatballs was made popular right here in the U.S.? Italian immigrants had access to inexpensive cuts of meat unavailable in Italy. They added meat to many pasta dishes that became heartier and more robust, increasing the popularity of pasta as a main course item.
Spaghetti, which is considered the most popular Italian dish, is actually not an authentic Italian cuisine. Also, most of the pastas served in Italian cuisine are not topped with meatballs. In fact, chicken is a more preferred topping in Italian pastas.
It is estimated that the average American eats 46 slices of pizza each year. That equates to a total of 23 pounds of cheese, dough, tomato sauce and toppings.
The first Italian restaurants in America were opened in the 1880s. By the late 1920s, Italian restaurants had become firmly established as the most popular ethnic dining establishments in America, a position that continues to this day.
Even though the tomato wasn't native to Italy, the Southern Italians quickly learned to love it. Vegetables like tomatoes, peppers (sweet and spicy), and eggplants grow really well in the South, and most of the red sauces and heavy vegetable dishes come from that region.
For many food fanatics, osso buco is the ultimate Italian dish. The traditional recipe features veal shanks slowly simmered over low heat with tomatoes, white wine, garlic, onion and carrots. The tender veal is then served with a gremolata of parsley, garlic and lemon.
Not sure what pasta shape to use? A lot of that has to do with the sauce. Flatter pastas are usually served with a cream sauce, while tomato sauces work better with shapes they can cling to. Fortunately, an Italian restaurant will pair the pasta and sauce for you, so all you have to do is enjoy it.
Pizza is one of the most popular Italian dishes in America. Together we eat about 100 acres of the stuff each day. That's about 350 slices each second.
Italian cuisine has numerous things that are not usually eaten in the UK, for instance, snails, horse, jackass, hedgehog, goat, guinea pig, rabbit and bunny, wild hog, ocean urchin, ocean snails, octopus, squid, sparrows and even peacock.
Fusilli pasta has a medium sized, twisted shape often referred to as "twisted spaghetti." It holds sauce well (the hallmark of a good pasta shape) and works as well in hot dishes like casseroles as it does in cold pasta salads.
The concept of pasta as a one-dish meal is a decidedly American contribution to Italian cuisine. Initially many traditional Italians scorned the idea, but today it’s become standard fare in homes and restaurants throughout the country.
Did you know that you can tell which part of Italy pasta come from by their shape? Flat pasta, like fettuccine, cannelloni, and ravioli, come from Northern Italy, while tubular varieties like rigatonii, penne, and macaroni originated in the South.
Luciano Pavarotti, almost as great an eater as he was a singer, once said, "One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."
Ribollita is a soup that started with the requirements of the peasants. It is a straightforward yet delightful soup that was made by utilizing extra minestrone or vegetable soup from the earlier day.
Interestingly, a bas-relief carving of a group of native people eating what appears to be spaghetti or a type of pasta was found in a 4th century BC Etruscan tomb. Pasta has a long tradition in Italy and other countries like China, where the Chinese have been enjoying noodles since about 3000 BC.
Did you know that baked bread was the food staple of ancient Rome and Italy? In fact, bread was even the staple food of the Roman welfare system called Annona. Baked bread and other baked goods came via the cities of Remus and Romulus.
Italian food is one of the most popular regional cuisines consumed in the U.S. That's true across the pond, too. In England, a recent poll placed Italian food number one in the hearts of British citizens, scoring higher than any other European cuisine.
Italian dishes are renowned for being relatively easy to prepare. Most have only three to seven ingredients. Preparation is kept to a minimum, making the quality of the ingredients the most important factor.
Did you know that the average person in Italy eats more than 51 pounds of pasta every year? To put this in perspective, the average person living in North America consumes around fifteen and a half pounds on an annual basis.
It can be easy to get the idea that pasta is always spaghetti with tomato sauce, but you might be surprised. Italians eat pasta every day, and with the amount of different kinds, they could have a different pasta dish every single day of the year.
Are you particularly fond of the rich cream sauces prevalent in some forms of Italian cuisine? You can thank the German and French influence on northern Italy for infusing dairy into the regional cuisine.
While each Italian restaurant has its own version, traditional antipasto plate’s feature varied cold cuts such as prosciutto, salami and mortadella, cheeses such as parmigiano-reggiano, and an assortment of marinated vegetables and olives.
Did you know that, when the weather gets hot, Italians shift to lighter dishes that are easier to digest? Usually, these dishes include lots of fish, because it is lighter than meat and quick and easy to cook.
