A cross cultural invasion- Italian cuisine is at its best
Italy is often associated with the Roman period but today the
Italians have a different identity which is identifiable through its
cuisine. Beyond the stereotyped meals like pastas and pizzas, there are
a lot of variations in Italian cuisine which can be of great interest.
The food lovers can enjoy Italian food especially due to the wide array
of ingredients and the cooking styles which can be adopted to get it
cooked.
Everything does not start or end with a slice of Italian pizza. A
slice of pizza is truly Italian but one must always look deep into this
cuisine in order to get a more closer view of a new world of taste. The
Roman era and the pre Roman era are different and contemporary Italy is
way different from the former two. But there are fundamental
similarities in the type of food which is being served today and those
which used to be served before. Therefore things have changed with time
but a few things remain completely unchanged.
Apart from taste there are other aspects of Italian cuisine which are
more important. the very way of serving Italian food is very important.
There are traces of this in an old cook book which dates back many
centuries. One can find the importance of presentation and style in
those cook books. In no way does taste contradict the style of
presentation; both must compliment each other pretty well.
After the break up of the Roman Empire, the individuality of the
various states of Italy began to take proper shape. The individual
states retained their individual styles of cooking and their individual
ingredients; this gave rise to a lot of variation in Italian food.
Italian food cannot be complete with its traditional meatballs and the
various wines produced by the individual states. This started right
after the break up of the Roman Empire and a new cultural revolution
began to take shape in the form of new food items and spiced wines.
Naples became the main center for the pizza lovers; the southern part
of Italy became the breeding ground for expert bread makers. Bread
makers around the world appreciate the Italian style of bread making
since it is considered to be an art. Soft egg noodle is a favorite food
item for the residents of northern Italy whereas the inhabitants of
southern Italy love hard boiled spaghetti.
Bologna is a province of Italy which is famous for the pan cake
omelet or the tortilla. Tortilla is famous all over the world for its
variation in terms of taste and variation with respect to the condiments
used in tortilla.
Italian cuisine is always a mixture of sorts; the very reason being
the amount of influence which ancient Italian cuisine had on itself. The
Roman ships traveled around the world to collect edible items like
wheat, wine, grains, dry fruits and other edibles which would be long
lasting. Hence one can very well understand that little influences of
various regions of the world in Italian cuisine. Italian cuisine is also
famous for its sea food and in particular the coastal regions of Italy.
In terms of sea food too, one can find that there are influences of Arab
and North Africa.
The very methods of garnishing and spicing are basically from various
parts of the world. Hence external influence on Italian food is profound
and there are elements of authenticity too. One can always conclude that
Italian cuisine is an intermingling of various cuisines along with the
authentic Italian dishes. Versatility is everything; a cuisine can only
be called as a standard one only if it has the capacity to satisfy the
needs of a person.
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