Italian Cuisine

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Cuisine in Italy

A Ligurian pizza with pesto, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.

The real joy of Italian food is its freshness, the diversity of the ingredients and regional variety, though finding cuisine that does not involve pasta or pizza can be tricky, not to mention expensive.
There are significant differences between north and south Italy. Forget about spaghetti or pizza in tomato sauce, they are not really Italian cuisine but Neapolitan [from Naples], though supreme pizza and pasta can be easily found in anywhere in the country.
The north style is generally rich in creamy sauce [using butter], the centre prefers olive oil and herbs, while southern food tends to be hot and spicy.
Everyday food in the south is pasta while polenta [corn meal, a sort of porridge eaten with pasta sauce] is more common in the north.

Regional specialities worth seeking out are: pesto sauce and anchovies in Liguria, white truffles and wine in Piemonte, Tuscan wine in Tuscany, pizza and pasta vongole in Naples, pork dishes such as ham and salami in Emilia-Romagna [best known for Parma ham and Parmesan cheese], and sweets such as cassata [ice cream], cannoli [fried pastries with ricotta and chocolate] in Sicily.
Big cities have no shortage of ethnic or non-Italian food, but small towns can have conservative tastes and an unusual aversion to hamburgers.

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