The best of Italian gastronomy: curiosity about products more or less known. 
not We certainly can not list all the local products and traditional recipes of Italy, but tell us some interesting facts about products more or less known. The Coffee
or better, 'espresso', has some peculiarities that make it unique: first, is 'just' about half a cup if it is normal, even less if it is 'short', fills a cup if it is 'long', shows a typical foam, where the color from beige to brown, depending on the mixture used. You can drink 'black' or 'spotted', ie by adding a little hot milk or cold, bitter or sweet to taste. If you have an espresso machine will not be difficult to get a good coffee at home: the right amount of a good mix with the grinding suitable and properly pressed into the filter, a cup, preferably warm, and you're done. In Italy, in homes, is also used the 'coffee' or 'mocha' which allows you to get more cups simultaneously (1-2-3-6-8-12-24) the coffee did not foam, has a more delicate flavor, but contains more caffeine than espresso because the water remains for longer in contact with the mixture. Some nutrition information: a cup of coffee contains 60 to 100 mg of caffeine, and only 2 calories, nutritionists recommend not to exceed 4 cups a day, just not to ingest too much caffeine, in doses given, it is rather beneficial.
Torrone The typical sweet Cremona, a symbol of the city, nougat has a precise date of birth, at least for the nougat as it arrived today. The cake, which owes its name to "Torrazzo", the most high masonry bell tower in Europe, was born on the day of the wedding of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza, the cook of the court kneaded almonds, honey, nuts, lemon peel, candied fruit and egg whites until stiff, wrapped the dough in a wafer thin and gave him the shape of the bell symbol of the city.
The Parmigiano Reggiano 
table cheese or grated, Parmesan cheese is produced, as the name suggests, in Emilia Romagna , but also in a restricted area of \u200b\u200bLombardy near Mantua . The milk comes from selected farms, where cows are fed only green forage, hay and dry feed of lawn, is then subjected to craftsmanship, during which it is completely banned the use of additives or preservatives and a maturation period of about 15-18 months in the characteristics 'scale'. The product is excellent, both for the organoleptic and nutritional properties: high nutritional values, low cholesterol, no trace of lactose, excellent digestibility and an aroma that makes it perfect on the table to accompany main courses, meats, baked goods, fruit, honey and vegetables. Parmesan cheese is a product with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese made only in accordance with the rules collected in the product may bear the mark Parmigiano Reggiano e quindi deve riportare sulla forma la marchiatura atta a identificare e distinguere il prodotto.
Il Grana Padano. La nascita del Grana Padano risale agli albori del secondo millennio, epoca in cui i monaci Cistercensi bonificarono una vasta area della pianura Padana. La creazione di vasti appezzamenti di terreno riservati a pascolo incrementò la produzione di latte che rischiava di restare in larga misura inutilizzato. I monaci si preoccuparono quindi di perfezionare la 'ricetta' del Grana Padano che consentiva di utilizzare grandi quantitativi di latte mantenendone inalterate le proprietà nutritive e garantendone una lunghissima conservazione. Queste caratteristiche ne favorirono in breve tempo il diffondersi sulle tavole dei nobili e del popolo ed il commercio nelle zone limitrofe. La lavorazione del latte per la sua trasformazione in Grana, divenne in breve tempo una delle colonne portanti dell'economia agricola ed il processo è stato tramandato inalterato nei secoli fino a noi. Per preservare il 'buon nome' del formaggio Grana e le sue caratteristiche, nel 1954 venne costituito il Consorzio per la tutela del formaggio Grana Padano e successivamente, un anno dopo, un Decreto ne sancì la Denominazione di Origine Controllata. Ora il Grana è anche un formaggio D.O.P., cioè a Denominazione d' Origine Protetta. Ma perché è un formaggio unico? Le mucche il cui latte è destinato alla produzione del Grana vengono selezionate, controllate ed alimentate only forages and mixtures of cereals and legumes. The work follows the traditional stages and maturation is monitored and followed up for at least 12 months. The grain is called a semi-fat cheese, because the milk is skimmed in the first phase of transformation. During the aging process, moreover, the enzymes operate a sort of "digestion" that makes the grain a food suitable for children and the elderly, and pregnant women and lactating women, the high nutritional value and excellent digestibility. It is worth mentioning some of the nutritional characteristics of this food: to obtain 1 kilogram of wheat requires 15 gallons of milk, which means that in 30 grams of cheese is concentrated nourishment made from a pint of milk. With 50 grams of grain per day an adult makes sure 50% of the daily requirement of calcium, with an intake of only 70 milligrams of cholesterol and protein than it would take a steak of beef with almost 100 grams. It 'so clear why we can consider the Grana Padano a specialty in our country can be proud of.
The Parma Ham. The term 'ham', derives from Latin and means literally 'dry' and is in fact the long and careful seasoning that gives the product unique. the area of \u200b\u200bproduction of Prosciutto di Parma is that can best ensure the perfect weather conditions for curing, so as to receive the international recognition of PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). In order to protect the quality of the product, born almost forty years ago, the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma, in order to preserve the characteristics and processing methods. Pigs give ham whose thighs are raised and fed on strict criteria in 11 regions of central and northern Italy: Parma ham is by definition free of dyes and preservatives, can be described as "sweet" because the amount of salt used for the curing of the thighs is not necessary and the minimum is increased to accelerate the timing of maturation. In fact it is the time, along with the skilled hands of master prosciutto, to ensure the goodness of ham: after 12 months of aging in an environment with the perfect microclimate, the leg is subjected to the test of "tapping" and only the hams that pass this test will be branded with the 5-pointed ducal crown, a symbol of the Consortium. Noteworthy are the nutritional characteristics of Prosciutto di Parma: deprived of visible fat, weight for weight, makes a less amount of fat to the meat of cattle and the turkey breast, being a totally natural product is also suitable for feeding little ones , because thanks to the maturing of its proteins become more digestible. How to really get your taste? You can pair it with slightly toasted bread and butter, melon, figs or even exotic fruits, is used in the preparation of many dishes, both traditional and not. It goes well with red or white wines, and even if a fruity Lambrusco, Malvasia a dry or sweet Fortana the hills of Parma and Piacenza are your ideal partners, can be combined successfully with many regional wines, and why not, even at a glass of Champagne.
The Pesto, Ligurian typical products, is a sauce commonly used to season the pasta (short or long) or to flavor other dishes. The origins of pesto old: basil, aromatic plant main ingredient of the preparation has been imported from Africa and tropical Asia and found an ideal habitat for its growth in this region enjoys a mild climate and the right soil. The original recipe for pesto for its preparation provides a mortar in white Carrara marble in which they crush with a pestle of boxwood, the basil leaves with garlic, pine nuts and salt, followed by adding cheese and grated Parmesan and Finally, the extra virgin olive oil and work to obtain a smooth cream.
The walnut sauce, excellent with fresh pasta and traditional pansotti, is a version "with nuts" of pesto genovese. Gli ingredienti infatti non si discostano molto fra le due preparazioni, fatta eccezione, ovviamente, per la sostituzione del basilico con i gherigli di noci. Non è di difficile preparazione anche casalinga; questi gli ingredienti necessari:
- 100 gr. di gherigli spellati di noci
- gr. 10 pinoli
- gr. 80 burro
- gr. 60 parmigiano grattugiato
- gr. 30 foglioline di basilico
- 2 spicchi di aglio
- olio extra vergine di oliva, sale e pepe bianco q.b.
Per la preparazione: abbrustolite in forno i gherigli di noce ed i pinoli. Metteteli ancora caldi in un mortaio e pestateli fino a ridurli in polvere. Fate soffriggere leggermente il burro in un tegame, aggiungetevi le noci ed i pinoli e mescolate, cook for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the cheese, salt, white pepper and fresh basil and garlic finely chopped. Go all in a blender, add two tablespoons of boiling water and operate the unit for several minutes. Meanwhile
you flush down the oil until the sauce is smooth and flowing.
The Onion Tropea is characterized by red casing and the slightly elongated shape. He arrived in Italy imported more than two thousand years ago by the Phoenicians and has since grown in Calabria making for centuries one of the typical products of the Tyrrhenian coast in the region. The unusual sweetness the mouth of the "Red Tropea" is due to the special microclimate of the area characterized by a mild winter and hot summer without strong thermal shock, salt air and land that make its flesh is filled with sucrose, fructose and glucose. His own peculiar taste and delicate making it perfect for use as a raw ingredient in salads, it is also very digestible, calorie intake is limited, only 20 calories per 100 grams of fresh produce. The sale is in bulk, weight or gathered and hung in strings (this method ensures the quality of preservation for a few months). The
Pizza 
won the whole world with its original simplicity. Bread dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, olive oil, oregano or basil: Pizza Margherita was invented, of course, a Neapolitan pizza maker, Raffaele Esposito, who prepared her for Queen Margherita, wife of King Umberto I of Italy, inspiration for the choice of ingredients, the three colors of the Italian flag. The Queen appreciated, even more patriotic spirit, the taste of the new recipe, and so the new pizza named after him, was the end of 1800 and since then the imagination of Italian pizza makers gave birth to dozens of different types of pizzas, putting the classic ingredients fish, vegetables, pickles, cheeses, meats, eggs and even frutta, patatine fritte e maionese!!!
La
Pasta : acqua, farina bianca e sale, basta poco per creare uno dei piatti più versatili della tradizione italiana; come la pizza, anche la pasta è stata esportata in tutto il mondo e come per la pizza la fantasia dei cuochi ha creato un'infinità di varianti: pasta lunga, corta, all'uovo, ripiena,
lasagne al forno , condita con sughi semplici (classici gli spaghetti pomodoro e basilico o con soffritto di aglio, olio e peperoncino) od elaborati (
Spaghetti alla Carbonara ,
Pizzoccheri Valtellinesi ).
Il
Gorgonzola è un formaggio assai antico, sebbene come vari altri prodotti food old tradition is devoid of a birth certificate official. On the other hand, has many of hypothetical-legendary.
Some say that the gorgonzola was done for the first time, in the resort of the same name just outside Milan, in the year of grace 879. Others say, however, that the birth took place in the Pasturo Valsassina, large dairy center for centuries, thanks to those great natural caves where the average temperature is constant between 6 and 12 ° C and therefore allows the complete success of the gorgonzola, as well as several other cheeses.
Gorgonzola and its producers, anxious to defend their product, are organized in the '50s: the Law 125 of 1954 regulates
productions of origin and the subsequent decree also gorgonzola cheese, like Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano cheese and other Italian and foreign, can carry the label of origin.
In 1970 the Consortium. Only two Italian regions, by law and tradition, provide for the production of Gorgonzola cheese and only these provinces: Novara, Vercelli, Cuneo, Biella, Verbania and the area of \u200b\u200bCasale Monferrato in Piedmont and Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Pavia and Varese in Lombardy.
Only milk farms in these provinces can be used to produce and then give the protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese gorgonzola, already providing the raw material, a cheese so important. You can say words that sound right from the production of fodder and due to the high hygienic standard of the stalls in the territories consortium, milk for processing into "gorgonzola" is the basic premise of the first order for a product.
(Consorzio Tutela Thanks to Gorgonzola for text and images)
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not We certainly can not list all the local products and traditional recipes of Italy, but tell us some interesting facts about products more or less known. The Coffee 
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