Interesting and fun facts about Italian food

Italian food has caught the attention of every global tourist, with several fusions of Italian cuisine being served across the globe. Therefore, food is an indispensable part of Italian culture. The Italian food facts make the cuisine even more impressive and delicious. We bring you the best Italian food, fun facts, and traditions you should remember after getting your Italy visa.

Carbonara is never served with cream.

Carbonara originates from Rome, and Romans generally are evangelical about the actual carbonara and its taste and texture. You will sound like a heinous crime committed if you ever ask for cream. The creaminess of the carbonara is always with the preparation of the egg sauce and not cream.

Garlic bread is not an Italian recipe.

Garlic bread is a staple diet in many Italian cuisines serving cafes and restaurants. Unfortunately, garlic bread is not sold as an individual dish in Itlay. Well! This would be news to some. The nearest version of garlic bread is a bruschetta, grilled bread with olive oil and garlic and dressed with pates and tomatoes. Garlic bread is usually served as a starter in a pizzeria but is never prepared with butter or fine olive oil.

The Naples Pizza is part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

You will find Pizza served in several variations in Italy with fried, thin, and thick crusts. However, the version served in Naples is prepared per the traditional process, where UNESCO declared this as an intangible heritage. The taste and texture of the same are quite unique, and it is incredibly hard to let go and enjoy something else among the best Italian food you can savor during your Italian holiday.

Nutella is a preferred option for Pizza.

You may not have seen this variation, but Nutella is served on Pizza in Italy and is extremely popular and demanding. Nutella adds a touch of saltiness, making the Pizza even more delicious. Obviously, without a doubt, the Nutella is applied depending on the topping and sauce you use.

Pineapple is not served on Pizza.

Pineapple is a great accompaniment to a pizza and is served as a pizza topping in several countries. However, pineapples are never served with Pizza in Italy. Instead, you can get various toppings on your Pizza, like anchovies, Mozzarella, tomato sauce, olives, artichokes, jalapenos, mushrooms, and focaccias.

Pizza did not originate in Italy.

Many people feel that Pizza is a traditional Italian recipe, but this is not the case. There has been proven scientific research that pizza dough with origins from Egypt and Greece, along with Sardinia, almost 3000BC. It is difficult to shortlist one region with the exact origins of the Pizza.

The Pizza Margherita is the undisputed Queen of pizzas.

The Pizza Margherita is popular not only for its unique taste but also for its origins. The Pizza Margherita has first prepared for the Queen Margherita of Savoy, led to be named after her. The Neapolitan chef, Raffaele Esposito, decided to impress the Queen by creating a dish worthy of the Queen and representing the Italian flag colors, with Mozzarella representing the white portion, basil representing the green, and tomato sauce representing the red portion.

Round-shaped Pizza is only served in the evening.

Traditionally round, shaped Pizza was served only for dinner, which gradually changed over time. Therefore, if you want to feast on a pizza for lunch, you will not be heading to a pizzeria, but rather you should head to a bakery or a takeaway pizza place known as pizzeria al taglio. Pizza is served in thicker slices here.

Coloboma is an exclusive Easter special

Easter comes along with great festivities and delightful foods. Coloboma is a quintessential Easter sweet dish flavored with almonds and nuts shaped like a dove.

Italian staple diets for special occasions

Lentils form a critical component of the Italian staple diet. They are consumed all year round, with New Year's Eve being the most prominent of the lot, where lentils are consumed as a special food. Lentils symbolize money; hence the tradition and the wise-heads state that the more lentils we consume at the start of the year, the more money will come back to us.

Pandoro and Panettone are Christmas specials.

Italy has delicious Christmas special cuisines available only as part of the key Italian festivities. Pandora and Panettone are the best Italian food in shops between November and early January.

Shapes of Italian pasta

It is estimated that there are roughly 300 shapes of pasta served in Italy. Pasta is among Italy's main staple diets featuring fresh and dry pasta. Italians love pasta, and a huge amount of pasta is being exported. It is considered among the best Italian food served in Italy. More than three tons of pasta are produced each year in Italy. The longest pasta shapes in Italy are spaghetti, and the shortest are fusilli, penne, farfalle, and rigatoni.

Pasta shapes and sauces have pairing rules defined.

Pasta and corresponding sauces are not as per your preference. Instead, there are predefined rules where the chef decides what pasta best suits your sauce. For example, short pasta generally goes with milder sauces, and stronger sauces taste with long-shaped pasta.

Pasta specialties are defined per region.

The pasta served in various Italian regions is unique and distinct in nature. Each region has its own traditional flavor and significant and key elements of its culture.

Sicilian cuisine is greatly influenced by Arabian flavors

This cuisine uses exquisite flavors such as couscous and marzipan to make the Sicilian stand out from other cuisines served in the Italian region. Arabic cuisine greatly influenced Sicily due to its proximity to the Arabic civilization and northern Africa.

Tuscan bread doesn't include salt as an ingredient.

Tuscan bread is prepared without any salt. Yes! Absolutely with zero salt ingredients. This characteristic of the product makes it deliciously tasty and yummy. The salt trade was historically controlled by Pisa in the year 1100 and imposed taxes on the salt trade that made Florence resist and refuse to pay additional taxes. This resulted in Tuscan bread being created without salt, which eventually turned out to be the best Italian food.

Parmigiano Reggiano has a history dating back to the Middle Ages

This Italian food has been renowned worldwide for about nine centuries. Legends state that this food was initially created by Benedictine monks in Emilia, which still produces heavy loads of Parmigiano Reggiano for internal consumption and exports.

Tomatoes do not have Italian origins.

Tomatoes are key elements to every Mediterranean cuisine introduced to Italy from the United States of America in the 16th century. Today, tomatoes are grown in several parts of the country and are widely used in several cooking recipes.