Italian cuisine is world famous. Pizza and pasta are the two popular dishes that people close to the planet are familiar with. Italian recipes are renowned for their use of refined ingredients such as herbs and spices. The heritage of Italian cuisine dates back to Roman times. Historians believe that the heritage of Italian food began during the 8th century BC. C., when Greek settlers colonized Sicily and Magna Graecia, an area in southern Italy.

Italian food from the mountain regions is really a mixture of French cuisine and mountain specialities. Italian cuisine in this area has strong Gallic flavors adopted from France. Therefore, a dish like white truffles or “trifola d’Alba” is part of the famous Italian dish. Seafood with a French twist is discovered in Liguria, a city in northern Italy.

Italian Food Fund – Magna Graecia

Italians think that the nutritious and tasty Italian cuisine was borrowed from the Greeks. The typical dishes consisted of food prepared with chick peas, lupins, dried figs, pickled olives, salted fish, dried fish and pork. On occasions such as weddings or parties, a variety of delicacies have been prepared. Various dishes belonging to Magna Graecia consist of sweet meats made with almonds and walnuts, honey sauces, soups, and pickled meat. The sumptuous parties ended up linked to the ancient Roman nobles.

Background of Italian food products – Middle Ages

Italy was invaded by barbarians during the 5th century AD The kitchens of the barbarians ended up being different from those of the Italians. The cuisine of the barbarians consisted of dishes such as stuffed pies, baked pies, and roasted meats. Barbarian cuisine has to some extent influenced Italian dishes. The Italians introduced fresh fruits and vegetables to their diet in the early 1000s AD. This period is recognized as the renaissance of Italian culinary art.

Italian food background – Pizza

The Italian food registry would not be complete without mentioning “Pizza”. Pizza was a highly prized food in ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, and Babylon. Many historical evidences reveal that ancient historians Cato the Elder and Herodotus enjoyed pizza. In ancient times, a pizza was baked on a hot stone. Later it was consumed with vegetable or meat stew. From time to time, the pizzas were flavored with herbs and spices.

In Latin, pizza is known as “pinsa”, which means flatbread. In the Middle Ages, people began to cover a pizza with numerous herbs, spices mixed with olive oil. It could be rightly said that pizza took on a new flavor and appeared during medieval times. Little by little, with the introduction of buffalo cheese called mozzarella, Italian pizza gained popularity not only in Italy but also throughout the world.

The ancient Romans used to have a light meager meal twice a day and a heavy meal once a day. The fast was broken with olives, milk, eggs and wine. The midday meal was usually fruit and cold dishes. However, dinner was plentiful and consisted of a variety of seafood, bread, meat, sweat beef, and wine. Fresh and dried fruits ended up being served as desserts.