![]() ![]() Some foods now considered traditional were imported to Italy from foreign countries during the Roman era. The Romans reared goats for butchering, and grew artichokes and leeks. The Romans employed Greek bakers to produce breads and imported cheeses from Sicily as the Sicilians had a reputation as the best cheesemakers. By the time De re coquinaria was published in the 1st century AD, it contained 470 recipes calling for heavy use of spices and herbs. ![]() Simplicity was abandoned and replaced by a culture of gastronomy as the Roman Empire developed. He placed importance on simple preparation of fish. He said that flavours should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings. He wrote a poem that spoke of using "top quality and seasonal" ingredients. The first known Italian food writer was a Greek Sicilian named Archestratus from Syracuse in the 4th century BC. See also: Ancient Roman cuisine and Food and dining in the Roman Empire Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine varieties in the world. Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products the country has a large number of traditional specialities protected under EU law. Gelato, tiramisù and cassata are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts, cakes and patisserie. ![]() Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours such as citrus fruits, pistachio and almonds with sweet cheeses like mascarpone and ricotta or exotic tastes as cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon. Cheese, cold cuts and wine are central to Italian cuisine, and along with pizza and coffee (especially espresso) form part of Italian gastronomic culture. The Mediterranean diet forms the basis of Italian cuisine, rich in pasta, fish, fruits and vegetables. The most popular dishes and recipes, over the centuries, have often been created by ordinary people more so than by chefs, which is why many Italian recipes are suitable for home and daily cooking, respecting regional specificities, privileging only raw materials and ingredients from the region of origin of the dish and preserving its seasonality. Italian cuisine is at the origin of a turnover of more than €200 billion worldwide. One of the main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, with many dishes made up of few ingredients, and therefore Italian cooks often rely on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the complexity of preparation. The cuisine has influenced several other cuisines around the world, chiefly that of the United States. Italian cuisine offers an abundance of taste, and is one of the most popular and copied around the world. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Italian cuisine includes deeply rooted traditions common to the whole country, as well as all the regional gastronomies, different from each other, especially between the north, the centre and the south of Italy, which are in continuous exchange. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet - the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Italian cuisine ( Italian: cucina italiana, pronounced ) is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Clockwise from top left some of the most popular Italian foods: pizza ( Margherita), pasta ( carbonara), espresso, and gelato ![]()
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