The world produces 3 million tons of olive oil per year. Leading the market are Mediterranean countries like Spain, Italy, Greece and Tunisi. The reason why olive oil is so popular there is of course the climate, but it is also the result of centuries of history, with the first evidences recorded as early as 10.000 years ago.
Olives have hundreds of varieties, called cultivars, which means their flavors vary from country to country.
In Italy there is a Region in the South that alone supplies 40% of Italy's olive oil production and 12% worldwide: this is Puglia.
Olive oil is an essential part of culture here, from food to the picturesque landscapes. While the region has 4 million inhabitants, there are as many as 60 millions olive trees, and some have been there for centuries. Divided among corporate and local businesses, there are ove 1,000 olive mills spread across the region.
The olive oil produced here comes from a blend of local cultivars: Cima di Mola, Leccina, Olivastra, Simona, Picholine, Coratina and Cellina di Nardò. Let's have a look to the typical production process of Italian olive oil.
First, harvested olives enter the mill on a conveyor belt. This process gets rid of about 90% of the leaves, while the remaining 10% of the leaves are ground into paste with olives and pits.
Then, the olives are pressed at room temperature using granite wheels, a method that is called “cold-pressed”. It means that oil was extracted with no heat, which would harm its delicate flavor. The paste then moves into a kneading machine that helps break it down into water and oil.
It's spread over large fiber discs. The discs are piled up and placed onto a hydraulic press. This is where you can start to see oil and water quite clearly: the yellow liquid is oil while the black is water. It takes around 2.5 hours for each pile to be pressed fully.
After which, oil and water will be separated for good. The final product is called unfiltered olive oil and has a cloudy appearance. It is then stored in stainless steel tanks. It can be sold straight away, left to mature for one or several months, or it can be filtered to remove any excess of pulp or olive particles.
Filtering is done through a funnel and cotton wool. When an oil is cold-pressed, made without the use of chemicals, and is unrefined, it's called extra-virgin. This is the highest grade when it comes to olive oil.
Olive oil is graded by its acidity level. A high quality extra-virgin olive oil will have less than 0.8% acidity. It's a pure fruit juice after all!
Italian bread has many shapes and many names. Different kinds of Italian bread serve different purposes. At an Italian restaurant, you get bread as soon as you sit down. This is a way to “keep you busy" while you wait for the main courses and also to calm your hunger with the most simple dish that you can have. Bread is always available on the table when you eat veggies or meat. Bread in Italy is usually sliced, topped, or filled with delicious ingredients so that you can eat it as street food or pack it for a picnic. All the Italian bread types are so delicious that you want to eat it as it is, as a snack, or whenever you feel hungry. In Italy, you can find lots of Italian bread types in the bakeries, which are called “fornaio,” “forno,” or “panetteria.” Every grocery store has a bakery section as well.
Like everything else in Italy, bread is regional. There are lots of regional breads in Italy. Most of them are so delicious that they have spread all over the country. If you ever visit Italy, you need to enter the bakeries of each town you pass by and ask them what the local bread is. There’s a good chance you will also find a couple of types of bread from other regions.
Let’s have a look at the most popular Italian bread types.
Pane casareccio | Pane toscano
This is the most common bread in Italy and comes in a loaf. It takes different names in different parts of Italy. In Rome it is called pane casareccio, which means “homey bread.” In other areas, it is known as pane toscano, “Tuscan bread.” Italians usually get a half loaf or a whole loaf from the bakery. You can choose from salted, unsalted, whole wheat, durum wheat, cereal bread, and many more. The traditional Italian bread types are the salted and the unsalted Tuscan bread. The pane casareccio is perfect to be dipped in vegetable soups or sliced and topped with cheese and cold cuts.
The main feature of this Italian bread is that the crust is hard and crunchy and the inside is soft and compact. This is why it is also the perfect bread to make the Italian bruschetta! Slice it, top it with cherry tomatoes or other Italian veggies seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and enjoy!
Rosetta or Michetta bread
In Rome, this bread is called Rosetta because its shape resembles a flower. Locals in northern Italy call it Michetta. Italians say that this is the workers’ bread because it’s partly hollow, so ideal to carry other ingredients like ham and cheese or even an omelet.
Panino all'olio
The so-called “oil bread” is originally from northern Italy, where the harsh weather has always compromised the leavening of the bread and finally pushed the locals to invent a type of bread that defies this setback. This Italian bread is extremely soft and yummy, with a very thin, imperceptible crust. It’s usually cut in half (so soft you can easily open it with your hands) and filled with delicacies like baked ham and stracchino cheese. This is Italian kids’ favorite bread. It comes in several shapes, rounded or elongated, and it’s less than 20 cm long. This bread is hard to resist; if you eat one, you’ll immediately need another.
Piadina
Piadina is the king of Italian flatbreads. The piadina comes from the Emilia Romagna region and it’s consumed all over the country. At any Italian grocery shop, you’ll find several varieties of the piadina flatbread: whole wheat, spelt, water-and-flour-only piadina, big and small-sized piadina. This bread has become the symbol of the easy but healthy home-prepared meal. So many Italian singles, students, and busy people will keep a pack of piadina available on their sideboard for the times they are too tired to cook. Piadina is also delicious street food. Traditionally, it comes filled with the stracchino cheese, prosciutto ham, and arugula. It is very much like a Mexican tortilla, but made with wheat flour.
Pizza Bianca
Pizza Bianca is a delicious food halfway between bread and pizza. It’s one of the most popular street foods in Rome. In Rome and Lazio, the pizza bianca is the food of those hungry moments that happen halfway through the morning or afternoon. The pizza bianca is sold by weight, but you can have even a small portion of it. You will find this type of bread both in bakeries and at the “Pizza al Taglio” shops.
Grissini Torinesi | Breadsticks
The bread called Grissini was invented in the city of Turin in northern Italy in the 17th century. The story of the grissini tells that the young prince of the Savoy realm had some issues digesting the soft inside of common bread, so the court’s chef thought of a solution, and the grissini was born. These long sticks of toasted, crunchy bread are now totally integrated into the Italian cuisine.
Fresella
The bread known as freselle or friselle, or frisa pugliese, is an original bread from the Puglia region in southern Italy. This is a bread so crunchy and hard that you need to leave it for a few seconds in water to use it in your recipe. This doesn’t mean the fresella is a stale kind of bread, quite the contrary. This is a bread that is baked twice and can be kept for a long period of time. It’s shaped like a donut because it used to be hung on a cable in houses, waiting to be eaten with a salad of cherry tomatoes and anchovies on top, as the traditional recipe suggests. This Italian bread type can be found in every Italian grocery shop and it’s the perfect culinary souvenir to bring back home from Italy.
Pane di Matera
In the region of Basilicata lies the crusty loaves that are considered to be the best bread in Italy: Matera bread, also known as "Pane di Matera".
Matera bread is so good that it carries the IGP trademark, which means it can only be made in Matera. To add to the appeal, it has been recognized as a regional specialty by Slow Food.
Puccia
The Puccia is a typical bread from the Puglia region. At the “puccia shop,” you can fill the bread with as many and as different ingredients as you like. Puccia bread is baked in a wood oven. Puccia is a little bit more than a street food; it’s a complete meal. It’s a big panino, you need to hold it with both hands, and it will make you full!
Pane carasau
The Pane Carasau is more popular on the island of Sardinia than in other regions of Italy. This is probably the most versatile bread in Italy. Carasau bread is a flatbread that comes as a round, less than one millimeter thick sheet that looks like paper. The bread layer has a diameter of about 40 cm and gets cut into four big triangle-like pieces. It is also called carta musica “musical paper” for the sound it makes when you chew it. The flavor of the carasau bread is neutral. It matches well with everything.
Discover a few of these delicious Italian breads on PinocchiosPantry.com. Their special taste will bring you in Italy!
]]>Molise is a small region in the south of Italy that came to be famous as the region that “doesn’t exist”. But if you know Cianciullo, you must know also Molise and how good the food is here!
Family, tradition, passion, and respect for the work of time. Taste the history of Cianciullo’s Italian biscuits. The genuineness of homemade cookies reflects the commitment to the quality, respect of the territory, and its natural ingredients.
It was Pasquale Cianciullo who believed in his village and founded the company here in 1967. Today the company is managed by Francesco Cianciullo, son of Pasquale and it is famous all around the world.
Whether you are planning to visit Molise or you are just curious to try out some of the food for which this region is particularly appreciated, in our shop you can find an ample selection of Cianciullo’s delicacies.
The offered range grew with the years and today about 100 different delicious treats are produced here: from classic Taralli and Tarallini to sweet Panzerotti, from delicious cookies to soft brioches.
Here some delicious products of Cianciullo’s Traditions!
White Wine Cookies are tasty and round biscuits, made with white wine, and covered with sugar. Simple but very delicious!
"Sottili della Nonna" are the classic and fragrant salted taralli with the addition of fennel, a natural ingredient that gives the dough a unique aroma and scent. This Taralli have an ancient taste that is impossible to resist and are artisanally produced by caring hands like those of grandma!
The "Sfogliatine" are mini puff pastries with a delicate apricot and cherry flavor jam from selected fruits; the inviting external gilding, enriched with grains of sugar, makes the puff pastry beautiful to see and delicious to taste. A fragrant proposal to vary your snack or breakfast.
"Wildberry Panzerotti" are shortbread crescents, a golden biscuit with a creamy heart of wildberry jam. A treat that encompasses the flavor of tradition, made by the hands of expert bakers with selected raw materials. The authentic taste of the fragrant pastry is enriched by the decisive flavor of wildberry jam. So much goodness enclosed in an appetizing bite, a real temptation for the palate, ideal for a healthy snack or to celebrate special occasions.
Try these and much more products of Cianciullo's Traditions for a real taste of Italy!
]]>If you ask for a Chinotto at a restaurant or bar, you will be served a fizzy, dark brown drink. It’s sweet with a side of bitterness and an aromatic aftertaste of something undefinable - that chinotto quality. Chinotto, in fact, is not the drink itself, but a fruit.
A chinotto (Citrus aurantium) is a ping-pong ball-sized citrus fruit that grows on an attractive, white-flowering tree often used as an ornamental. They’re shaped similar to typical oranges, but their taste is more tart and sour—and their smell is intense.
Imported by a Ligurian sailor in the 1500s from China (hence its name), it once spread throughout the Mediterranean basin as far as Turkey and Syria. Now, chinotto is confined to Calabria, Sicily, Tuscany, sporadic patches along the French coast, and most notably Liguria. Here its colorful trees are planted from Varazze to Finale Ponente, sharing territory with vineyards cultivated with Vermentino for Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC wines. You could be clued into the fact that chinotto is a fruit, not just a drink, because of Ligurian chinotto: its green orbs (it may be harvested green, yellow, or orange) are pictured on bottles of Lurisia brand soda, which exclusively uses extract from Chinotto of Savona - a Slow Food Presidium.
The reports on the caffeine content of Chinotto are conflicting, but it appears that the most common brands who offer it, like San Pellegrino, do not include caffeine in their recipe.
There are supposed to be brands that are made in other countries which do contain caffeine, but they are likely not true Chinotto, because the true Italian Chinotto does not ever contain caffeine.
This is part of what makes the Chinotto experience so unique when you are looking at trying out a soda that is outside of the normal realm of carbonated treats.
The traditional dove-shaped “Colomba di Pasqua” or “Colomba Pasquale” (Italian Easter Dove cake) has been a firm fixture on the Easter calendar in Italy for almost a century.
Among the Easter sweets, few have the symbolic power of the unmistakable dove in Italy. For its shape, of course, it is a symbol of peace and love, which is placed side by side with the use of eggs which instead represents the Resurrection. But we can't deny the craving for the simplicity of the dough and that sentimental sweetness of the almond glaze.
The classic Easter Dove Cake is a typical Italian sweet of leavened dough whose origins would be very ancient. It is an particular sweet also for that simplicity of the dough and that sentimental sweetness of the almond glaze, which never slips towards the "sinful" chocolate. Let's find out the hystorical origins of the classic Italian Dove.
The legends regarding the origins of this delicacy are many, and no one is sure on which one is the closest one to the actual truth. According to one of them, the first colomba would date back to 610 in Pavia, which at the time was the capital of the Lombards. Queen Teodolinda had hosted a group of Irish pilgrims, led by San Colombano and offered them and rich game banquet, but the saint declined the food because it was the period of Lent and, by blessing the game, he turned it into white bread loaves shaped like doves.
Another legend traces the origin of the colomba to the battle of Legnano (1176). It is said that a leader of the Lombard League saw two doves perched on the insignia of the League, which remained there even when the battle was approaching. Interpreting this as a prophecy of peace, the general, to give courage to his men, ordered the cooks to prepare dove-shaped bread loaves with eggs, flour, and yeast.
These legends suggest that there must have been Easter cakes in the shape of a dove.
The most recent story of the Easter Dove can be traced back to the city of Milan and especially to Angelo Motta. The invention of the panettone in the first post-war period is owed to him. In order to use the ingredients and machinery even in the spring period in the early 1930s, an old recipe was taken up and the tradition of the Easter colomba started as we know it today. It was once decorated with candied fruits and covered with an almond glaze. Since then it has become the symbol of this religious feast.
Since its creation, the Italian Easter Dove has become an indispensable part of Easter festivities in Italy. Rich, buttery and not too sweet, “Colomba” can be enjoyed for breakfast accompanied by a strong cup of coffee, as a snack topped with honey, jam or chocolate spread, or as a dessert with whipped cream, poached fruit and perhaps a glass of sweet wine.
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Valentine's Day is a fixed day on the ancient Roman calendar called Lupercalia which some historians believe is what led to Valentine's Day being all about love. Lupercalia celebrated fertility, and may have included a ritual in which men and women were paired off by choosing names from a jar. In Ancient Greece, people observed a mid-winter celebration for the marriage of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera.
Who was Saint Valentine? (And what does he have to do with chocolate hearts?)
Not much, it turns out. Saint Valentine's Day was a feast day in the Catholic religion, added to the liturgical calendar around 500 AD. The day was commemorated for martyred saints named Valentine. Differing legends celebrate three different saints called Valentine or Valentinus, but since very little was known about these men and there were conflicting reports of the Saint Valentine Day story. The feast day was removed from the Christian liturgical calendar in 1969.
Although not much is known about the real history of the Saint Valentines, the legend of Saint Valentine has several tellings. One legend says that Saint Valentine refused to convert to paganism and was executed by Roman Emperor Claudius II. Prior to his death, he was able to miraculously heal the daughter of his jailer, who then converted to Christianity along with his family. Another legend says a bishop called Saint Valentine of Terni is the true namesake of the holiday; this Saint Valentine was also executed.
But according to others (and this is how Saint Valentine became affiliated with a love-focused holiday) Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry, because of a Roman emperor edict decreeing married soldiers did not make good warriors and thus young men could not marry. This Saint Valentine wore a ring with a Cupid on it - a symbol of love - that helped soldiers recognize him. And, in a precursor to greeting cards, he handed out paper hearts to remind Christians of their love for God.
Because of this legend, St. Valentine became known as the patron saint of love. The Saint Valentine prayer asks Saint Valentine to connect lovers together, so that two become one, and the couple remembers their devotion to God.
What is the meaning of Valentine’s Day?
Over the years (and centuries), Valentine's Day has been a religious celebration, an ancient ritual day, and a commercial holiday. Today the meaning of Valentine's Day is truly whatever you want it to be: You can skip the celebrations completely, buy yourself some chocolate or flowers, or express your love and appreciation for the people in your life, whether they're co-workers, romantic partners, friends, or family members.
So celebrate the day of love however you want, even if it's just through self-love. A nice dinner out, going to the movies, cooking a fancy meal at home, or hosting a Valentine's Day party are also great ways to celebrate.
As the centuries marched on, poets like Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized San Valentino and his day of love, popularizing and softening the celebration across Europe and eventually the New World.
Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated all around the world with romantic dinners, meaningful gifts, and – of course – rich chocolate.
Still need to finalize your plans? Find the Best Italian Sweet Gifts on our online store!
]]>A research has revealed which foods Italians are not willing to give up at the table. The research "Prevention and lifestyles" explores the consumption habits and culinary preferences of Italians.
For Italians, there are some truly essential foods. Specifically, the research “Prevention and Lifestyles”—curated by UniSalute Italian Institute and articulated in eating habits, physical activity and prevention—was able to illustrate what they really are.
The results of this special analysis were presented this August at the event "Vivere in Salute" in Rome.
The study found that 64% of Italians would never give up extra virgin olive oil as an ingredient to be included every day in their personal diet.
In second position, behind oil, there are seasonal vegetables (considered essential for 53% of respondents), followed by coffee (18%) and spices (5%).
According to the study, the type of cuisine most important for Italians is the regional cuisine (indicated by 91% of the interviewees), while the most popular food is pizza (chosen by 65% of the Italians). The analysis underlines the importance of the Mediterranean diet for Italians.
Among the most important foods for Italians is fruit and vegetables (consumed several times a day, respectively, by 40% and 39% of the people interviewed). Then there is bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. A total of 89% of respondents said they had a generous breakfast, accompanying food with milk, tea or coffee.
For the 68% of the interviewees, food is a source of satisfaction, pleasure and happiness, while for the 49% it represents a moment of sharing and socializing. One in 3 Italians is convinced that nutrition is a vehicle for well-being and considers food a way to stay healthy.
Overweight and obesity, not surprisingly, are considered the main risks of a wrong diet by 32% of respondents.
One in 5 people, on the other hand, are concerned about the possible correlation with the incidence of cancer, while 16% of the interviewees are concerned about the rise in cholesterol levels and 15% about the negative effects on circulation and cardiovascular disease.
The good news is that data on the lifestyle choices that lead to longevity in the world's Blue Zones has been collected in Dan Buettner's research. He has collaborated with the National Geographic Society, spending 10 years researching these longest-lived areas of the planet.
The importance of nutrition for a long and healthy life is certainly not new: scientific studies show that our life expectancy is only 10% influenced by genetic factors and 90% by lifestyle. Buettner states that if the average American followed the eating practices adopted in the blue zones, he could earn as much as 15 years of life! To ensure that other blue zones are created in the world and to help citizens find their way around the issue, Buettner, starting from the analysis of more than 150 food studies, has created the Blue Zone Diet.
The incidence of serious diseases can be drastically reduced by modifying some behaviors and by focusing on the so-called "functional foods". In Sardinia, an island in Italy, the number of centenarians is surprising and the concept of active aging is based precisely on this phenomenon. What are the secrets for reaching over 100 years of health?
Blue Zones, the parts of the world that are home to the most centenarians, include the Greek island Icaria, the Japanese Okinawa, the Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica, the community in Loma Linda in California, and, of course, Sardinia. On this beautiful Italian island, there are magical corners where the inhabitants arrive and often easily pass the milestone of 100 years. Indeed, in the village of Seulo, in Barbagia, 20 centenarians were counted between 1996 and 2016, confirming itself as the longest-lived town in the world!
Some tips from these Blue Zones: Consume plenty of plant foods at each meal; prefer vegetable fats such as those from olives, walnuts, almonds and fruit a shell; prefer wholemeal bread and flour; choose legumes, eggs, cheeses and, to a lesser extent, and eat fish as sources of protein. It is also important that foods are not very refined.
Calorie restriction
A very important habit of long-lived people, which science is examining today,
is the frugality of the diet. This is an intervention that involves the reduction of calorie intake, always paying attention to maintaining adequate nutrition. The first studies performed on humans in this regard show an improvement in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and some types of cancer.
These beneficial effects could be explained because most of the biochemical mechanisms related to calorie restriction involve some proteins, called sirtuins, which protect the body from environmental stress, improve aging, prevent tumors, counteract the metabolic syndrome, reduce adipose tissue, and prevent neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. From some recent studies, it appears that these proteins and these beneficial mechanisms can be activated, in addition to caloric restriction, by resveratol, a substance also present in red wine. This result would explain why a common feature of the centenarian's diet is also a moderate consumption of red wine.
The Longevity Diet or Blue Zone Diet
The Blue Zone diet is a longevity diet based on a few simple rules: eat very few animal proteins, consume daily portions of whole foods or legumes, keep snacks not too high in calories, and try to avoid processed products as much as possible.
The Blue zone diet is not a weight loss plan, but many people can lose weight by following it, so it is a diet that reduces the risk of being overweight or obese. If following these tips you lose too much weight, it is advisable to increase the amount of food. Let's see the general rules.
BLUE ZONE DIET OR LONGEVITY DIET
General rules:
Do some workout aimed at feeling good, not losing weight or burning calories
Dietary guidelines: the diet must include 65% carbohydrates, 15% protein and 20% fat.
LONGEVITY DIET: EXAMPLE PLAN
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Toast, two teaspoons of fruit compote, 200 ml of rice, oat or almond milk without sugar, coffee or tea of your choice, a portion of goat yogurt or an organic egg, a fruit.
Lunch: a portion of grain cereals or alternatively whole-grain pasta or rice or a portion of potatoes or a portion of bread with sourdough.
A portion of legumes or alternatively 70-80 grams of fish. 150 grams of vegetables of your choice. Two teaspoons of oil per meal. Herbs and spices. A fruit.
Dinner: a vegetable cream or a mixed salad or a steamed vegetable dish + 30 grams of walnuts of your choice or alternatively 80 grams of white meat and 10 grams of walnuts of your choice or alternatively a piece of pecorino and 10 grams of walnuts of your choice + two teaspoons of oil for seasoning. One glass of wine allowed. A fruit.
Snacks: in case of hunger it is recommended to eat one of the fruits in the middle of the day or raw vegetables.
During the day, unsweetened tea and herbal teas, citrus or orange juices, unsweetened almond milk are recommended.
It is possible to add a sweet with a maximum of 100 calories, natural and homemade or alternatively 3 abundant teaspoons of honey for sweetening.
Vegetables can be flavored with olives, sunflower seeds, etc.
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1. Italian Food Is Focused on Fresh Ingredients
Real Italian cooking, like the cooking of Italian grandmothers everywhere, relies on the freshest, often local, ingredients. Eating fresh, not frozen vegetables, seafood, and pasta is healthier because there are fewer processed ingredients.
Take pasta, for example. Fresh pasta is made from flour, egg, and water. That's it! No hydrogenated oils, excess fat, or chemicals you can't pronounce.
2. Eating Italian Food Can Double Your Vegetable Intake for the Day
If you are someone that struggles to get enough vegetables in your diet, Italian food might be the answer.
Eggplant Parmigiana, pasta primavera, and vegetarian pizza all feature delicious, fresh vegetables. Vegetables provide essential nutrients that help you maintain your immune system, establish a healthy weight, and lower blood pressure.
So the next time you are looking at an Italian food menu, search for those veggie-heavy options for a guilt-free meal. Add a cup of minestrone soup to your order for veggies and iron-rich beans as well!
3. Carbs Are Your Friend
Dishes like pasta and pizza are relatively high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are a macronutrient that provides your body with energy. Dietary guidelines suggest that 45% to 65% of a person's diet should come from carbohydrates.
And while not all of that should come from simple carbohydrates like pasta or pizza, you can mix those in with whole grains for a well-rounded diet.
4. Not All Italian Food Is High in Calories
People assume that all Italian food is high in calories, but it's not! There are plenty of tasty Italian dishes low in calories too. Bruschetta, white bean soup, salad, and pasta with red sauce are all lower calorie alternatives if you are trying to maintain a healthy diet.
You can also consider ordering a smaller portion of a meal to lower the total calorie consumption. Savor every bite and focus on quality, not quantity.
5. Abundant Fiber
Grains found in bread, pasta, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes all contain fiber (an indigestible carbohydrate) that helps promote healthy digestion, stabilizes blood sugar, and reduces bad blood cholesterol levels.
6. Even the Wine Is Healthy
Okay, maybe wine isn't the healthiest of beverage choices, but it has been shown to help improve heart health when consumed in moderation.
A glass of red wine has antioxidants that lower your cholesterol protecting your heart and lower your risk of having a heart attack. So as long as you consume in moderation, enjoy wine with your next Italian meal!
And last but not least, let’s also consider another positive aspect about eating Italian food: the Social Benefits! Italian food is all about sharing, eating together, and celebrating friends & family. Our platters and sharing boards are a great way of bonding together to break bread. Eating like this as a group is wonderful soul food, and it helps us maintain and develop life-long relationships. What more can you ask for?
Italians are famous all over the world for being great pasta lovers. From North to South, putting a plate of pasta on the table means satisfying everyone's tastes, because with a few simple ingredients you can always make original and tasty dishes. Whether it's for an important lunch or a last-minute dinner, in any season of the year there is always a quick and delicious recipe to bring to the table. The options are truly limitless: you can try the regional classics of our cuisine, such as a tasty Genoese pesto or an exquisite cacio e pepe, or experiment with new combinations based on meat, fish, vegetables or cheeses. For each of these recipes choose between penne, fusilli or spaghetti, but don't forget that you can always make a good fresh pasta right at your home. A simple course like a first course of pasta can turn into an irresistible dish with a little imagination: take inspiration from Pinocchio's favorite recipes.
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The classic Dove Easter Cake one, on the other hand, was conceived in the early 1900s with the intention of exploiting the machinery and the dough used for the panettone at different times of the year. Only after the first world war some bakeries in Italy took up this original recipe and started a regular production for Easter.
Chocolate eggs in Italy are another symbol of Easter festivities.
Today, chocolate Easter eggs are one of the most popular Easter goodies. Alongside the traditional ones, many special and innovative ones have been created: one better than the other, like our DI IORIO Milk Chocolate Egg with Chopped Hazelnuts .
Pastiera Napoletana. A very ancient and delicious recipe from Naples and the Campania Region: replicated throughout Italy, the pastiera is one of the best known Easter sweets. The recipes are modified in each family, to create this delicious sweet ricotta tart. The base is of shortcrust pastry (often mixed with lard); ricotta (sheep and cow can be mixed) is flavored with Cooked Wheat, candied citron rind, orange blossom water, sometimes sweet pumpkin preserves; the aromatic richness can be further ennobled with cinnamon, orange peel, lemon, vanilla. You can find 2 of the fundamental ingredients to make Neapolitan Pastiera in Pinocchio's online store:
1. Grano Cotto Pre-cooked wheat grains are the key ingredient of Pastiera Napoletana.
2. Fior d'Arancio Flavoring for Pastiera its intense orange flavor, is another essential ingredient to enhance the flavors of Neapolitan pastiera with an intense Orange flavor.
Please check us back soon for the real pastiera napoletana recipe. You will find the recipe in Pinocchio's Pantry Recipes Blog. Happy Easter!
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