Italian Food Culture
Besides the impressive history and gorgeous landscapes, something I was most excited about regarding coming to Italy was the food. Italy is known for many different dishes – pasta in all forms, sweet and delicate pastries, savory soups, authentic pizza, and of course decadent gelato. Italian food is my favorite cuisine to eat in the United States, so I was really curious to discover how ‘Americanized’ Italian food differs from that actually prepared and consumed by locals here.
Overall, authentic Italian food is not drastically different from its Americanized counterpart, but the quality is much improved. Italians care greatly about using fresh and well prepared ingredients in all of their dishes above all else. The meals may be slightly simple – almost all of them contain some form of pasta, tomatoes, cheese and meat in different variations – but all of the ingredients are high quality, which makes the food so tasty.
The most noticeable different between food culture in America and Italy is actually the timing of the meals. Italians eat their food much later in the day, and generally take longer to do so as well. Americans seem to vary their dinner time from roughly 5-7pm, but in Italy restaurants will not open for dinner until 7pm at the very earliest. The more popular time for dinner is around 8pm, but some people do not eat until 9 or 10pm as well. Lunch is also later – it is often held between 12 and 2pm, whereas many people in the US will eat as early as 11am. Breakfast is the most light and flexible meal of the day, dependent on an individual’s schedule. The time may vary, but the components are relatively the same – a croissant or yogurt, with coffee (which in Italy means espresso, not sweetened American coffee).
Italians are very conscious of digestion and how food affects the human body, so they typically eat very slowly in order to allow their food to digest and will generally have espresso or alcohol to assist this process as well. Our Italian instructor told us once that if you order a cappuccino after a meal rather than an espresso, it is obvious that you are a foreigner, because Italians would never have milk after eating, since it negatively affects digestion.
A dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant is a timely social endeavor compared to American meals. It consists of an appetizer of meat and cheese cuts, a first course of pasta, a second course of meat and salad, and of course wine to drink with the whole meal. Each course is served with plenty of time in between in order for people to talk, as dinner is the main time for socialization in Italian culture.
In conclusion, even simple, cheap food in Italy such as a quick panino or pastry is typically higher quality than their counterparts found in the United States. Because of this, even simple meals are to die for because the ingredients are so fresh and the passion and skill of the cooks are truly evident in their meals. Italian food has definitely earned its reputation as being hearty and delicious.
