For most of us, Italian cuisine revolves around pizza and cheese, but it’s exciting to delve deeper into its roots! Italian cuisine traces back to when it first appeared in a written cookbook 2000 years ago, in the Roman Empire era. This empire divided Italy into states that functioned with the principle of individuality, causing each of the Italian states to curate their own unique dishes: which all compounded to design the country’s cuisine.
Italian food shuffles through a range of ingredients. The everyday items we use, vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, fish – and most importantly, cheese – are all commonly used in Italian food. The cuisine specialises in using simple ingredients flaked with seasoning and spice. The Italians create a tasteful base for their pasta, pizzas, and more, using a fresh olive oil creation crafted by Italy’s expansive range of skilled oil cultivators. Additionally, Italy is surrounded by water bodies, allowing a great range of seafood to flood the cuisine.
The significance of cheese is also prominent in Italian food. Around 1000 years ago, the Cistercian monks from the Po Valley in Northern Italy developed a recipe to use up the excess milk in the area, and so came to be the famous Italian cheese. Following suit and demonstrating their culinary creativity, the Italian people mixed and matched the original recipe to create over 2500 traditional cheeses today.
Now, it’s easy to determine that Italian cuisine was undoubtedly derived from its location and landscape, as all of the ingredients were exotic and special to the Italian region. Over the years, this cuisine has found a special place in our hearts for its delectable taste and comforting nature, and the roots of Italian cuisine are celebrated worldwide!
