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Jessica Garrett
Ms. Tillery
British literature 4th period
21 October 2011
The Importance of Food in Italy
Italy is a country vast in history, amazing architecture, historical ruins, stunning scenery,
fabulous food and more. Traditions rule throughout the years. One of the traditions is the food
they make and how it is passed down from generations. The relationships Italians have with their
family are very strong and it is important to them to pass down their traditions and recipes. Food
has a strong social aspect with the Italians. It is important for them to get together to cook and
share meals.
In Italy, Italian food is a big part of their culture. Some four million Italians came to America,
largely from the south of Italy and the island of Sicily. People that come to America carry along
the tastes and sometimes also the seeds, recipes and ingredients of their homes. What the world
today knows as pizza is the product of a long history of changing connections between Italy and
the Americas and between both countries and the entire world. It is a history of travel, tourism,
migration, agriculture, industry, commerce and creativity in the kitchen. (Pizza, pasta and red
sauce: Italian or American). More Italians have migrated to the United States than any other
Europeans. They had a long history of migrating to foreign countries as a way of coping with
poverty and dislocation. The earliest Italian immigrants to the United States were northern
Italians, who became prominent as fruit and food merchants in New York and wine growers in
California. (Digital History)
In Italy, the food they cook is one of their greatest passions and what makes them happy.
A lot of time the Italian would grow their own food and wine. Italian cooking has been

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influenced by diverse groups of people, historically and in modern time. While there are many
differences between regions and between households within region, the concept of Italian food
would not exist unless there were many similarities as well . ( Judit Katona )
Italians also would have days that were a big time for cooking. The Americans have
Christmas and Thanksgiving where they traditionally cook big meals. Every Italian region has a
tradition of its own with regard to Carnival, Easter, Christmas, and other holidays. They love to
cook big meals for their families and friends to enjoy and get together to celebrate. They also had
a fasting day where they don’t eat for a day and then afterwards they celebrate again and eat with
their families.
One of the biggest things that make food a big part of Italy it the Italian families passing
down their family recipes and traditions for the future. They will document it to teach the
younger generation the secrets that have been kept for years. It is a important rite of passage for
the women of the family to carry on the original recipes of there ancestor and to not share the
secrets of these foods. Actually food is one of the cornerstones of Italian culture and even if
times are changing and life is more and more frantic, Italians still find a great pleasure in sitting
at a table, in a home or restaurant and sharing a good meal together.
The unique feature of foods in Italy is simplicity. Italian cuisine is great with just a few
ingredients: tomatoes, oil, bread and wine, to name a few (discover Italian food).
Although usually a side dish in Italy, pasta in America is served as a main course and in many
courses and many shapes and configurations. While Italian American food is alive and well in
cities across the country, the diversity of true Italian regional cooking is also widely available in
the United States. The southern Italian trend in immigration from Italy was not the only factor
affecting the new cuisine. A lot of their ingredients were fresh and home grown. This aspect of
Italian food made it unique in itself.

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Marco Polo originally brought back pasta from his journeys in china. Polo’s discovery was
actually a rediscovery of a foodstuff that was once popular in Italy during Etruscan and Roman
times (History of Pasta). It is estimated that Italian eats over sixty pounds pasta per person per
year easily beating Americans who eat about twenty pounds per person. This love of pasta in
Italy far outstrips the large wheat production of the country. This love of eating plenty is also
coupled with the tradition of eating meals slowly. In Italy a meal is a leisurely sequence of events
served in courses on separate plates. Americans often find it frustrating for meal to be so lengthy.
Italian dinners are often the main event and a focus of celebration (Traditions of Italian cuisine).
Even today, Italian food history continues to evolve. Much of the changes now, though, take
place beyond the shores of Italy. In America, for example, chefs have fused classic Italian dishes
with American cuisine to come up with dishes that combine the best of both worlds. Chefs are
taking traditional ingredients and combining them in new ways. This could be called a "full-
circle" journey for pasta. Some Italian-Asian fusion restaurants are even beginning to evolve
( Andrew Krause).
Italian-Americans, like all Americans, have access to inexpensive cheese and use it in large
amounts. They melt the cheese in gratin style atop dishes like lasagna and also using fresh
ricotta as a stuffing for manicotti or pasta shells. In the case of many dishes, using cheese both
for stuffing and melting atop (Life in the USA). Tomato sauces reigns supreme in Italian
American cooking The sauce is lovingly slow cooked in large pots and ladled onto food in
generous portions. Meats in Italy are sparse and only served as an accent to multi course
meals. Chicken and Veal parmesan are particularly popular dishes. The meat is breaded and pan
fried, then covered in sauce.
There are roughly 350 different shapes and varieties of dried pasta in Italy. Shapes range from
simple tubes to bowties, to unique shapes like tennis racquets. By Italian law dried pasta must be

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made with 100% durum semolina flour and water, a practice that quality pasta makers worldwide
have since adhered to. By the 1300’s dried pasta was very popular for it’s nutrition and it’s long
shelf life. The next biggest advancement in the history of pasta was when in the 19th century,
when pasta met tomatoes. It was not until 1839 that the first pasta recipe with tomatoes was
documented. However shortly after, tomatoes took hold especially in south Italy (History of
Pasta).
A story of Italian food could not be complete without a peek at Italian desserts. From a
vast array of cookies, canollis, and chocolate creations , the variety of selection is endless.
Italian desserts range from sweet to slightly bitter, but always delicious. Cookies and biscotti
range in texture from tender to crispy hard. Flavored with nuts, candied fruit and light glazes the
“cookies” or biscotti dunked in red wine provide a wonderful conclusion to a delicious meal.
Custards are made from egg yolks, sugar, and dessert wine. Another custard dish from Siena that
has become well known in America is tiramisu. The layered dessert includes ladyfingers soaked
in espresso, liqueur, eggs, cocoa, and mascarpone cheese. It is one of the most popular and
decedent deserts originating from Italy today ( traditional Italian deserts).
The Italian food Americans love is not really the authentic, exquisite renditions created by
the likes of famous chefs in Italy. It's not that Americans wouldn't love that, too. It's just that it's
generally easier to find the sort of richly sauced plates of spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp
scampi and chicken parmigiana that we are used to. We've certainly moved, as a nation,
beyond those dishes, but the spirit of them lives on in their successors. Just like Americans’
appreciation of Italian food in general, the country’s love of pasta has also become more
adventurous, delving into dishes like pumpkin ravioli and squid-ink pasta ( American continue
to tune into real Italian food).

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Italian food for Italians is a reason of pride. You can recognize Italians abroad for their
longing of typical dishes, pasta over every other. And you can see how dishearten they are when
they try pasta outside Italy. Some restaurants have managed to master almost all the typical
Italian dishes, but pasta still eludes them. It seems that the harder we try to make authentic Italian
fare the more we fail. Only true proven recipe and years of tradition can touch on the classic taste
of any of these dishes. At this point, the only version of Italian food that we as Americans can
enjoy are the dishes we have altered to our taste and satisfaction and removed any of the old
traditions that was established many years before in our Italian ancestors (Italian food and wine).