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Sunday, October 13, 2024
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| In Italy, cooking is an art.
The essence of the food is found in the perfect combination of
the ingredients.
Olive oil, sauces, spices, herbs and parmesan cheese play
important roles in cooking the food. The Italians are
known for the use of pasta, rice, beans, eggplant, bell
peppers, zucchini, artichokes, escarole and, of course,
tomatoes as something typically Italian, but also spinach, carrots,
celery and potatoes. Fresh ingredients are the essential
part of the meals. In a typical ordinary meal, pasta, rice
or soup is served as “il primo piatto”. Meat or fish will
be “il secondo piatto” accompanied by vegetables, and then
an espresso coffee and dessert. Italian immigrants might
forget their language, but they never forget how to cook
Italian foods. |
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| Olive oil is an important ingredient
and vastly used by Italians for cooking; it is
delicious and healthy. There are many grades
of olive oil, but five of them are well known: |
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 Extra Virgin Oil:
Extra virgin olive oil is derived from the first cold pressing
of olives without refining.
Virgin Olive Oil:
Also derived from the first pressing without refining, virgin
olive oil has an acidity level between one and two percent.
Olive Oil:
Olive oil has an acidity level of no more than 1.5 percent.
It is obtained by blending refined oil with 1-15% extra virgin
olive oil (the percentage & quality varies).
Pure Olive Oil:
Pure olive oil has an acidity level of no more than 1.5 percent.
It is a blend of refined olive oil and Pomace oil, possibly
with a small quantity of extra virgin or virgin olive oil.
Light Olive Oil:
Made with an extremely fine filtration process, light olive
oil has a more neutral flavor and is the perfect choice when
preparing baked goods.
Olive
Pomace Oil:
It's a mixture of refined olive oil cake with virgin olive
oil, with an acidity limit of 1.5%. It is a very poor quality
in the ranking list of oils.
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 Olive
Oil – A Basic
Necessity! |
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Italian Traditional Cheeses |
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Winemaking |
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Italian Regional Recipes |
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The
opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. |
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