‘There is no better food than the Italian one!’ this is the unanimous opinion of all Italians. The topic becomes hot when you ask those from the South, the North, the islands and everyone has his own list. I guess the secret of the best Italian food is in the fresh ingredients produced near the sea, where the plants need to grow with scarce water, a lot of wind and sun. So, they naturally develop an intensely fragrant unique taste at the same time sweet and savory.
Wish to browse into my personal top 10 delicatessens?
1.Pomodorini del Piennolo, cherry tomatoes produced in the villages around the Mount Vesuvius volcano, near Naples. The lavic soil, full of minerals, delivers a unique intense flavor and they have a funny shape with a pointed tip. Locals hang up the grapes in bunches and in fact, the name ‘piennolo’ means ‘hanging’ in the Neapolitan dialect.
2.Extra-virgin Olive oil, the gold from Puglia, where 70% of the Italian olive oil is produced with an impressive pedigree dating back to the Romans.
3.Peperoni cruschi from Basilicata, fresh basil from Liguria, black olives from Gaeta or capers from Pantelleria to sign the majority of pasta recipes.
4. Humongous fragrant Sorrento lemons from the Amalfi Coast, also used to make the Limoncello liqueur. Their taste is delicious as the fruitness soften the natural sourness.
5.Succulent red oranges from Sicily with a unique sweet taste and almost without seeds.
6. Dry figs from Carmignano, in Tuscany. Sweet and soft with a light taste of anise. They are picked from August until September and can not be sold before September 29th, the day of Saint Michael, patron of the town.
7. Full body Matera durum wheat pasta (and bread), made with the wheat from the clay soil of Basilicata. The special properties of durum wheat mean that the starch is not lost and the pasta does not overcook and keeps an authentic full taste. Compared to white flour, it has more proteins, yellow color and it’s tougher and less extendible.
8. A wide selection of delicious cheese produced from cow-milk (Parmiggiano Reggiano, Ricotta, Provolone Auricchio, Burrata); from sheep-milk (Pecorino Romano, Toscano, Sardo); from buffalo-milk (Buffalo Mozzarella and Ricotta).
9. The unique and intense taste of Cinta Senese. The funny black pork with a white belt around the body (Cinta is ‘belt’ in Italian) lives in the area around Siena, in Tuscany.
10. Finally, the wine deserves special note as Italy is one of the largest producers and almost every region features his own DOC-DOCG bottles. Ask Italians for their best wine, you will get at least 20 answers! More than 2000 varieties of wine grapes grow along the peninsula: from silky and smooth to big and bold. Greeks and Etruscan settlers produced wine in Italy before the Romans planted their vineyards. Here are my grand classics. Rich, full-bodied Barolo made with Nebbiolo grape, from Piedmont, and Brunello di Montalcino made with Sangiovese grape, from Tuscany; strong-flavored Amarone made with a blend of local varietals from Veneto; fruity Primitivo from Puglia (Italy’s secret to value); bold fruit-driven Nero d’Avola from Sicily; Aglianico, the world’s oldest cultivated grape, from Basilicata and Campania.
Wish to come to Italy and try all our delicious food and wine? The best to do is eat with locals!
Visit boutiquehotelitaly.com and book your personal slot for a tailor-made trip. I can suggest you cozy farm-hotels in Italy where the best olive oil, wine, and vegetables are produced.
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