2039 food in italy

[QUOTE=manopello][FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]I've posted on this one before and its a bit of a obsession of mine but what are the major differences between Brits and Italians when it comes to food?
It seemed to drive Jamie Oliver mad in his recent TV prog and he claimed that all Italians are food experts but are also resistant to any new [I]untried[/I] food stuffs.

I went into town today for some Christmas shopping and as it was freezing I just had to pop into one of the big pub chains that do food (and the best Guiness which was sort of a reason to go in).I couldn't resist a chuckle as I read the menu.This is what they had as their favourites!

Fish and chips with [I]tempura [/I]batter

Withshire Chicken and Leek Pie with [I]potato rosti[/I]

Chicken Balti with rice [I]and[/I] chips

roasted Vegetable Lasagne with garlic bread and chips

What would an Italian make of this I wonder? It makes me ask if any of you who live in Italy full time have tried cooking for your new friends or neighbours and if so what their reaction was? Do you always cook exactly what Italians cook or what?

I love cooking and inviting friends to eat with us and I'd like to do this in Italy but I also love my Kormas my Thai stir frys and my crispy jacket potatoes.Would any of these be accepted by my Italian diners? Or would I be a social outcast.Also shock horror none of us like or eat meat!!! We love wine though and cheese and porcini mushrooms.....Is there hope for me?

Oh and please don't anyone get hot under the collar..this is not an attack on Italy,Italian men or Italian food.Ok?

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Once (in Milan) invitied a colleague and his wife for dinner and served kebabs on a bed of buttered sweet corn as the main course. The wife went totally 'bananas' as according to her sweet corn was only used as pig food in Italy. Much rolling of eyes and dramatic exclamations ... did I expect her to eat pig food etc :eek:

Very embarrassing.

Its a very interesting question and situation. We owe some meals to italians and I keep composing the menu in my head - no excuses now we have a new kitchen! Somehow it seems easy in summer - grilled meat/fish /veg and salads but in winter its a different matter. I too fancy cooking something from the east but I am aware that some of the people although they like the chilli of southern italian food are fairly traditional in their tastes. Naturally, of course, they all like good food.

The only conclusion I have reached is to cook something we might all like to start with and later by agreement to cook something considered experimental. Perhaps easier to do in summer more like a buffet with options for everyone including children.

How have others approached this?

If You Are Going To Invite Guests Round For Diner, Then Surely It
Would Be Best To Offer Them Traditional British Food.sunday Roast? With Yorkshire Puddings And All The Trimmings.
For Veggies, Then Substitute The Roast.
Shouldn't Have A Problem Along As You State Up Front You Will Be
Cooking Traditional English,as The Important Thing Is Whatever You Do Cook Is Done Proper.

[QUOTE=giovanni]If You Are Going To Invite Guests Round For Diner, Then Surely It
Would Be Best To Offer Them Traditional British Food.sunday Roast? With Yorkshire Puddings And All The Trimmings.
For Veggies, Then Substitute The Roast.
Shouldn't Have A Problem Along As You State Up Front You Will Be
Cooking Traditional English,as The Important Thing Is Whatever You Do Cook Is Done Proper.[/QUOTE]

I agree with Giovanni
english cousine has a good tradition with meat, under many ways even better than italian, so a well coocked roast (btw in Italy we say roast-beef) is surely a good idea
In the same way is a good cake, pie or a pudding
It's true that many italians don't like "strange" food, also because italian cousine is essentially regional with huge differences among various zones and this means that to a pugliese even a traditional Marche salame could taste exotic.
But it doesn't mean thet italians are closed to new recipes or food.
Consider pizza, the most traditional italian food: after al it's made with a local chese (mozzarella) a south american vegetable (tomato) on a arabic base.

will always prefear his traditional orecchiette or other local meals

[

will always prefear his traditional orecchiette or other local meals[/QUOTE]

It's evident that this phrase has been sent by mistake

If roast beef is recommended I would welcome advice on which cut of beef to ask for in the butchers and what is the correct vocabulary in italian.

My impression is that in our local shops roast veal is a more popular joint than beef. Beef joints appear to be more the sort for long slow cooking or brodo. Certainly cuts of beef in Imperia are not the same as those found in England and this is one area where I would appreciate some expert advice. Other meats and poultry cause no difficulty.

Whatever you do, do not ask for a piece of meat for Roast Beef as they will give you the girello which IMO is not good and of course not what we are used to. Instead, request a Carre di Vitello disossato. This is what we use in the US and in the UK. Vitello is not just veal in the sense most thinnk either. Vitello/vitellone is from cows that are between 12 months and 3 years. And as a reminder, do not tell them you are making roast beef as they will try to sell you the girello. That is one of the things about Italians that drive me crazy, there are specific things to be used for what they believe and you do not vary. I remember going to get fabric for curtains. The woman at the shop kept insisting that the fabric I wanted was not for curtains. I kept telling her that I knew what I was doing but she wouldn't sell me the fabric I wanted because it wasn't what was used.

BTW, I cook "foreign" food for friends all the time but I know that our friends like it so it is okay. When we have had dinner parties though with very traditional Senese who I know only like Senese food, I stick to the basics. Find out if friends are willing to try something new BEFORE settingthe menu.

There is a very good resource book with lots of photos and varieties of all kinds of food in Italy. It shows cuts of meat (what is used for what dishes), cheeses, different kinds of rice, vegetables, fruits, fish, pastas, herbs, all kinds of coffee drinks (what they are, and how to order), fizzy drinks (what they are and what degree of fizz), and on and on. It's called "Culinaria Italy". It's by Konemann

[QUOTE=Susan P] ... did I expect her to eat pig food etc :eek: [/QUOTE]

Hahahah, same happened with us when we took over some haggis (traditional UK food, I thought........ might be an adventure for some) and told our friends it should be eaten with [i]neeps & tatties[/i].......... same thing......... seems a lot of root veg is pig food (more's the pity) :(

Oh, sorry to hi-jack the thread ;)

Having lived in Italy now for nearly 25 years, the real test came when my now grown up sons brought their new girlfriends home. We have always eaten a mixture of Italian and English dishes, although in the first years it was difficult to find the ingredients for many English dishes. The girlfriends were instantly introduced to pancakes, curries, steak and kidney pie, bread and butter pudding. Without exception, they loved it all (and they weren't just being polite), and even when the love affairs with my sons were long over, the girlfriends would be coming round for the recipes. When my son ran a wine-bar in Tuscania, the most popular dolci were traditional apple pie and lemon meringue pie (made by me of course). Phil

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Phil you've given me hope!

I can understand why Italians would love these 2 dishes as up to now I've not eaten any Italian cakes (bought) that I've liked they seem either too dry or too sticky/sweet.

I'm trying a cream tea out on my new Italian neighbours with mascaphone not clotted cream! Once I've introduced them to scones perhaps I'll go one step futher and try them with cheese ones!! I made a load yesterday and my daughter ate 3 when she got home from school....I think I might just try one now its time for eleveneses!!

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

I think the real secret of enjoying food of any culture is to understand how it should be eaten. The dry Italian biscuits are really rather good with some Vin Santo or Spumante but disgusting on their own. In my early years here I hated the dry unsalted local bread, but then I learnt how good it is for moping all those reach Italian sauces. When my Italian husband first had a good old british roast dinner, he refused the gravy and didn't really enjoy it. Then I coaxed him into trying gravy and now he loves all roast dinners. It really helps to see how the locals tackle a dish and then try it the same way.

I have prepared Cajun style Pork spare-ribs and my guests loved them. They even wanted the recepies.

The problem I have when I am in Italy are the cuts of meat. The meat is not very tender I was told that the reason was the way the various cuts are prepared. It seems that in Italy the meat is cut along the grain versus against the grain (which makes the meat more tender). I don't find it makes that much of a difference. Italy and meat. Pas-Bon!!! Unless it is dried cured. The wild boar is pretty good if you can get your hands on it.

Stick with the lamb and goat!!

Phil, love your foody comments! Vino santo with the biscuits and the unsalted bread for moping up sauces, two things we have already learnt, in our first year here.

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]there's a prog on Radio4.. Veg Talk and today they discussed Chinese cookery.

Someone phoned in with what could be the solution to our 'cooking for italians problems'. She held a wok party!!! What you do is get 2 woks nice and hot then everyone you invite chucks what they bring into the wok (at separate times) The idea is that you all get to try a bit of what someone else has brought, drink a few glasses of wine and chill.The host cooks up some plain rice to go along with the stir frys.Italian guests could stick to familiar stuff with no root veg or sweetcorn but if they fancied it they could try another's choices.It sounded great fun.

has it got legs?

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

This sounds like something I experienced at Champneys Springs Hydro when I was treated to a day there by my Hubbie.
They had two woks on the go and you chose what you wanted from little pots at the side anything from chopped peppers, onion, beansprouts, chicken, mushrooms and lots and lots of other things,
you put them in a bowl and they fried them up in a wok and served them onto a tortilla wrap which you plonked some sauce on, rolled up and ate. It was delicious and each one was completely different.
I would give this kind of thing a try if you feel a bit cosmopolitan.
The only drawback was they had to keep washing out the woks so it could be a bit labour intensive!
:)
Michelle

hi there everyone, i am hoping to move to sicily soon, my partner is sicillian, i have visited a few times and i too am having problems with the food!! every where i look its pizza and pasta! every resturant is a pizzeria, where oh where do i buy simple things like normal size sliced bread? gravy? butter? english cheese? orange squash? milk in bottles? these items seem to be non existent in sicily, would i be able to find a large well equipt supermarket if i went to palermo?

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]oh dear cockney girl you really have put your foot in it now! How dare you expect Italians to cater for your wierd not to say deviant tastes..! Gravy!What next!

Seriously though its only natural for non-Italians to miss their own types of food, some more than others and being a veggie I too find the endless Pizza and Pasta thing gets a bit dare I say dull...do Italians eat Tofu??? Also back to the dry cakes.Ok dunk them in Vin Santo but at breakfast?I like a drink as much as the next woman but I normally manage to hang on until lunch time!

Italians need to lighten up about food without going down the supermarket in every town / McDonalds route that we've followed in the UK.Like Jamie Oliver demonstrated when they do try something new they often really like it...perhaps not gravy though?

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

[QUOTE=cockney girl]hi there everyone, i am hoping to move to sicily soon, my partner is sicillian, i have visited a few times and i too am having problems with the food!! every where i look its pizza and pasta! every resturant is a pizzeria, where oh where do i buy simple things like normal size sliced bread? gravy? butter? english cheese? orange squash? milk in bottles? these items seem to be non existent in sicily, would i be able to find a large well equipt supermarket if i went to palermo?[/QUOTE]

Here's a treat for you if you are in Palermo - go to the little restaurant behind the archeological museum and order a hot dog. Make sure you stand at the counter and watch them prepare it - one of those experiences you will never, ever forget...

There is a great little fast food place in Palermo, just over the railway crossing, about two blocks up from the main drag (the end with all the fancy shops) called Ganchi's - well worth the detour.

[QUOTE=manopello][FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]I've posted on this one before and its a bit of a obsession of mine but what are the major differences between Brits and Italians when it comes to food?
It seemed to drive Jamie Oliver mad in his recent TV prog and he claimed that all Italians are food experts but are also resistant to any new [I]untried[/I] food stuffs.

I went into town today for some Christmas shopping and as it was freezing I just had to pop into one of the big pub chains that do food (and the best Guiness which was sort of a reason to go in).I couldn't resist a chuckle as I read the menu.This is what they had as their favourites!

Fish and chips with [I]tempura [/I]batter

Withshire Chicken and Leek Pie with [I]potato rosti[/I]

Chicken Balti with rice [I]and[/I] chips

roasted Vegetable Lasagne with garlic bread and chips

What would an Italian make of this I wonder? It makes me ask if any of you who live in Italy full time have tried cooking for your new friends or neighbours and if so what their reaction was? Do you always cook exactly what Italians cook or what?

I love cooking and inviting friends to eat with us and I'd like to do this in Italy but I also love my Kormas my Thai stir frys and my crispy jacket potatoes.Would any of these be accepted by my Italian diners? Or would I be a social outcast.Also shock horror none of us like or eat meat!!! We love wine though and cheese and porcini mushrooms.....Is there hope for me?

Oh and please don't anyone get hot under the collar..this is not an attack on Italy,Italian men or Italian food.Ok?

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]
As you are by now surely aware things vary depending on where you are in Milano or Roma which both have enormous immigrant populations it is now common to find ethnic foods and restaurants and the people themselves travel widely if you attempted to produce stir frys ,kourmas, and curries here in rural italy people wouldn't even try it,they won't even eat risotto round here as it's an exotic outside thing

I can't remember where exactly, but I'm certain I've seen Chinese restaurants in several places in Italy.

I've never had the inclination (read: [I]been brave enough[/I]) to go into one, but I have wondered who eats there. My recollection is that they've generally looked less than prosperous, so I've always assumed they aren't very popular. I suppose they could be catering for ethnic Chinese people living in Italy, but this group is not very obvious (if it exists at all) and I recall the menus outside being only in Italian and English. So I guess if anyone is eating in these restaurants, it must be Italians and perhaps the odd tourist.

What intrigues me most is what their food is like. It's well-known that the food served in your typical Chinese restaurant in the UK and the USA has been adapted to cater for local tastes. (I know there are strictly authentic places, but these tend to be classy and expensive once you get outside areas with large ethnic Chinese populations.)

Each time I've passed on of these places in Italy, I've wondered what an "Italian Chinese" meal would be like.

Has anyone here been brave enough to go into one of these places?

Al

[QUOTE=AllanMason]
Each time I've passed on of these places in Italy, I've wondered what an "Italian Chinese" meal would be like.

Has anyone here been brave enough to go into one of these places?

Al[/QUOTE]

I have taken the plunge! (at the Chinese in Aulla). It was fairly like a Chinese back home but maybe not quite as tasty (that could just be that restaurant though). The one difference I found is that Italians don't eat rice as a side dish so they ate rice separately from the main dish - I literally had to grab the waiter before he ran off after taking our order to tell him I wanted rice at the same time as the rest of my meal. We've also had a carry out from there a couple of times and it was decent. Spring rolls are nice and seem to go down well with Italians too. Noodles are called spaghetti on the menu though.

we have a chinese restaurant in Teramo...sorry have not visted it...but then i didnt really use them that much in engalnd either.... however locals who have do not seem highly impressed.... so i guess it follows the rest of the comments about what italians will and will not eat.... however... Teramo has a large chinese population...around 15 % of commerce is chinese operated... in local markets they co-operate/compete with italian market holders and seem well excepted as part of the community and are renowned here for their cheap clothing....

as regards chinese food i think the best food i had was in the chinese area of london.... far different from provincial chinese take aways... believe it or not you often saw chinese eating in these restaurants.... i am sure now there are also centres of excellence in most of the major cities in the uk...where chinese and nons...eat in the same place... Poons was the name of my favorite... most probably now all changed... but use to be small with scrubbed wooden tables...only chopsticks ..and everything served in small bowls and no lager in sight....if i could find one of these here i think i would take the time to make a visit... if i ever try the one in Teramo i have seen will inform you of the type it is ...but from the outside it looks like a typical chinese take away...

my thoughts are the chinese must eat somewhere when they want to go out.... so am sure there must be a decent place for them to eat somewhere here... just a matter of time before i find it.... unless someone else from around here can help out...

... as regards breakfasts here... the norm for us is two ... early on a sweet one with cornettos/cake and milky coffee... and then at around nine thirty or so savoury breakfast... thick slices of bread with cheese or a favorite of mine...raw pork sausage split open and spread on thickly... all washed down with a couple of glasses of wine ...followed by a short coffee... actually cannot confess to eating the second one every day...its normally neighbours that invite me in for that one.... but i do enjoy it.... another favorite of mine is the skinned peppers under oil on the bread...with a sprinkling of hot chile oil .... its a nice warming feel on a colder winters day...

so becky ... wine starts in the morning if your neighbours invite you in... so no holding out until lunch time....

There are three Chinese restaurants in Viterbo but we have not felt the need to try them out yet. So many Italian restaurants to visit first. We usually have a Chinese when we go back to the UK and having really looked forward to it end up disappointed!! Nothing beats Italian food for us at the moment.

One chinese restaurant in Porto Recanati, 5/6 in Civitanova Marche, 2/3 in Macerata, many in Ancona and so on.
Many Italians go there normally, but there are many who just have no inclination for it (in the AllanMason's way).
Of course it's a "chinese" for italian people, quite different from the original you can taste down there.
It was the same with the italian restaurants abroad, in the past.
They used to serve food we never eat in Italy, or prepared in a different way: i.e. spaghetti with meat balls, that is a dish not eaten at all, here.

When I've been in London in October, I've spent a very pleasant evening in a chinese restaurant: some of the dishes were quite the same we have in Italy (spring rolls, honeygarlic pork etc) while there were others I had never tasted, but they were good as well.