What are the best Italian food and wine products divided by region, highlighting those that stand out for their greater originality and whose tasting is highly recommended for those who want to try typical specialties of a certain area.
northwest
Wanting to follow a path that follows geography, we start from the territories that are part of North West Italy, one of the most interesting and rich areas in the world from a gastronomic point of view.
Among the products of the land, the white truffle is the master, which from here started for the royal tables, also among woods and fields, above and below the ground, there is a very wide variety of fruit and vegetables.
Turin is considered the capital of chocolate, Milan of leavened desserts, while Cremona is the capital of nougat.
Extra virgin olive oil, one of the symbols of the Mediterranean diet, is also a protagonist in this portion of the Belpaese.
Fontina is the best known among the mountain cheeses of the North-West, in particular Piedmont and Lombardy can be considered deservedly the world capitals of fine cheeses.
As for wine, Barbera del Piemonte and Barbera della Lombardia prevail, the same grape variety for a quality wine present both on home tables and on those of trendy restaurants.
Bread, black rye and buckwheat bread made to last a long time, was in the past, before the spread of polenta, the staple food in the Alpine valleys, widely used to prepare delicious cabbage and potato soups , especially in the Aosta Valley.
About cured meats, "divin porcello" and various dried meats, such as bresaola, are shared by people from the plains and mountains in a canning art that sees Piedmontese and Lombards as authentic pioneers.
North East
Moving north-east, it must be said that the peasant style has remained the same as it used to be, with nature doing its part letting itself be influenced by the warmth of Lake Garda and the Adriatic Sea which, in contrast to the alpine microclimates, create extraordinary microclimates.
The courtyard animals constitute the wealth of a typically peasant gastronomy, which is still the most loved from the Piacenza hills to the Triveneto hills, with the hen of Padua and the geese of Pordenone.
Recommended readings- What are latitude and longitude, how are they calculated
- Long sleeves black dress with stockings and finished in lace
- Antarctica: information, territory, Antarctic oasis
- What it means to truly love a person
- Barberry: what it is used for, therapeutic properties of berries
Asiago is the symbol of authentic alpine cheeses, in this wonderful plateau cows are not only used as a choreographic factor to give satisfaction to tourists, but they represent the real protagonists of an activity that continues to follow the rhythms and the quality level of the past .
As for the products of the earth, sprouts concentrate the qualities of the plant that will be born, asparagus are the oldest ones eaten by man and find their capital in Bassano del Grappa.
But agriculture in the north-east is also made of cherries, particularly in Vignola, as well as from Treviso radicchio and Borgo di Taro mushrooms.
Oil and olive trees characterize not only the area of Lake Garda but also the entire Veneto hills, with expansion also in Romagna, where the extraordinary Brisighello is produced, and in Friuli.
Yes, it can be safely said that the entire geographical area of the North-East is a very large vineyard, with a production of wine that ranges from the great whites of South Tyrol and Collio to red wines unique in the world, including Amarone. Do not forget the excellent Prosecco.
In these lands, where pandoro and other types of all butter desserts were born, polenta stands out, a peasant dish of excellence, thanks to a splendid corn such as the Marano.
As regards cured meats, Parma ham is famous all over the world, but there is no shortage of hams and sausages in other areas of Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Center of Italy
In central Italy we are faced with two different agricultural economies, linked to two trees considered the symbol of the territory, namely that of the chestnut and that of the olive tree.
If we consider that it is precisely here that the Italian peninsula narrows, this explains why the rustic flavors typical of the Apennines compete with the fish specialties typical of the maritime areas.
If qualitatively the oil production of central Italy is not very significant compared to the southern regions, however, there are high-class oils in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio.
As for the meats, the most famous breed of cattle is the Chianina breed, made famous by the famous Florentine steak. In addition to this, the Marche and Maremma races also deserve consideration, as well as the Cinta Senese and, for sheep breeds, the Zeri lamb.
Also famous are the sand fish, along the coastal strip that goes from Viareggio to Gaeta, and that of the seabed, present especially around islands such as Gorgona, of which prawns are well known.
Among the products of the earth, black and white truffles are very valuable, also a myriad of mushrooms, herbs, and fruit and vegetables deserve attention.
Siena is famous for its patisserie, in particular panforte and other typical medieval desserts have been handed down for generations in the city where the traditional Palio takes place annually.
Central Italy is also the kingdom of pecorino which offers many different facets that connoisseurs know how to distinguish and appreciate for their aromatic and taste differences.
The Apennine ham, starting from the Tuscan and Norcia ones, hence the name norcino which indicates the person who packs the cured meats, is the other side of the Italian ham, in this case salty, which contrasts with the sweet one typical of other areas, for example Parma.
The typical Tuscan Chianti wine is known and appreciated all over the world, in addition to this, the wines of the Marche and Umbria have also had great international awards.
southern Italy
Southern Italy is a territory where, in most cases, it is still the popular tradition and the small artisan activity that give the best of themselves.
Large production of oil and wine in the vast Apulian agricultural areas are an exception, standing in first place for quantity and quality.
Dried figs are typical throughout the South, as well as canned fish, tomatoes and dried peppers, as well as all kinds of pickled vegetables.
A lot of sun and a dry climate guarantee fragrant, healthy and easily cultivable products following organic methods, very different terrines become a source of great versatility, found for example on tomatoes.
The warm lands of the South offer wines with an intense color and good alcohol content that manage to emerge for their qualities also in the rest of Italy and in the world.
Gragnano and Torre Annunziata are considered the historical capitals of dried durum wheat pasta and the temples of macaroni.
But Abruzzo with Fara San Martino and Puglia with knitwear, just to give two examples, today are no different, like other places where every day, in every home and every farm, new types of pasta are always fresh based of water and flour.
The buffalo spun cheeses but also vaccines, such as caciocavallo, fiordilatte and provola, are the pride of the southern dairy art which however finds great levels of taste and imagination also with pecorino and with many types of ricotta used as a basic component of many first courses and desserts.
Southern Italy has always been the world quantitative hub of olive oil. Today this primacy is no longer there because some Spanish and Greek regions have evolved in this direction, but there remains a clear qualitative superiority compared to foreign oils.
Among the cured meats, the brawns are the masters, obtained from fine pieces obtained by selecting the best parts of the pig and from an impeccable processing.
Islands
Sicily and Sardinia are two territories that represent a concentrate of Mediterranean gastronomic knowledge and more.
Arab and Genoese ideas, Greek and Norman, but also ideas that come from Spain and even from England have found renewed harmony and personality.
It cannot be said that Sicily has its strong point in cured meats, on the contrary Sardinia, with its pigs reared in the wild, in particular those with black coat, stands out for its Sardinian ham and sausage.
The tuna that passes in June is considered the best in the world, in Sicily and Sardinia there are still several tuna fish, for example in Carloforte and Favignana, tuna is not thrown away but on the contrary they prepare incredible seafood specialties using every part of it.
If Marsala, Vernaccia, Moscato di Pantelleria are rightly considered the symbols of oenology of the two major Italian islands, an extraordinary quality crest is also noted in table wines.
In Sardinia, the autochthonous vines dominate, with Cannonau and Cartignano among the reds and Vermentino among the whites in first position.
In Sicily, international grapes are gradually downgrading from those from native vineyards used to produce the famous Nero d'Avola.
Except for the panettone, if there is a pastry tradition spread all over the world, it is the Sicilian one.
The authentic cassata and cannolo can only be found in Sicily, where the shepherds make the right ricotta capable of making them inimitable.
Sicilian oil dominates many international competitions, thanks to the aromatic richness and the extraordinary olfactory gustatory balance.
By now the production of pecorino in Europe is in the hands of Sardinian shepherds almost everywhere, this primacy culminates above all in authentic dairy masterpieces, such as Gransardo cheese.
Even in Sicily pecorino has a long tradition, but the most significant cheeses are pasta filata and among these the Ragusano stands out.
Sicily is the island of perfumes and Sardinia is no different. If wild fennel is the symbol of the former, myrtle is the symbol of the latter.
But the scent is what distinguishes all their products of the earth, whether they are spontaneous or cultivated, in particular tomatoes, melons, mushrooms, apricots, pistachios and strawberries.
