ITALIAN CUISINE

Many non-Italians identify Italian cooking with a few of its most popular dishes,
like pizza and spaghetti. People often e Not only does each region have its own
style, but each community and each valley has a different way of cooking as well
express the opinion that Italian cooking is all pretty much alike.

INTRODUCTION
Italian food is mainly influenced by Greek and French flavors. Each and every
region of Italy has its own popular dish.

Italian cuisine is world famous. Pizzas and pastas are the two popular dishes
people around the world are familiar with. Italian recipes are known for it is use of
fine ingredients such as herbs and spices. The history of Italian cuisine dates back
to ancient Roman days. The historians believe the history of Italian food began
during the eight century BC, when Greek settlers colonized Sicily and Magna
Graecia, a region in Southern Italy.

The regular meals consisted of food prepared from chickpeas, lupines, dry figs,
pickled olives, salted and dry fish and pork.

Pizza: The Soul of Italy:-

The word "pizza" is thought to have come from the Latin word pinsa, meaning
flatbread. The popular pizza Margherita owes its name to Italy's Queen Margherita
who in 1889 visited the Pizzeria Brandi in Naples. The Pizzaioli (pizza maker) on
duty that day, Rafaele Esposito created a pizza for the Queen that contained the
three colors of the new Italian flag. The red of tomato, white of the mozzarella and
fresh green basil was a hit with the Queen and the rest of the world.
 There are numerous popular varieties of pizza made in Italy today. Pizza from a
Pizzeria is the recognized round shape, made to order and always cooked in a
wood fired oven. Regional varieties are always worth trying such as Pizza
Marinara, a traditional Neapolitan pizza that has oregano, anchovies and lots of
garlic. Pizza Napoli Tomato mozzarella and anchovies. Capriccioso: a topping of
mushrooms, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, olives and ½ a boiled egg! Pizza Pugliese
makes use of the local capers and olives of the area while Pizza Veronese has
mushrooms and tender Prosciutto crudo. Pizzas from Sicily can have numerous
toppings ranging from green olives, seafood, hard-boiled eggs and peas.

Pizza al taglio also known as Pizza rustica is sold everywhere in Italy, usually by
weight and often piled with marinated mushrooms, onions or artichokes. This style
of pizza is cooked on a sheet pan at street stalls and makes a good quick lunch.
Focaccia resembles the earliest pizzas being without tomatoes or cheese but
covered in olive oil, caramelized onions and other savory toppings. Sfincione is a
thick Sicilian sheet pizza that uses tomato sauce, anchovies (usually anchovy
paste) breadcrumbs and caciocavallo (or another local variety) cheese.

A newer trend that is gaining popularity is the emergence of sweet pizzas and
traditional Italian pizzerias are trying to accommodate this trend by using unique
ingredients. These dessert pizzas often have flavor combinations such as Nutella,
honey, fruit jam, yogurt, even mustard and liquor.

Pasta
Venetian merchant Marco Polo brought back pasta from his journeys in China.
Another version states that Polo discovery was actually a rediscovery of a
foodstuff that was once popular in Italy in Etruscan and Roman times. There is
some evidence of an Etrusco-Roman noodle made from the same durum wheat as
modern pasta called "lagane" (origin of the modern word for lasagna). However
this food, first mentioned in the 1st century AD was not boiled like pasta, it was
cooked in an oven. Therefore ancient lagane had some similarities, but cannot be
considered pasta.The dried noodle-like product they introduced to Sicily is most
likely the origins of dried pasta and was being produced in great quantities in
Palermo at this time. The modern word "macaroni" derives from the Sicilian term
for making dough forcefully, as early pasta making was often a laborious daylong
process.
By the 1300's dried pasta was very popular for its nutrition and long shelf life,
making it ideal for long ship voyages. Pasta made it around the globe during the
voyages of discovery a century later. By that time different shapes of pasta have
appeared and new technology made pasta easier to make. With these innovations
pasta truly became a part of Italian life. However the next big advancement in the
history of pasta would not come until the 19th century when pasta met tomatoes.

It is estimated that Italians eat over sixty pounds of 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 durum wheat production of the country

DRIED PASTA

There are roughly 350 different shapes and varieties of dried pasta in Italy, even
more counting regional differences. Shapes range from simple tubes to bow ties
(farfalle, which actually means "butterfly"), to unique shapes like tennis rackets
(racchette). There are two factors in dried pasta from Italy that make it typically
better than most other products: extrusion and dried pasta, especially the more
complex shapes (such as radiatore) are designed for grabbing and holding onto
sauces. Dried tube pasta (ziti or penne) often has ridges or slight abrasions on the
surface to hold onto the pasta sauce as well. Drying methods.

Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta can be made with slightly different ingredients than the dried variety.
Many northern regions of Italy use all-purpose flour and eggs while southern Italy
usually makes theirs from semolina and water but it depends upon the recipe.
However fresh pasta is not inherently better than dried pasta, it is just different and
is used in different situations. Some types of pasta are served only fresh, others
only dried and some others can have fresh and dried versions. Here fresh pasta is
often served with cream sauces or a simple sauce of butter and sage while light
tomato sauces are reserved for the summer months
History of Rice in Italy

During the late Middle Ages, perhaps the 14th century rice was introduced
in Italy. It got there from trade with the east, probably brought in by ship by
Venetian or Genoese merchants, but the earliest documentation of rice cultivation
dates to 1475, perhaps decades after the crop had been established

Types of Italian Rice

Italy grows mostly short, barrel shaped rice that is different than the long-grain rice
that is usually boiled or steamed. Among this type of rice are four categories based
on grain size: comune, semifino, fino, and superfino. The superfino rice is the type
most used for risotto. Baldo is another variety well-known for making excellent
risotto and among the semifino.

Risotto

Risotto is made with great care, braising the rice and allowing it to absorb the
cooking liquid, usually broth. The special rice used in the preparation lends its
starches to the cooking liquid, giving the risotto a rich consistency that in some
ways resembles a heavy cream sauce. The actual braising of the rice is a standard
procedure starting with the rice being toasted in a soffrito (chopped vegetables
such as onion, garlic, carrots and celery), before broth is ladled in slowly. Risotto
alla Milanese is arguably the most famous Italian rice dish, flavored with saffron
and resembles Spanish paella, which makes sense due to the Spanish rulership over
Milan for nearly two centuries. In Piedmonte it is not unusual to find risotto with
truffles or made with red Barolo wine. In the Veneto and especially the city of
Venice, seafood risotto is a mainstay, with risotto with sauteed eels being a
Christmas tradition. Risotto is completely versatile, and goes just as well flavored
with cuttlefish ink (Nero di Sepia) or with Prosciutto di San Danielle; with butter
and Parmigiano-Reggiano (added just before serving - Risotto Mantecato) or with
wildfowl like quail (Risotto con la Quaglie). Whatever ingredients used, the
cooking technique will blend and smooth out all of the flavors into one incredibly
flavorful dish.
Risi and Other Rice Dishes

Italian rice is not just limited to risotti; one of the more famous of the non-risotto
rice dishes is Minestrone alla Milanese. The city of Milan is rightfully proud of its
hearty vegetable soup, which makes use of Lombardy's abundant rice. In the
Veneto, Peas and Rice (Risi e Bisi) is a popular "wet" risotto that is like a soup
made with rice and peas, but thick enough to eat with a fork. Riso al Salto is a
great way to use up leftover risotto - pressed into patties and fried in butter.
Another delicious way to eat leftovers is to add the rice to eggs for an Omelette di
Riso. Suppli and Arancini (little oranges) are fried rice balls will a filling usually of
cheese, meat sauce and peas; they are a popular snack found in Italian cafes and
bars. Rice stuffed tomatoes make a delicious antipasti, especially with the large
and juicy variety grown around the Bay of Naples. Rice is also useful in desserts,
such as Sicily's Dolce di Castagne e Riso - a delicious rice pudding flavored with
chestnuts.

Cappuccino

A lot of people around the world drink coffee and milk. In Italy, people use to
drink cappuccino – a coffee and milk with addition of milk foam. All around the
world people drink coffee and milk whenever feels like doing it. Italians will never
ask for a cappuccino in the evening! Why? It is just as it is. It’s not time to have a
cappuccino. Cappuccino is for breakfast! Italians do not accept someone who asks
a cappuccino after, or even worse, together with dinner. They really twist their
nose when they see someone doing it.

Lifestyle

Italians are warm, welcoming people who love to relax, celebrate and socialize
with family and friends. And celebration and relaxation usually take place around
the table either at home or in a restaurant, where they can enjoy the traditions of
the Italian cuisine. Italians have a passion for eating but also for talking.
HYPOTYHESIS
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes,
with roots as far back as the 4th century BC. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy
influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish
and Arab cuisines. Significant changes occurred with the discovery of the New
World with the introduction of items such as potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and
maize, now central to the cuisine but not introduced in quantity until the 18th
century. Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference
in taste, and is known to be one of the most popular in the world, with influences
abroad.

Ingredients and dishes vary by region. Many dishes that were once regional,
however, have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Cheese and
wine are a major part of the cuisine, with many variations and Denominazione di
origine controllata (DOC) (regulated appellation) laws. Coffee, specifically
espresso, has become important in Italian cuisine.

Italian cuisine has a great variety of different ingredients which are commonly
used, ranging from fruits, vegetables, sauces, meats etc. In the North of Italy, fish
(such as cod, or baccala), potatoes, rice, maize, corn, sausages, pork and different
types of cheeses are the most common ingredients (tomato is virtually absent in
most Northern Italian cuisines). Ligurian ingredients are quite different, and
include several types of fish and seafood dishes, basil, (found in pesto sauce), nuts
and olive oil are very common).

In central Italy (including Emilia-Romagna), common ingredients include ham

(Parma ham), sausage (Zampone), different sorts of salami, truffles, lasagna, grana,
Parmigiano reggiano), tomatoes (Bolognese sauce or ragu), and tortellini are
important elements. Finally, in Southern Italy, tomatoes (either used fresh or
cooked into tomato sauce), peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes,
oranges, ricotta cheese, aubergines, courgettes, certain types of fish (anchovies,
sardines and tuna), and capers are important components to the local cuisine.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :
For systematic and effective study the research methodology is divided into following sections:

1. Pilot study

2. Selection of Samples

3. Development of Tools

4. Collection of Data

5. Analysis of Data

1. Pilot Study :

This study is explanatory to identify different variables and designs. This methodology is based on the
information collected from the pilot study. Pilot study was carried out by designing a questionnaire.

2. Selection of Samples :

After collecting information from pilot study the samples were selected from Mumbai. The information
was collected by multi cuisine restaurants.

3. Development of Tools :

To elicit the accurate response, the questionnaire was designed considering the objectives of the study.
The questionnaire consisted of general information and topics related to relative subject matter.

4. Collection of Data :

The whole data was collected with maximum interest and co-operation of the guide and various
restaurant chefs

5. Analysis of Data :

The data which was collected during the study were analyzed by the charts and graphs.