Category:Italian recipes

Antipasti

This category

In this category you will find recipes that have Italian roots.

About Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine as a national cuisine known today has evolved through centuries of social and political changes, with its roots traced back to 4th century BC. Significant change occurred with discovery of the New World which helped shape much of what is known as Italian cuisine today with the introduction of items such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and corn, which are all central parts of the cuisine but not introduced in scale until the 18th century.

Ingredients and dishes vary by region. There are many significant regional dishes that have become both national and regional. Many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. Cheese and wine are also a major part of the cuisine, playing different roles both regionally and nationally with their many variations and Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) laws. Coffee, and more specifically espresso, has become highly important to the cultural cuisine of Italy.

Each Italian region has its own specialties, primarily at regional level, but also even at provincial level. These regional variances can come from the influence of a bordering country (such as France or Austria), vicinity to the sea or mountains as well as economic progress. Italian cuisine is not only highly regional, but is also distinguished by being very seasonal with high priority placed on the use of fresh, seasonal produce.

DOP ingredients

DOP stands for ‘Denominazione d'Origine Protetta’ which in the UK we know as 'Protected Designation of Origin' (PDO). Under the EU agricultural product quality policy, this "covers agricultural products and foodstuffs which are produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area using recognised know-how". The following Italian ingredients are those which are registered as DOP.

IGP ingredients

IGP stands for ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ which in the UK we know as 'Protected Geographical Indication' (PGI). Under the EU agricultural product quality policy, this "covers agricultural products and foodstuffs closely linked to the geographical area. At least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation takes place in the area." The following Italian ingredients are those which are registered as IGP.

STG ingredients

STG stands for ‘Specialità Tradizionale Garantita’ which in the UK is known as 'Traditional Speciality Guaranteed’ (TSG). It "highlights traditional character, either in the composition or means of production". The following Italian ingredients are those which are registered as STG.

DOCG ingredients

DOCG stands for ‘Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita’ which translates as ‘controlled and guaranteed name of origin’. DOCG regions are sub territories of DOC regions that produce outstanding products that may be subject to more stringent production and quality standards than the same products from the surrounding DOC region. The need for a DOCG identification arose when the DOC denomination was, in the view of many Italian food industries, given too liberally to different products. A new, more restrictive identification was then created, as similar as possible to the previous one so that buyers could still recognize it, but qualitatively different. The following Italian ingredients are those which are registered as DOCG.

DOC ingredients

DOC stands for ‘Denominazione di Origine Controllata’ which translates as ‘controlled name of origin’. It is a quality assurance label for food products The following Italian ingredients are those which are registered as DOC.

We have a list of recommend Italian ingredient suppliers, as well as an encylopeadic section on Italian cheeses, broken down region by region.