Italian gourmet cuisine, like Italian cuisine in general, is widely diverse. The variety of Italian gourmet cuisine reflects the different cultures of the country’s regions and its rich history. Italian gourmet cuisine is also influenced by several civilizations including Greece, Rome, and the Arab world. Italian gourmet cuisine is the foremost example of Mediterranean cuisine. It is one of the most copied cuisines in the world.
In general, the difference between the Italian gourmet cuisine of northern and southern Italy is the cooking fat commonly used as well as the style of the pasta. Northern Italian gourmet cuisine uses more of cream, butter and Mascarpone cheese and for the pasta, risotto and fresh egg pasta. The Southern Italian gourmet cuisine favors olive oil, Mozzarella cheese, and dried pasta. Southern Italians also tend to use more tomatoes in their dishes.
The structure of a traditional Italian gourmet cuisine menu includes the antipasto or appetizers, which can be hot or cold, the first course or primo, which typically consists of hot dishes like pasta, gnocchi, risotto or polenta with plenty of vegetable choices. A unique aspect of Italian gourmet cuisine is that usually the first course is the heaviest meal.
This is followed by secondo or the second course, whish is the main dish. A fish or meat dish is usually served with veal as the top meat choice. While most people would normally think the Italian gourmet cuisine is all about pasta, pasta is never served as a main dish.
After the secondo is contorno or the side dish. This may include vegetables or a salad.
Of course, to complete your Italian gourmet cuisine menu you need to serve dolce or dessert. One of the most popular classic Italian desserts is the zabaglione cream. A gourmet version of this adds whipped cream and ground almond or amaretti cookies to the zabaglione cream for a rich delicious dessert.
The last part of any traditional Italian gourmet cuisine is serving caffè or coffee, also referred to as espresso. This is a strong coffee served in small amounts. After the coffee, a digestive or digestivo is served, which refer to liquors such as brandy or sweet wine.
Italian gourmet cuisine reflects the cuisines of diverse regions of Italy. For example, a Tuscan-inspired Italian gourmet cuisine typically features unsalted bread, white beans and meat. The use of pecorino in Italian gourmet cooking can be said to be have Roman cuisine influences, where the cheese is usually used. Italian gourmet cuisine is all about highlighting the best foods of each Italian region from the pizza of Naples to the Sicilian gelato.
Italian Gourmet Food: What makes it Gourmet
... A traditional Italian menu may include an antipasto or appetizer and a primo or first course. Usually, a primo is a high carbohydrate dish like risotto or pasta. Then, there is All about Italian Gourmet Cuisine a secondo or the main dish which provides the protein content. Usually, it is made out of meat such as veal. There is also a contorno or side dish such as a salad, a dolce or dessert, a caffee or coffee which is usually expresso, and digestive which is liquer. All in all, it constitutes an artful, satisfying meal. An Italian meal is never complete without wine. Italy produces the finest wines such as Barolo, Amarone, Pinot Grigio, Chianti and Primitivo. Each of these wines is the specialty of a region in Italy. So, the next time you visit Italy, try to travel to the country’s different regions and taste the food there. You will be pleasantly surprised at the...
French Gourmet Food Simply The Best
... techniques in French cooking have greatly influenced almost all Western styles of cooking. In fact, Western culinary schools have French cooking in their curriculum as a foundation to all other forms of Western cooking. Like Italian cuisine, French gourmet food has a lot of diversity. For example, cuisine from northwest France uses a lot of butter, cream and apples. Gourmet food from southwest France is characterized by duck fat, foei gras, porcini mushrooms and gizzards. Cuisine in southeast France which shows a lot of Spanish influence features olive oil, herbs and tomatoes. Flemish influence of food preparation is evident in Northern France, as evident in their use of potatoes, pork and endives. Finally, Southern France boasts of its culinary masterpieces using lard, sausages and sauerkraut, which shows German influence. However, the regions also have few things in common. For example, all places in France locally grow vegetables such as potatoes, aubergines, courgetti and shallots. These...
New England Gourmet Cuisine
New England gourmet cuisine is the type cuisine in the New England region of the United States, which consists of the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. Gourmet cooking in New England just like general ways of cooking there often features seafood extensively as well as dairy products. This is due to the historical links of New England to the region’s fishing industry and the seaports there. Two native ingredients that characterize New England gourmet cuisine are cranberries and maple syrup. Other common New England ingredients are potatoes, parsley, sage, and creams. New England gourmets favor baked and stewed dishes. New England gourmet cuisine is delicately flavored. Seasonings and spices are not usually used because historically, many herbs were not that common in the region. The common sweeteners used were molasses and honey. Both traditional and gourmet New England cuisine are integral parts of the identity of this region. New...
Elements of Gourmet Cuisine
... food tastes good and looks good. Take, for example, the recipe “Chicken Wraps in Spicy Peanut Sauce”. Now, you can just put the wraps on a plate and serve it as is but, if you want to give it a gourmet feel, one way to do so is All about Italian Gourmet Cuisine to arrange three wraps on a plate in a shape of a fan, one wrap slightly on top of another and then place three cheese sticks and two olives on the side. Pour some sauce on the wraps and place the rest of the dip in a small bowl. If you need inspiration, study how gourmet cuisine is served in restaurants. Browse gourmet magazines and books to get you started. You may also need to invest in some quality cooking tools and dinnerware but the investment as well as the time you spent learning will surely pay off...