Italyis known for its amazing architecture and internationally recognizedfashion houses – but for foodies everywhere, Italy is the numberone destination for mouthwatering cuisine. You may have tasteditalian food before in your hometown or country. But until you’vehad an authentic pizza margherita or white truffle, you’ve neverreally had Italian food. Even if you don’t consider yourself ahardcore food connoisseur, trying authentic Italian food should be oneveryone’s bucket list. For a beginner’s guide to the best inItalian cuisine, here are the top 6 most iconic foods to eat inItaly.
Tortellinien brodo
Althoughpretty simply constructed, this dish lacks nothing in the flavordepartment. It consists of tortellini pasta in a delicious broth. Itis traditionally a dish for the winter season. This pasta is just oneof the many great pasta dishes that Italy is known for around theglobe.
Truffles
Thisdish is considered a delicacy around the world, and are coveted fortheir rarity and distinctive taste. They are only grown in a fewcountries, and Italy is one of them. They can only be found by dogsor pigs trained to find them in the wild deep within forests ormountains. Both white or black truffles are served in Italy.
Focaccia
Allover Italy, there are authentically delicious breads on every cornerbakery or cafe. But the Italian region of Linguria is known for beingthe home of famous flat bread focaccia. It is served best withtoppings like rosemary, olives or cheese, or simply drizzled witholive oil. Depending on the area of Italy you travel to, you may findthat focaccia bread will vary in texture and thickness, sometimesresembling a flatbread and at other times, pita bread.
Gelato
Gelatois famous the world over, but you’ve never had real gelato ifyou’ve never had it in Italy. Gelato is like ice cream, but muchmore dense and rich. There are many flavors of gelato, but mostauthentic purveyors of gelato will serve traditional and deliciouslysimple flavors, like stracciatella, vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut,pistachio and tiramisu just to name a few.
Coffee
Coffeeis Italy is likely very different than the watered down version youmay be used to. Authentic coffee in Italy will have some of the sametitles you’ve heard before, but will mean something totallydifferent. The meaning of latte, cappuccino, macchiato will becompletely different drinks even as you travel through Italyregionally. But this is apart of the beauty of Italian coffeedrinking: an adventure that you can never quite complete but willthoroughly enjoy..
Cheese
Aguide to best foods in Italy wouldn’t be complete without themention of cheese. Mascarpone,
Ricotta, scamorza, gorgonzola, asiago, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, taleggio, burrata, grana padano, scamorza, piave, stracchino and robiola are just a few of the many delectable cheese you can find in Italia. Some of these cheeses are only found locally in specific regions, and some can be found countrywide.
