ITALIAN FOOD
Top 5 unusual Italian foods
1- LAMPREDOTTO
An institution of the street food in Florence is lampredotto; it is a part of the cow’s stomach slowly cooked in vegetable broth and flavored with herbs and aromas before being served in a bread roll accompanied by a green or hot sauce. Nencioni at the Porcellino market and La Trippaia in Via dell’Ariento are two of the most famous of Florence’s “lampredottai”.
4- PORK BLOOD CAKE
A popular proverb about pork says that nothing is thrown away, to underline that every part of the animal can be eaten. And that’s true! In Tuscany, (but it’s cooked also in other regions of Italy) even the blood can be used to prepare delicious recipes like the Pork Blood Cake.
2- PAJATA
It is a Roman dish. The intestine of a milk calf is washed, but not emptied. When it is cooked, the heat turns the semi-fluid and partially-digested milk inside into a dense and pungent cheese-like substance which is often used as a pasta sauce.
3- CASU MARZU CHEESE, or MAGGOT CHEESE
Sheep milk cheese, obtained in a natural way, thanks to the Piophila casei (cheese fly), which depose the larvae to the cheese. When cheese has fermented enough, it can be eaten! But pay attention: cheese became toxic when the maggots have died. So, it has to be eaten when they are still alive…and jumping.
This particular cheese is named Casu marzu in Sardinia, Marcetto o cace fraceche in Abruzzo (L’Aquila), Salterello in Friuli (Udine), Ribiòla cui bèg in Lombardia (Piacenza), Furmai nis (formaggio Nisso) in Emilia Romagna, Frmag punt (formaggio punto) in Apulia and Casu du quagghiu in Calabria.
5- CIBREO
As well as the pork, Italians don’t let any part of chicken to go waste. Cibreo is nothing but cockscombs. A Tuscan delight of Medieval origins.
(foods)
Meals in Italy
A full Italian meal has multiple courses, including an appetizer, soup, a light first course, a main course with side dishes, a salad and a dessert with fruit and drinks. A more relaxed meal includes at least two or three of these courses. Before-dinner cocktails are uncommon in Italy; alcohol is always accompanied by food. Espresso traditionally comes after dessert is over.
Always follow the common rules of politeness when eating a traditional Italian meal, including allowing your host to start eating first and keeping your elbows off the table. When eating long pasta, twirl the noodles onto your fork using the side of your pasta plate, not a spoon, and never cut it into smaller pieces. Always use a knife and fork to pick up pieces of cheese and fruit. Keep your hands visible on top of the table, and signal that you are finished with your meal by putting your knife and fork down side by side on your plate.
(Synonym, 2001)
