Nicholas TengItalian food is one of the most popular around the world and well-known for its rich flavours and quality ingredients. What many fail to realise is the amount of hard work – both dedication and artistry – that goes behind preparing the food. Instead of turning to mass production, which is common practice these days, the Italians maintain the standards of their foodstuff by choosing the freshest ingredients as well as leveraging on seasonal ingredients in their cuisine. They also do not skimp on the quality as you can see from the presence of exquisite truffles, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic coating your various Italian favourites.
Crucially though, many people miss out on the authenticity of Italian food, usually because they don’t realise the importance of the work and preparation that goes into the food. Giuliano Bugialli, an author and cooking teacher criticised Italian food in America, “They’re just not Italian. There is this idea that all you have to do is add olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes and you’re in business.”
In this fast-paced modern world that we live in today, it is always so easy and tempting to take shortcuts and whether it means buying the dry pasta off the shelf or that frozen pizza, we all have done it to make our lives easier, but nothing can compare to the taste of fresh pasta or pizza hand kneaded and made to mouth-watering perfection.
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Get ready to see what it means to prepare and make a real Italian cuisine:
If that video did not make you hungry, I don’t know what will.
This kindly old lady is going to make some pasta fresca (fresh pasta) that will knock your socks off.
Why is it so damn tasty? Well because it is hand kneaded and prepared making for the freshest pasta imaginable. This wasn’t sitting on the shelf of your local department store for days before you picked it up. It was made literally an hour before you ate it!
The fruits of her labour.
Your cup of espresso? Yeah it starts by roasting these coffee beans to perfection. I’m not talking about the watered down version they serve at your franchised coffee joint, this is the real McCoy.
Italy is the birthplace of the espresso roast and remains popular with the local up till today.
That pungent aroma wafting to your nose from the truffles which adorn your pasta? Or the more ubiquitous truffle fries? Courtesy of this cute, if slightly oblivious dog.
Wild black truffles are usually found by a man-and-dog team, the dog sniffing and scampering about to locate the small black piece of heaven.
Timber!!!
Of course, most countries have now had their own take on Italian cuisine for a long time now, and most of them do a wonderfully fine job of representing the homeland. Many experts have even debated the need for truly “authentic” Italian cuisine, after all cuisine like all things evolve with time, and ingredients that weren’t discovered hundreds of years ago are now being added to kitchens worldwide, as chefs cater to the ever-changing palette of the consumers.
That being said, there’s absolutely nothing in the world like having a gelato in Rome on a hot sweltering day or a plate of fresh pasta al dente cooked to delightful perfection. We know we’d love to hop onto a plane right now and have it for ourselves. Wouldn’t you?
Also read: 6 Gelaterias to Visit for the Best Gelato in Italy
