Italy - the land of sun, wine, cheese and more.
Gastronomic Guide to Italy
What and where in Italy it is necessary to try.
1. Tuscany wine and rustic kitchen
Tuscany - a center of rural tourism in Italy. Here you can relax among the hills and cypress trees, in a visiting ancient towns, to admire the architecture and painting masterpieces. In general, a heavenly pleasure.
Tour of the Tuscan vineyards begins in Chianti, situated between two pearls of Florence and Siena: it is producing a legendary Italian wine. The same postcard Tuscany, which is located in the Val d'Orcia, sheltered in his two full wine region.
To study the wine of Tuscany dwell on the farm or in the hotel, Farm Holidays, which the owner is sure to be involved in the production of this noble drink. Hence start your route at the same time finding out which wineries to visit and enoteca in the district. However, even without these tips you will not go astray from the path. In Tuscany you can drop in at any vending winery and arrange a tasting, often with a visit to the cellars, or a stroll through the vineyards. You just have to choose a location: medieval castle, ancient villa or a cozy country house.
Tuscan wine company make uncomplicated and very hearty, rustic dishes, and the role of first violin in the orchestra of culinary given meat. Steak Florentine - a tender beef cooked on the coals to the state of "blood" and with little or no spices, just salt and pepper.
Pasta in Tuscany to choose manually cooked spaghetti worms with a funny name Peachey. As first courses soups are also common, chief among them - ribollita - food based on beans, cabbage and bread. By the way, the bread in these parts, too, is special, because it is baked without the addition of salt, but the taste of it seems to be just fine. And in any case do not give the bread: it is a mandatory attribute of the table, such as glasses or dishes.
Pride of place on the shelves of Tuscany also hold local sweets without which yet nobody has been able to go home.
2. Emilia-Romagna: cheese, ham and balsamic vinegar
No wonder jokingly capital of the region called Fatty, Bologna: try to stick to a diet when there are so many goodies. Many gastronomic symbols of Italy come from Emilia-Romagna. Most distinguished Parma, gave the world the Parmesan and Parma ham.
Parmesan - King Apennine cuisine. Without it, the Italians can not imagine their life, adding a favorite product in almost all dishes. Especially interesting combination with sweet fruits, jam or honey. In Emilia-Romagna the most crazy on the Parmesan is no surprise, even here there is a bank that gives loans to producers under the cheese collateral. And you want to join to the delicious madness? Then go to one of the local dairies to understand how is born a national hero.
Get acquainted with the Italian went to Old Orchard, you will see all the stages of production and look into the inner sanctum of the giant chamber where thousands of heads parmesan waiting for their "maturity."
3. Campaign: mozzarella, pizza and sweets
The most picturesque region of the Italian south is located on the beautiful coast in the shadow of the formidable Mount Vesuvius. Together with the tradition of sweet doing nothing is also a thriving cult of food, and the local climate in every possible way that helps.
If the king is called the Northern cheeses Parmesan, the southern kingdom reigns supreme mozzarella, and not any, and she mozzarella di Buffalo produced from buffalo milk. Acquainted with the royal personages recommend one of the best Campanian dairies - the lush eco-farm Tenuta Vannulo. It is said here ordered mozzarella Pope himself!
The spacious hangar tailed hostess farm enjoying life to the sound of classical music. Animal care and cherish every way, wash and scratching, so envy buffalo majority of their guests! Another point of attraction on the farm - the production itself, where almost in front of fresh milk is transformed into a gentle mozzarella. The culmination of the tour becomes wine. It is possible to arrange ordering a full meal of dishes made from farm products, including from the local garden. Or simply go to a cafe, where again everything will be only its own production: mozzarella and ricotta, ice cream and milk shakes, yogurt and even chocolate. And still on the farm operates a bakery, so it is always available fresh bread, buns and fragrant homemade cakes.
Mozzarella - only the first part of the culinary "ballet" Campaign. In addition to use in its pure form, this cheese has become the basis for another symbol of Italy, the famous Neapolitan pizza! Although it countless variations exist, the most frequent guest a wood stove remains Margherita. This dish in the colors of the Italian flag (tomato, mozzarella, basil) established in Naples on the occasion of the Queen's arrival, and was named in honor of her own. I knew Margherita of Savoy, which she presented to the world yummy! In search of fancy enjoying the city go to the pizzeria and in the summer try to catch the Festival Pizza Village, where you can learn how to cook a pizza, and even in the crazy atmosphere of Naples fun.
However, this love for baking in Campania is not over, in fact there are more sweets! The most loved by the locals sfolyatelle buns stuffed with ricotta, cream cakes with the telling name lemon delight (Delizia al Limone) and appeared out of nowhere familiar to us baba (only with the accent on the second syllable). Speaking of lemons - as in Campania, do not forget to taste the limoncello, it's also one of the regional specialties.
4. Puglia: oil and olives
The heel of the Italian "boot" until not too trampled underfoot of Russian tourists, the more interesting it will be to come here before the others! Take a dip in the waters of the two seas and gentle at the same time in the sun and feel yourself why here grow very large and tasty olives, which later turns out the best oil in the Apennines.
Traveling on roads of southern Apulia along the endless olive groves, sure to stop off at one of the local farms, and even better - to live there! For example, in the hotel, Farm Holidays, hosted in an old manor house Masseria Brancati. Here, people live and work, with all my soul tied to the case, which involved their ancestors for centuries.
Farm Brancato like a miniature village, hidden among a huge olive grove. During the summer heat, it is a pleasure to stroll through the shady alleys, simultaneously listening to stories about the cultivation and harvesting of olives. The manor has a chapel, a small museum of rural life with an old oil mill, and yet there remained a real underground oil mill since the Middle Ages! Explore the rich past of the farm, it is worth to know what the taste of it now. Comfortably sit under a spreading olive tree a century and take part in a tasting of fragrant oils with a mandatory lecture about his grades and modes of production.
5. Piedmont: truffles, wine and chocolate
Located on the lapel "Treads" between Switzerland, France and the Italian Po plain, Piedmont has combined all the most the best of the culinary traditions of these places, and its natural features have added their own flavor to the gastronomic pastry region.
King of Piedmont cuisine unconditionally recognized the white truffle - the most valuable mushrooms and one of the most expensive foods in the world (an average of 300 euros per 100 grams). In contrast to its black counterpart, the white truffle is impossible to breed and search for underground treasures need a special mushroom dog. So before you try this delicacy, you need to see how hard it gets.
Come in the fall to the town of Alba, get up early in the morning and go into the woods to hunt for truffles, accompanied by a four-legged guide. Just do not expect that there will soon mushroom sometimes takes hours to search for and get a small production. But then in the truffle fair that wealth will be more than enough, however, the price tags made to feel like the most expensive jewelry boutique. If finances do not allow yourself to buy truffle, took away at least a pasta sauce or olive oil with a distinctive taste. And in a relatively inexpensive wine you can always look at Piedmont restaurants.
Another pride of the region - its wines, which are produced in an incredibly beautiful area of the Langhe, where the vineyards are green hills on a background of snow-capped giants of the Alps. Compared with Tuscany, is an order of magnitude fewer tourists and therefore prices are lower, but this does not affect the beauty of the scenery. At the head of the Piedmont wine tourism stands the legendary Barolo, which is produced mainly in the area between the two medieval castles, Barolo and Serralunga d'Alba. Other cult wine come from Langhe - Barbaresco, whose name is derived from the barbarians who once attacked these lands. If we remember the sweet sparkling wines, to mind in the first place comes Asti, and it is also produced in the Piedmont, for the most part in the vicinity of the same city.
More Piedmont is famous for its chocolate and nuts. No wonder, it is here that Ferrero family has created a world-famous brands Nutella and Kinder Surprise.
A drink of aristocrats bicerin consisting of chocolate, cream and coffee, just do not leave the choice of the Italians: so sweet title of the nation's capital was unanimously awarded to Turin.
Here's a she, tasty Italy.