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Risotto and the Veneto Region Italian Food

With so many different Italian food dishes it is hard to pick a favorite. However, for those who like risotto, Veneto is the region for you! Italian food varies greatly by region with each area presenting their own unique dishes and flavors. One of the most recognized Italian food dishes is Risotto and because of that Veneto is a must stop region for those travelers in Italy wanting to taste some excellent Italian food.

Risotto is most simply a rice dish cooked very precisely. It is one of the most commonly ordered appetizers at Italian food restaurants. Yet for its amazing popularity, it is also one of the most common Italian food dishes to be botched. The key to a good risotto is to first cook the rice briefly in olive oil or butter. It should be cooked until it is evenly coated and begins to turn translucent. After that, broth is added to the rice slowly, one spoonful at a time. The most defining quality of a risotto is that the rice is toasted. If the rice isn’t toasted than it’s not a risotto, no matter how fine the Italian food restaurant is that you’re in.

There are many different variations on risotto because it can be made and served with so many different Italian food favorites. In Veneto the ingredients added to the risotto are determined by location. For instance, in areas closer to the coast it will be made with fish and other seafood. As you move in from the coast you will see risotto made with different vegetables like pumpkin, asparagus, and radicchio. It is also commonly seen made with frogs’ legs which appear in Italian food more than most people think.

The Veneto region is also home to some unique foods. The dishes here are heavier and rely on exotic spices and sauces. One unique dish that originated here and is quickly gaining popularity as an Italian food dish is pasta and beans. Beans are used in many dishes here due to their ready availability. This is also an area of Italy where anchovies and stockfish are used extensively in Italian food. However, fish is not the dish of choice here, being beaten out by meats and sausages. A favorite meat is sopressata which is a dry-cured salami. It gets its name from the fact that while drying it is often pressed with a weight and comes out looking flat. It is most often made with pork, but sometimes beef is used. Another favorite Italian food meat is garlic salami. The Italian food here is also reliant on some of the prized vegetables of the area. Veneto is especially known for their high quality red radicchio and their asparagus. One last dish that is unique to the area is a rice dish with young peas.

The Italian food of Veneto clearly breaks the mold. It is full of diversity from dishes made wholly with vegetables and rice, to some of the most famous sausages in the world. If a night of Italian food for you must include risotto, than Veneto is the place to be. If you consider yourself a sausage connoisseur than the Italian food of Veneto will again be a must taste for you. The region truly offers something for everyone!

Regional Italian Food

When most people think of Italian food they think of dishes of spaghetti, lasagna, minestrone, and tortellini. This is a very general view of Italian food and if you were to travel to Italy you would be very shocked by the Italian food that they eat. The main reason for this is that there are over nineteen regions in Italy, all serving up their own variation on Italian food. Furthermore, Italian food is very seasonal and depends on the freshest ingredients, so the cuisine in summer will be very different than the winter cuisine.

The Italian food that most Americans are familiar with comes from the northern parts of Italy. This is where the rich dishes full of cheese and heavy on the sauce come from. The meats that are most commonly used here are beef and pork. If you love the Italian food that you can find in America, than the northern region of Italy is the place for you. This food will be most familiar, but it will still offer an exciting change from the Italian food found in the United States. Also, don’t let the stereotypical view of Italian food just being spaghetti and meatballs slow you down. In fact, very few people in Italy actually eat spaghetti and meatballs. The Italian food that is actually found in Italy is much more complex and diverse and will rely on more spices than just garlic.

As you move further south in Italy you will find that the cuisine changes. In the south there is more fish used. Often this brand of Italian food is called Mediterranean food. The dishes here are much lighter and are healthier in general. The people in the southern half of Italy are amongst the healthiest in the world and it is due in great part to the types of Italian food that they eat. One of the reasons this Italian food is so healthy is because they use olive oil to cook most of their food in.

One of the great misconceptions about Italian food is that it uses too many spices in overwhelming quantities. This misconception probably arises out the importation of Italian food to America where it is often cooked by people who have never been to Italy, much less eaten authentic Italian food. While spices are used in Italian food, they are meant to be an accent to the natural flavor of the dish. The fact that Italian food is seasonal makes it less likely to rely on heavy spices since there is a strong fresh flavor about the meats, sauces, and pastas. However, travelers will find that the food in the northern regions of Italy do use a little more spice in their Italian food than the southern regions.

So, when thinking of Italian food it is important to remember that there is no national standard of the cuisine. With nineteen regions there is a vast diversity in dishes. Each region boasts their own unique take on Italian food, showcasing their native crops and livestock. However, all throughout the country travelers will taste that certain something; will feel that comforting familiarity; that makes Italian food one of the most popular cuisines in the world.

Popular Italian Food

When people think of popular Italian food they most likely think of spaghetti, lasagna, or tortellini. However, the popular Italian food in Italy is actually a little different and much more diverse.

A very popular Italian dish is the minestrone soup. This soup makes excellent use of one of the most popular ingredients in Italian food, beans. Beans are widely used in Italian food and are the feature ingredient in many soups, not just the minestrone. Along with beans are nuts as another popular ingredient. The main nut preferred for Italian food is the pine nut. This nut is used to not only accent pasta dishes, but also as a main ingredient in popular desserts. But, the most common and popular use of the nuts is in pesto sauce. Nothing says Italian food like a good pesto sauce.

Another popular Italian food ingredient is rice. By far the most popular use for this ingredient is in the signature Italian food dish of risotto. Here rice is mixed with broth, vegetables and spices to make a very unique and flavorful dish. Risotto is widely known as the most popular appetizer in Italian food and different regions take great pride in their individual risottos. Rice is also used in many different soups and stews throughout Italy.

The most ubiquitous of all popular Italian food ingredients is olive oil. The best olive oil is known as extra virgin olive oil and many Italian food chefs rely strictly on extra virgin olive oil. The difference between extra virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil is the acidity. In order to be classified as extra virgin the olive oil must not contain more than one percent acidity. Virgin olive oil on the other hand cannot have more than two percent acidity. Extra virgin olive oil is by far the most popular in Italian food where it is used not only to cook food in, but also as a dressing for salad and a dipping option for bread.

When discussing popular Italian food it is essential to talk about the most popular breads and pastries. Breads serve an important role in Italian food. They can be used as appetizers, sides to a meal, and desserts. The most popular breads are flavored with herbs, cheeses, and sun-dried tomatoes. An excellent dessert bread in Italian food is the biscotti which means “twice baked”. This popular dessert is more like a biscuit or cookie and is often flavored with almonds and spices. Fruit can be added to the biscotti and a popular choice is cherries. Biscotti are very versatile in Italian food, being served for breakfast with coffee or as an after dinner treat.

There is much more to Italian food than just pasta and sauce. Italian food is a cuisine of diversity. When traveling in Italy it is often amusing to see the stark difference between what Italian food is popular in America and what Italian food is popular in Italy. If you want to try some different Italian food you certainly can’t go wrong with these time tested favorites.

Dealing With Hangovers

A hangover is something that just about all of us have experienced at some point in time. After spending a night out drinking, you may wake up in the morning with your head feeling heavy and your stomach in knots. At that moment, you probably decided that you would quit drinking, to prevent this awful feeling from happening again. No matter how hard you may have tried though, chances are that it happened again.

Even though we all know that alcohol can lead to hangovers, the cause of a hangover is something we dont know. Alcohol does have some positive effects on the body, although it can also lead to negative effects such as hangovers. Some doctors will actually recommend it, while others will tell you never to drink it. Even though drinking is good, moderation is the key. The easiest way to avoid hangovers is to drink in moderation – and never get drunk.

As many of us already know, whisky, bourbon, and wine can result in a much harder hangover than vodka or beer. For many people, chemicals in wines or yeast found in unfiltered beers can result in headaches. Beer, wine, and liquor can be fun and relaxing to drink, although if you arent careful you can easily get a headache or a hangover.

Even though the cause for hangovers is unknown, it has been proven that the headaches associated with hangovers stem from dehydration. With alcohol being a diuretic, it will make you urinate quite often. Therefore, if you drink alcohol or beer on a daily basis, your body will remain dehydrated. When you wake up in the morning with a bad headache and turn to coffee, which is also a diuretic, the process of dehydration actually gets worse.

Youll also need to do something with the alcohol that has been left in your body. Even though a hangover can make you want to stay in bed, the secret to getting yourself back on track is movement. To rid your body of the alcohol, youll need sweat. Sweating gets the toxins out of your body, and helps you feel better. You can exercise or have sex to get over a hangover, as the heat your body emits will be too much for alcohol toxins to handle.

Although a hangover can be a bit of a pain, it can be prevented. The first rule of drinking any type of alcoholic beverage is to never drink on an empty stomach. If you eat a good meal before you start drinking, youll find that the food can help you digest the alcohol much better. When the alcohol starts to attack your stomach, you should consider eating foods that are high in fat, such as cheese. You can also sip some olive oil or drink some water. The secret to making sure that you dont get a hangover when drinking is to drink in moderation and never let yourself get too drunk.

Beer is digested very fast by your body, which is why you should always drink beer first if you plan to mix drinks. Beer is digested the fastest, and will also help your body to absorb any other drinks you have faster. You should always keep in mind that when you drink alcohol, your body will get dehydrated. Any type of alcohol that you consume is a diuretic, therefore you should always drink water with your alcohol. Alcohol can dehydrate your body very fast – which is why youll need water to ensure that you stay hydrated.

Lombardy – The Other Side of Italian Food

There are many different factors that merge to create the style of Italian food eaten in a particular region of Italy. A great example of this is the Lombardy region. The land here dictates what ingredients are used in the Italian food and hence what type of dishes will emerge.

The biggest feature of this region is the vast plains. These plains allow for an abundance of cattle and these cattle greatly affect the type of Italian food found in this area. For instance, while most people think of olive oil in conjunction with Italian food, in this region butter is much more popular. There is also a lot of cream used in the food here; again not something most people associate with Italian food. These distinct differences from the general ideas of Italian food are due to the abundance of cattle found in the region.

Cheese is a very important ingredient in the Italian food here. One important cheese is the robiola. This cheese is part of the Stracchino family and is a soft-ripened cheese that is distinctly Italian. It is made from a blend of cow, goat, and sheep’s milk. The proportions of the different milks are distinct to different areas of the region and so it is possible to taste several different samples of the cheese, each with its own distinct flavor. Grana padano is also a very important cheese to the region. This is a hard, grainy cheese made from cows milk and aged anywhere from eight to twenty-four months. This cheese is important in the history of Italian food. It was invented by monks who used ripened cheese as a method of preserving extra milk. By 1477 this cheese was one of the most famous cheeses in the world and it certainly hasn’t lost any luster with the passing years.

Another distinct feature of this area’s Italian food is the use of single pot dishes. These are dishes which take less work to create and are therefore more popular amongst the working class of the area. Polenta is very popular as is rice. There are many different risottos that are common in the area as well as rice based soups. A popular version of risotto here is flavored with saffron. Another dish that is immensely popular and has made the region famous is its traditional ravioli with pumpkin filling. While ravioli is popular with Italian food lovers most have never had it with pumpkin filling. It is also served with melted butter and is often followed by turkey traditionally stuffed with stewed meats or chicken. True to the picture of Italian food the area boasts yet another unique pasta dish, this one with a twist as well. It is a dish of buckwheat pasta with potatoes, Swiss chard, butter, and Bitto cheese.

Of course you can’t overlook the importance of desserts in the Italian food of Lombardy. The region boasts a few sweet dishes. They make a traditional Christmas bread made with yeast dough and dotted with candied citrus peel, raisins, and candied fruits. An even sweeter Italian food creation is torrone. This nougat confection is made from honey, sugar and egg white. It is then coated with crushed, toasted almonds. The last unique dish to the area is actually a condiment made of boiled fruits seasoned with mustard. This region really does expand a person’s view of Italian food.