My Lessons In Food

Life would probably be drastically different for me in Italy if I wasn’t interested in cooking. I remember those first meals that I made for my husband, when we were still dating, where I’m sure he probably asked himself, “What IS this? Food?”

Being the good man that he is, he ate it anyways.

Approaching Food More Authentically Italian

My interest in cooking has helped me to improve greatly and I think about food on a completely different level now. I honestly feel that I didn’t know what food was, or how to eat it, until I moved to Italy. It’s so much more than just throwing ingredients together in order to satisfy the “rumbly in your tumbly” (as Pooh Bear puts it). Over time, I’ve developed some Italian habits when it comes to food and cooking that have greatly helped me in my Italian lifestyle here.

In order to start approaching food with a more Italian mindset, I would suggest that you think about the following:

Quality Ingredients

It’s important to use fresh ingredients if you want truly amazing food. The local butcher shops, cheese mongers, produce stands and seafood vendors are always busy with locals who want a normal, every-day meal to be extraordinary. Fresh herbs, fresh eggs, fresh everything! My grocery shopping habits have definitely changed since I came to Italy.

Digestion

I actually had to start thinking about proper cooking techniques to make food more digestible because changing countries took a toll on my tummy. Watching my mother-in-law as she prepares her delicious Saturday lunches, I’ve learned some little tricks that allow food to maintain its flavor while making it much more digestible after it’s consumed. I also started to think about which foods would cause me problems and either avoided or ate them in small quantities.
(*note: Italian milk is NOT my friend!)

Order

The order in which food is eaten during a typical Italian meal is different than what I grew up with. Fruit and salads are now eaten after the main course; juice and coffee are not consumed with a meal, but rather with breakfast or on their own; A martini with dinner? Are you mad? Strictly after dinner and most likely in a bar; cappuccino with pizza is unthinkable. Why? Because these flavors mask, cover and pretty much take over the real flavor of the food you are eating.

Eating is about tasting the food, not washing it down with the nearest beverage in sight.

Palate

A friend who teaches at a local pre-school once mentioned how the little ones in her class would be having a taste/smell lesson. Sour things, spicy things, sweet things, stinky things etc. I wanted to join! I can’t tell you how many times I have prepared a meal for family and friends here and as soon as they catch a whiff of the scent from my kitchen, they immediately identify the spices I used. Italians have a very educated palate, which makes sense (no pun intended!) if they have been learning about spices as early as they learned to walk! Unfortunately I know many here who aren’t fond of cinnamon nor cumin, so some of my favorite dishes are useless.

Eating Together

I feel so fortunate to have the time and opportunity to be able to prepare lunch for my husband every week day. The company he works for, like many, closes down for the lunch hour so that employees can go home to eat. Some live too far to justify the drive home, so they eat at the company cafeteria. My husband comes home every day and even when I don’t feel like cooking (pasta and pre-made sauce, please!), I still appreciate the time that we’re able to spend together. Saturday lunches with his famiy, which don't happen every weekend but almost, help me to feel part of the family unit when my own family is located on the other side of the planet.

My American Habits I Can’t Let Go Of

Staying true to my roots, I still have cereal for breakfast (a bio rice milk seems to be a great compromise to the Italian milk that doesn’t agree with me), I own a BBQ that even my husband loves since it doesn’t require him to clean any pots and pans (if you see an American style BBQ at an Italian home, many will automatically assume that an American lives there), I love piling a ton of ingredients on my salads and insist on making things with cinnamon regardless of the complaints that may arise!
There are probably more, I just can’t think of them right now.

I’ve found a happy food niche in the last few years, which allows me to balance my old American ways with the new Italian ones.

I’ll share a special recipe from my mother-in-law in an upcoming blog post, so stay tuned to learn some of her authentic Italian secrets!