| Meat |
| Fish |
| Pasta |
| Pasta is undeniably the great factor in the Italian diet, quite apart from the folklore generally surrounding it. People mention the word with a knowing wink and a sly look, conjuring up vision of the stereotypical glutton - always male - with a napkin tucked into his collar and fork poised to attack huge plate of spaghetti and sauce. Leaving aside the banality of this "local color", it is nonetheless true that pasta is something quite serious and important. And today, thanks to knowledge of calories and superfluous fats, pasta has returned like a triumphant queen to our tables. As well as tasting delicious,it is considered to be a key food in the new anti-cholesterol diet. Today, very few people know how to make by hand those very fine sheets of pasta, soft and strong like a piece of silk. This ancient knowledge is almost lost. Italian bucatini, maccherone, tagliatelle, lasagne, rigatoni, fusilli, orecchiette, vermicelli, farfalle, torciglioni and spaghetti etc., produced by the 240 pasta factories throughout the country, travel the world with a turnover of 1650 billion lire annually. |
| As for fish,it is most important to know how to choose it, given that there are so many varieties and that they are not universally interchangeable. The first thing to know is that availability is still party governed by the season, and it is best to concentrate on varieties that are in season and therefore fresh and cheap. Red gills, firm flesh, and bright eyes that show no signs of being sunken are the visible indications of freshness, which is the essential condition of fish for cooking. Fish should never on any account be kept in the refrigerator for more than eight hours; if it is necessary to keep them for a longer period, they should be sprinkled with coarse salt, wrapped in foil and frozen. |
| It is divided into white red and black. White meat includes veal, lamb, suckling pig, poultry and rabbit; red meat includes beef, pork and mutton; black meat refers to game. The quality of the meat depends on the are it comes from and the age and breed of the animal. What it yields in the cooking process, however, depends on correct hanging of the meat and the right choice of cut. In general, the choicest pieces for roasting and grilling come form the leg and back portions of the animal, while the best cuts for stewing, boiling and frying are from the front and sides of the beast. Meat should be kept in the refrigerator wrapped in foil, but it should be left at room temperature for at least an hour before cooking so that the fibers are not stiff from the cold. Meat should not be prepared on a wooden board, because the wood tends to draw out the juices. |
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