Food in Italy

When people travel, they do not only go to visit monuments and museums, but they also check out the unique characteristics of food in a particular destination. A good number would also like to see the process to produce typical products, explore agricultural sites, and visit wineries. Just like in Italy, where the food culture has always been preserved throughout time.

Italian food is so popular. It has the taste that can please all cultures. Another distinctive trait of an Italian dish is the quality of the ingredients used. Especially these days, it is very important to consider the genuineness and freshness of these ingredients before preparing an Italian meal.

There is a wide variety of herbs that are very common in cooking Italian Food. While spices are made from barks, fruits, roots, or seeds of aromatic plants, the herbs on the other hand come from stems and leaves. These herb plants contain very fragrant oils with a distinctive flavor and aroma that you come to know in Italian food.

Some of the most common herbs are the following:
Basil - one of the mint families, which is extremely fragrant especially when picked fresh. When you use this herb for cooking, just tear the leaves using your hand first before throwing into a dish or sauce, as the leaves will blacken once it is exposed to metal. This is usually sprinkled in Italy's famous pesto sauce.
Oregano - another popular herb used in tomato pasta sauces and meat.
Italian Parsley - used for garnishing any dish.
Rosemary - resembles a small branch of evergreen tree. It is used with vegetables and often cooked into focaccia bread.
Sage - long, broad leaves flavoring Saltimbocca (a traditional Italian dish)
Thyme - another member of the mint family. It has tiny leaves that are usually thrown into any dish or sauce.

In Italy, there are quality brands called "Protected Geographical Indication" (PGI) and "Protected Designation of Origin" (PDO) to protect the quality and originality of processes and products. These brands are created by the European Union to distinguish real products from common ones, which are also sold as equal quality products even if they are not.

For example, people know that the parmesan is one type of cheese from Italy. But do you know that only the cheese produced in a certain region of Italy which is under the rule of the consortium Parmigiano Reggiano has the right to be called Parmigiano (otherwise known as parmesan)? All the other products using this name are doing it incorrectly.