#Italian Food Products

[horecahermesgourmet]

Taste the Difference with Producto Italiano

There’s no comparison to the quality of Producto Italiano. These authentic ingredients, sourced directly from Italy, will give your food a flavor that’s truly unmatched. Want to taste the difference? Visit us today!

[lifeitalych]

Riso Arborio italiano

Esplora il ricco sapore del Riso Arborio italiano su LifeItaly. Migliora la tua esperienza culinaria con una confezione sottovuoto da 1 kg. Ordina ora per un autentico assaggio dell'Italia!

[ill-doit-anyway]

Day 63/100

// 03/10/23// some days ago I won two strombolis from a restaurant and today I finally went for them. I took my brother bc it's been a long time since we spend time together alone, last time bf was with us and before that his best friend was with us and after he got in the bus (I stayed for bandoneon class) he texted me "thanks for inviting me, I love you" and it made me really happy <3

Also went to Laws Faculty's bathroom and met this cat who gave me kisses <3

Started writing a midterm/essay

Took my little brother out after a long time

Met my bf

Went to bandoneon class

Went to sign language class

[moaan]

Cream Pasta by Katsuaki Shoda Via Flickr: Canon EOS R6m2 + RF24-105mm F4L IS USM

[wikipediapictures]

Ragusano cheese

[lupismaris]

Asked bf to pick up body wash while he was getting his dad groceries.

He remembered the brand, not our preferred scent. I missed his call because I was doing chores, he didn't want to nag by calling multiple times plus he's an adult able to make decisions on his own.

There was a buy one/get one sale on our brand.

I now have six bottles of body wash in six different scents, two of which are my preferred, four I've wanted to try but couldn't track down.

This kind of decadence is unparalleled.

[jimena-sofie]

23.07.2023 14/100days

I’m back and feeling much better!

(I was sick)

This week was my birthday and I got a trip to Milan as a present! I’m so excited because I actually have Italian roots and wanna reconnect with it✨

Over the weekend I visited my boyfriend and we went to the art school to take a look at it because next year I wanna study there🩵💙🩷

I also:

Applied for a job

Did crocheting

Learned Italian

Cleaned my space

[disengaged]

Thank you for the in depth fashion investigation report!

I asked bc apparently Italians are well dressed, and my sisters always use this stereotype to explain why people always take me for German or English (because i dress badly, and apparently German/English ppl do not dress well?). So there! You'll find some poor dressed Italian in Milan, do not worry sksksks 🤞🤞 hope your tour de force keeps giving!!

(and if you have some translation problems with websites or whatever else in Italy, feel free to ask!)

LOL thank you, this is so comforting 😭😭 i've already donated pretty much all of the clothes i brought with me from canada, i've been buying new, more stylish stuff at vintage stores as i go :)

[match-your-steps]

committing more crimes

[waffled0g]

Everyone gets “The 90s” look wrong and I hate it

Couple years ago I saw these two board games at the store back to back. Well, not saw them per se, but ya know. Spied them out of the corner of my eye. And for a moment without reading the text, I couldn’t tell you which was which decade at first. Funny. Either they were in a rush to get these out the door or they wanted their throwback trivia game boxes to look uniform. I didn’t think too much of it.

Only, from then on I started seeing it MORE. Every time someone markets a 90s or 80s throwback...

Goddammit they’re identical! What??! How did we let this happen? As a 90s survivor and a designer, this drives me up a wall.

Look, I know I’m late to the party to complain about “the 90s look” when we’re just starting to get sick of the Y2K nostalgia train. But c’mon, the 90s were not The 80s: Part Two™ 

Trust me when I say that we weren’t all wearing neon trapezoids up until the year 2000. The 90s look being peddled is so specific to the tail end of the 80s and an early early part of the 90s - a part of the 90s when it wouldn’t stop being the 80s. This is Memphis design being conflated with the wrong decade.

Keep reading for a long ass graphic design history lesson and pictures of old soda and fast food.

Specifically, the look is Memphis Milano, self-named by the Italian design house Memphis Group. Starting in the early to mid 80s, they made all sorts of furniture, fabrics and sculptures that were like a Piet Mondrian grid painting under heavy radiation. Their whole deal was defying the standards of existing industrial design up to that point on purpose. Chairs had weird arches, bookcases would be in strange alien colors, unusual materials like plastic or elastic were used in place of metal or wood, that sorta thing.

Memphis quickly became the signature look for the decade. You can tell something’s influenced by Memphis design from it’s telltale trademarks:

Clashing, neon colors.

Use of diametric shapes.

Contrasting patterns like zebra print stripes, confetti squiggles and checkerboards.

It wasn’t long before Memphis Milano-inspired design was everywhere in 80s pop culture:

It was a special time, yes.

I was a kindergartener at the tail end of the 80s, so I knew Memphis mostly through the lens of kids media. Toys, clothes, games, tv shows used it like candy colored catnip. Cable channel Nickelodeon more or less adopted the Memphis aesthetic as their signature in-house style and practically built a monument to it at a Florida theme park:

I think this is why folks mistake what decade Memphis is representative of - 90s staples like Nick, Saved By The Bell, Fresh Prince - they all stayed around much longer than the design trend’s expiration date. 

Couple that notion with the fact that companies are slow followers to design trends. Something gets popular and they want to get on the bandwagon? Gotta wait for the ink to dry, gotta wait for the production molds to be made. It would take a few years for them to completely work Memphis outta their system.

Now, this is not to say Memphis is bad! Personally I’m a fan of the aesthetic, if my neon-drenched artwork wasn’t a tip-off already. But it is a trend, and trends never last forever.

So what took the Memphis Milano look down for good? This part’s up for debate, but I personally think it had something to do with this dude:

It’s that grunge music from Seattle that’s so popular with the kids these days dontchaknow.

Once Smells Like Teen Spirit hit in 1991, the Nirvana tone drove the rest of the decade. Clean geometry became weathered, grainy and organic. Bright neon pastels became more bold. Bubblegum pop music sounded fake and manufactured. Attitude and apathy was authentic. Whatever.

Things got grungy. Things got grimy. Olestra was invented.

I think the best way to visualize this transition is how Cherry Coke entered the decade and how it left it:

1992 Memphis on the left, 1998 grunge junkie on the right. Fitting that the 90s would end with a design that looked like Darth Maul’s lungs.

Okay, so what should 90s retro design look like?

Continue on to PART TWO! Spoilers: No VHS filters or vaporwave needed, but maybe bring an antacid.

[horecahermesgourmet]

Exploring the Best Producto Italiano for Professional Kitchens

Italian cuisine has long been revered for its simplicity, depth of flavor, and the use of high-quality, authentic ingredients. For professional kitchens aiming to create exceptional Italian dishes, sourcing the best producto italiano is essential. These ingredients are the foundation of classic Italian cooking, and their quality can make or break a dish. Whether you’re running a fine-dining restaurant, a pizzeria, or a casual bistro, incorporating premium Italian products into your menu can elevate your culinary offerings to the next level. In this article, we explore some of the best producto italiano that every professional kitchen should have in its arsenal.

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva)

Extra virgin olive oil is arguably the most important producto italiano in any kitchen. Known for its versatility and rich flavor profile, it is a cornerstone of Italian cooking, used for everything from dressings to sautéeing and drizzling over finished dishes. The finest extra virgin olive oils come from regions such as Tuscany, Puglia, and Umbria, where the olives are grown in ideal conditions and harvested at the peak of ripeness.

In professional kitchens, extra virgin olive oil can be used in a variety of ways. It’s perfect for making classic Italian sauces, such as pesto, or for enhancing the flavor of vegetables, meats, and pasta. It also makes an excellent base for vinaigrettes or a finishing touch on a pizza or salad. The freshness and complexity of high-quality extra virgin olive oil will add a depth of flavor to your dishes that’s hard to replicate with any other fat or oil.

2. Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan Cheese)

Parmigiano Reggiano is often regarded as the king of Italian cheeses, and for good reason. Made in the Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy regions of Italy, this hard, aged cheese has a rich, nutty flavor that deepens the longer it is aged. It is a key ingredient in a wide range of Italian dishes, from pasta and risotto to soups and salads.

In professional kitchens, Parmigiano Reggiano can be grated over pasta dishes or used in sauces to add richness and depth. Its versatility extends beyond savory dishes; it can also be served as part of a cheese platter or incorporated into bread and pastries. For chefs seeking to provide an authentic Italian experience, Parmigiano Reggiano is a must-have ingredient, as its flavor is unmatched by any other cheese.

3. San Marzano Tomatoes

The heart of many Italian sauces, San Marzano tomatoes are known for their rich, sweet flavor and low acidity. Grown in the volcanic soil of the Campania region, these tomatoes are prized for their ability to produce deep, flavorful sauces with a smooth texture. They are often used in traditional Italian dishes like pizza, marinara sauce, and lasagna.

In a professional kitchen, San Marzano tomatoes are essential for creating authentic tomato sauces. These tomatoes have a more delicate flavor compared to other varieties, making them ideal for dishes where the sauce is the star. Whether you're preparing a fresh tomato sauce for pasta or creating the perfect pizza base, San Marzano tomatoes offer a natural sweetness and richness that cannot be replicated by other canned tomatoes.

4. Guanciale

Guanciale, a type of Italian cured pork made from the jowl or cheeks of the pig, is an ingredient that stands out in many traditional Italian dishes. Known for its rich, melt-in-your-mouth texture and slightly sweet flavor, guanciale is often used in pasta dishes like pasta alla carbonara and pasta all'amatriciana. Unlike pancetta, which is made from pork belly, guanciale is cured with salt, sugar, and spices and aged for several months.

For professional kitchens, guanciale is a must-have ingredient for any menu that includes authentic Italian pasta dishes. Its rich fat content and savory flavor impart a depth of flavor to sauces and provide a perfect base for cooking. The key to using guanciale effectively is to render its fat slowly to achieve the perfect balance of texture and flavor in your dishes.

5. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (Aceto Balsamico di Modena)

Balsamic vinegar is a quintessential Italian product, and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is among the best in the world. Produced in the Modena region of Italy, this dark, sweet-and-sour vinegar is made from grape must that is fermented and aged in wooden barrels. The aging process can take years, resulting in a vinegar with a complex, rich flavor profile that is both sweet and tangy.

In professional kitchens, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is an incredibly versatile ingredient. It can be used to enhance the flavor of salads, grilled vegetables, or meats. It’s also commonly drizzled over desserts like strawberries or ice cream to add a touch of acidity and sweetness. For chefs who want to bring a unique depth of flavor to their dishes, a high-quality aged balsamic vinegar is an essential ingredient to have on hand.

6. Mozzarella di Bufala

Mozzarella di Bufala, made from the milk of water buffalo, is another essential producto italiano in any professional kitchen. This cheese is known for its creamy texture, delicate flavor, and slightly tangy finish. Produced primarily in the southern regions of Italy, such as Campania and Lazio, Mozzarella di Bufala is a staple ingredient in many Italian dishes, particularly those in the Campanian region.

In a professional kitchen, Mozzarella di Bufala can be used in a variety of ways. It’s a key ingredient in classic dishes like Caprese salad, where it is paired with ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. It’s also commonly used as a topping for pizzas or in pasta dishes like lasagna or baked ziti. The richness and smoothness of Mozzarella di Bufala make it a favorite among chefs and customers alike.

7. Risotto Rice (Arborio and Carnaroli)

For professional kitchens that specialize in Italian cuisine, high-quality risotto rice is a must-have. While there are several varieties of Italian rice, Arborio and Carnaroli are the two most commonly used types for making risotto. Arborio rice is short-grain and has a high starch content, which helps create the creamy texture that risotto is known for. Carnaroli rice is slightly firmer and less starchy, making it ideal for risottos that need to maintain their shape and texture.

Whether you’re preparing a classic risotto with mushrooms or a seafood risotto, these Italian rice varieties will provide the perfect foundation for your dish. They absorb liquid well and release starch as they cook, creating a luxurious, creamy consistency that defines a great risotto.

Conclusion

The best producto italiano ingredients are essential for creating authentic Italian cuisine in any professional kitchen. From the rich, fruity flavor of extra virgin olive oil to the creamy, tangy goodness of Mozzarella di Bufala, these ingredients allow chefs to craft dishes that are both flavorful and true to Italian tradition. By sourcing the highest quality Italian products, you can elevate your menu and offer your customers an unforgettable dining experience. Whether you're preparing a classic pasta dish, a vibrant salad, or a decadent risotto, producto italiano will add depth, richness, and authenticity to your cooking. These ingredients are the foundation of Italy's culinary legacy, and incorporating them into your menu will bring the essence of Italy to your restaurant.

[lifeitalych]

Aceto Balsamico di Modena 8 Corone - 250 ml

Indulge in the rich flavor of Aceto Balsamico di Modena 8 Corone. Elevate your dishes with this exquisite 250 ml bottle, available at Lifeitaly.

[petermorwood]

Re @sarafinadarkhart's Reply about the price: yes, it's high, but it's still €6,00 less bonkers than buying each part separately.

The kit is €27,90 ($29.95 on 12 Sep 2023) while the separate parts total €34,00. Another on-line salumeria totals at €36,00, and in Ireland, those totals range from €24 - 40,00, depending on the source.

These are expensive ingredients, though probably cheaper in an enormous customer base like the USA. However, too much cheaper should provoke questions about what cuts are being made and where, and what effects they're having on quality.

Improving it is seldom if ever one of them.

*****

Volpetti is one of the most famous and go-to cheese / salami etc. shops in Rome, up there with Zabar's in New York and Fortnum & Mason in London, with (AFAIK) prices to match.

Places far less famous, catering far more to locals, probably have these items for less (though I doubt much less, read on). But I don't have names, those shops probably don't have web stores, so the only way to check is to go there.

Which seriously wipes out any saving, and then some…

Guanciale (pig cheeks) is expensive because (a) there's so little of it per pig and (b) like any food needing cured / matured / aged, it has to be stored during the process. Storage costs money, and while the product's stored, it's not bringing any in. All that expense piles up and, in due course, gets passed down to the consumer.

It's the same with extra-mature Cheddar, aged Parmigiano Reggiano, Modena balsamic vinegar, 18-year-old single malt, etc. etc. Yet those weeks, months or years are a vital ingredient in how the products taste, so there's no short-cut.

I've said this before about something as simple as giving soup, or stew, or even a jar of shop-bought sauce an extra half-hour of cooking. The result is remarkable. Thyme and time aren't the same, and you can't buy one of them in a shop.

If guanciale is hard to find, the usual alternative is pancetta.

If pancetta is hard to find, the alternative is streaky bacon. Authenticity diminishes each time. How much is someone willing to pay for authenticity? That's up to them.

Look at me. One week I'll try hard for authenticity, even running an interesting foreign recipe through Google Translate if I can't read the language.

The next week, I'll be putting some of my home-made Moroccan preserved lemons in fettucine al limone. Is that fusion cuisine, or confusion?

(The fettucine, BTW, was great.) :->

Guanciale may originally be a Poor People's Food that went upmarket and got up-priced. Think of oxtail, think of beef cheeks...

Think of oysters, once so low status that Dr Johnson (the dictionary man) could feed them to his cat Hodge. Johnson actually fetched them from the market himself, rather than embarrass a servant by sending one out for a food which suggested the household was strapped for cash.

Nowadays? Dream on, kitty...

*****

There's also this (and we're back to Authenticity again). Guanciale is a regional product, Italy is still very regional, and people from one region may not care about - or know about - local dishes from another.

Back when Uncle Peter was a lad, I'd never tried Spaghetti alla Carbonara, though I'd read about it in a Sunday Colour Supplement, at that time AKA teasers for Things You Can Get Here But Not There.

I lived There.

It wasn't on the menu even at Mario's Ristorante, a very good, long-gone Italian restaurant in Newcastle (Northern Ireland, not On Tyne).

So I summoned up enough courage - I was about 17 - to ask about it and Mario, amused that someone had read outside the margins, went straight off to the kitchen and made some. Evidently other diners took note, because next time I was in, Carbonara was on the menu.

I had there it several more times, but the first one is what I remember best.

Funny how many things are like that... :->

I also got apologies because, while it included pancetta not bacon, the cheese was Parmesan rather than proper Pecorino. I hadn't known there was any difference; thank you, Sunday Supplement article.

So Mario said he'd been generous with the Parmesan to compensate.

This was at a time when I'd only ever encountered Parmesan in those little cardboard drums with that curious aroma almost, but not quite, like old socks. The ones where a little could go a long way.

And Mario had been generous with it. I wondered what I'd let myself in for.

It turned out that freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano smelt and tasted much, much better than I'd thought it would. Boy, did it ever.

When I finally got to try Pecorino Romano it was just as good, yet deliciously different. It was also saltier, which is why IMO guanciale or pancetta work better with it than regular bacon.

It's also why, if using regular bacon, Parmigiano is a better choice; again, that's just IMO.

Guanciale, however, never got a mention.

If it had, such an odd word would have stuck in my mind. I wouldn't have forgotten "cured pig cheeks" in a hurry either.

Despite familiarity with Tabasco and Old-Sock Parmesan - which could be a joke potato-crisp flavour - I was much less adventurous back in those days.

It's possible Mario had never heard of it.

*****

His was a seriously good place, and at a good price too. Seriously good places at any price were hard to find in NI back then. Apart from anything else, they occasionally blew up - and I don't mean "became suddenly popular". It was Northern Ireland in 1974, and such things happened.

Nothing like it happened to Mario's, except a change of location. The food and the welcome were just as good in the new place, and it was where I had my engagement party ten years later.

About 18 months after that, it was also where I had a much smaller and less exuberant post-breakup meal with a few friends. The food was still good, the welcome - after noting one important absence - more restrained.

And a bottle of appropriately acid-dry Verdicchio mysteriously appeared on the table, yet just as mysteriously never appeared on the bill.

Grazie, Signor Mario.

*****

Mario retired and closed his restaurant around 2006. Though I think he stayed in Northern Ireland, by now he's probably... Let's just say moved further on. I've eaten more varieties of Italian food than he ever had on offer, and eaten it in Italy, too. But I still get Spaghetti Carbonara once in a while.

It's another of those foods which taste of memories.

Sometimes a bit too salty.

And sometimes just as they should be.

@petermorwood; this is the link we were discussing. 😄

[moaan]

Lemon Cream Pasta by Katsuaki Shoda Via Flickr: Canon EOS R6m2 + RF24-105mm F4L IS USM

[leniisreallycool]

You know how stores always have knockoff versions of products from other countries? Like "Look!!! This pasta brand is authentic Italian!! Authentic!!! Authentic is French for real btw" and then it's just a weird shitty imitation of the real thing

So what if the Devildom had the same thing? "Look!!! We have authentic human world bread!!! And it doesn't even have dragon tooth or manticore feathers!!!!" and then 99% of the ingredients are things that don't exist in the human world and MC is unable to identity what the fuck the store was trying to advertise except for the packaging that says bread and Beel is excited because now MC can have real human world food and they have to tell him that this isn't even vaguely bread shaped

[copperbadge]

This is not to sniff at packaged food in any way, because cheap, uniform, nutritious, premade food is important and necessary. And despite what your local tiktok orthorexic may tell you, packaged food is still capable of providing solid nutrition.

That said, I've been making my own bread for about twenty years, and for the last ten or so it has often been easier to make bread than buy it, solely because I don't need to leave the house to do so, and I live alone so a decent loaf can last me a good ten days. Being able to make ones own bread in this modern era is a product of privilege -- the resources to buy the ingredients (especially high quality flour, not cheap), the time and space to bake, the stamina to knead or equipment to make kneading easier -- my breads improved a lot when I got a good stand mixer, and those aren't cheap. But also, to make a decent edible boule you can get by with flour, water, yeast, salt, and time. Throw in a little oil and you can make pizza crust; add in kneading and a bit of sugar and you have bagels.

It did somewhat change how I eat, because homemade bread is often a little difficult to make a sandwich with, but I was never a huge fan of sandos anyway. These days I often don't even make loaves -- I make rolls or bagels, or flatbreads.

But all of this is to say that because I'm now accustomed to eating my own bread, which is necessarily small-batch and produced without stabilizers that make commercial bread so soft and uniform, I am starting to struggle when I do buy bread because the flavor and texture often feel off. It's not that it's objectively bad food, but it's very different from what I'm used to, which is unpleasant. I've been aware of the issue for a while but previously even if the bread wasn't as good to me as my own, it was edible and convenient, so it was fine. Making your own hot dog buns is a pain in the ass.

I just bought a loaf of Italian bread, reasonably fresh, a brand I used to eat regularly, because I wasn't feeling up to baking anything. I've been making toast with it mostly. But yesterday morning -- admittedly while dealing with some nausea -- I bit into a sandwich I'd made with it (cashew butter and strawberry jam) and thought, "this feels like eating upholstery fabric."

I haven't been able to eat any more of it since. The soft, dense texture, the specific preservative flavor, the mouthfeel. I tried to eat some toast just now and had to spit it out because it felt like buttered brocade and I started to gag. I'm kind of mad about it, honestly.

The bread won't go to waste -- if I can't eat the rest of the bag I'll dry it out and crush it for breadcrumbs for fried chicken or a panade -- but it's both sad and funny that I have functionally baked myself into a corner where packaged bread is no longer even an option.

It feels like I'm becoming one of the middle-aged eccentrics I used to know when I was a kid -- older people or couples in my church, sometimes parents of my school friends, who were just kind of oddballs, hippie leftovers, what I still think of as Berkeley Weirdos (affectionate) even though Berkeley has long since gentrified. The lady who didn't have a functional oven or stove because she ate raw vegan or the family that converted their old station wagon to biofuel but kept the rear-facing back seats with no seatbelts and would give us death-defying rides to the community pool in them. I'm already growing my own basil because I eat an unlikely amount of pesto for one person. My signature potluck dishes are kiwi dip or egg-free meringues.

I don't mind, exactly. I loved the Berkeley Weirdos and the community they built for us kids. But it's definitely not a place I imagined ending up.