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FoodSmart Travels to Italy!

6/29/2018

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Buongiorno from a reflective flight home from Italy, where I'm excited to share newfound knowledge and ideas to help in your future Italian cooking or eating endeavors! I made sure to take extra notes on everything I learned and tasted so that this could be one mega-post packed with flavor. (You're welcome!)

In the left column you can view what I have learned from traveling to Italy, the Bel Paese (beautiful country) with an endless supply of pizza, pasta, and gelato. On the right are suggestions should you ever travel to Italy, or of how to eat and/or cook authentically Italian. I hope you enjoy learning about food from a foreign country, and are excited to bring a little slice (see what I did there?) of Italy home with you without having to actually travel there : )

What Food Major Cities Are Known For

Rome: pastas such as cacio e pepe pasta, pasta with pecorino cheese and black pepper, or pasta carbonara which is pasta with bacon and eggs
Naples: pizza, especially margherita
​Venice: polenta
Florence: grilled meats
Pisa: bean soup
Milan: panettone, a special type of cake

Top 10 Most Common Types of Italian Pasta

(Not backed by research, but what I noticed from looking at many Italian menus were most popular. Also not in order.)
  1. Tagliatelle
  2. Ravioli
  3. Tortellini
  4. Fettuccine
  5. Spaghetti
  6. Linguine
  7. Penne
  8. Pappardelle
  9. Rigatoni
  10. Orecchiette
(click the highlighted types of pasta to see a picture, I didn't provide a link for pastas that you likely know the shape of)

​How many of these 10 have you tried? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Authentic Italian Food vs. The American Version

Before I went to Italy, I was told by many that authentic Italian food would radically change my view of American Italian food. I questioned this at first, trusting that the U.S. had "gotten it right."

However, sadly, Italy's cuisine is different from the Americanized version. This is reportedly because when Italian immigrants first introduced the food of their homeland to the United States, they had to figure out how to make Italian food with American ingredients. Thus, authenticity was lost.

Although, this doesn't mean all American Italian food is worse than the real thing. While I wish that Italy could teach the U.S. a lesson or two about how to make proper Italian food, there are some things that America actually does better. In order to see the difference, let's battle!

SALAD DRESSING
                       USA                         vs.                     Italy
The seemingly most authentic salad dressing to be found in Italy is balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Simple? Yes. But does it ever get boring? No. Best on insalata mistas (mixed salads), this is a much healthier alternative to the thick, fatty American dressings.

PRODUCE
                       USA                         vs.                     Italy
Apparently, the crops in Italy get more sun so everything is sweeter. Also, they use less pesticides, there are less GMOs, the whole breadbasket... Also, corn and soybeans dominate the American market and there isn't as much variety in accessible produce as there is in Italy.

FRESH BREAD
                       USA                         vs.                     Italy
I thought Italy was going to have much better bread than Italian restaurants in the U.S., but I was sadly mistaken. In Italy's Tuscan region especially, the complimentary bread they serve you at restaurants is much more bland and underbaked than the American take on it, in my opinion. Also, there is no salt on this bread, which leaves you to salt it for yourself. This is a pain and not as tasty as if it were partially baked into the bread.
​

PIZZA
                  USA                         vs.                     Italy
I'm going to say the winner for this one is, well, both. It really depends on what you like. I personally like Italian pizza better since the crust almost has two layers; the bottom is crunchy and satisfying while the top is soft and chewy. Italian pizza has more natural ingredients, too, and little to none of that disgusting American grease. But there are some Americans who can't live without their deep dish, their pizza grease, their cracker or completely chewy crust. That's not me, but there seem to be strong opinions on both sides of this debate. I respect the opinions of all pizza-lovers.

Did You Know?
There are around 350 different types of pasta worldwide. Wow!

Common Italian Menu Items

Breakfast-
Croissants with jam or nutella filling, mixed fruit salad, hard boiled egg, tomato, cucumber, assorted cheeses, ham, apples, kiwis, peaches, nectarines, plain cornflakes, bread, pound cake, jellies, honey, and Nutella.

​Lunch/dinner-
Caprese salad, cheese plates with honey and fig jelly, stuffed vegetable flowers (e.g., zucchini and pumpkin flowers), octopus and potato, eggplant parmesan, pizza (especially margherita), and pastas (especially with seafood).

Dessert-
Gelato, cantucci (biscotti), and limoncello.

Top 7 Most Common Types of Italian Pizza

(Not backed by research, but what I noticed from looking at many Italian menus were most popular. Also not in order.)
  1. Margherita
  2. Pizza bianca (normal pizza but no sauce)
  3. Prosciutto (ham) and mushroom
  4. Four cheese
  5. Vegetariana/verdure
  6. Funghi (often with no red sauce, includes mushrooms and sometimes mushroom sauce and/or truffle oil/salt)
  7. Cacio e pepe (pecorino cheese and black pepper)
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Italian Dining Experience - and How to Replicate It

Picture this scenario...

You sit down at a restaurant for dinner at around 8:00 p.m. There was no rush to get here, and you know the time you eat doesn't matter because you are going to get your food eventually. The present is more precious than the future.

The waiter starts by amicably greeting you and offering wine, perhaps their house red or white, and his extensive knowledge of the wines helps you pick the one you would like most. When he returns with the wine, you sip it slowly, savoring its flavor. (If you're 21 or older, of course.)

When it's time to order, your table asks for some appetizers to share, and while you're waiting, crisp bread is brought out with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt. You all nibble on the bread as the appetizers come, and then your main dishes. The meal lags on, but that's how you like it. You wouldn't want to be anywhere but here, enjoying time with your family and friends.

After everyone savors their main dishes, the plates are only cleared once everyone finishes. Then, the waiter asks if you would like to order dessert. Chances are, even if you didn't, he would still bring out some fresh, scrumptious cantucci (biscotti) and/or limoncello to prolong the fun you're having.

Everyone is talking and laughing as they nibble on the cantucci and sip their limoncello shots, enjoying the meal as long as they can before they ask for the waiter to bring the check, who has been waiting for the go-ahead.

You all leave the 2-2.5 hour meal happy and satisfied after eating like native Italians.

How long do you your dinners last? Even making it 15 minutes longer by adding more courses or not rushing through the meal can make for a more enjoyable experience.

Guide to Fine Dining: Best Restaurants in Italy

I visited an estimated 26 different restaurants/gelato stores, and these are the ones that I would most highly recommend to travelers. This is considering location, service, pricing, and of course the quality of the food.

For lunch/dinner-
Antico Noe: This restaurant is perfect if you don't have time for a sit-down meal, which many Italian restaurants require. It has other items, but the thing you should get there are the paninis. The restaurant has a seemingly endless list of ingredients if you would like to make your own sandwich, but if not there are dozens of combinations on the menu to choose from. They're also fast; you order, in maybe 5 minutes grab your finished sandwich, and you're done! It's very simple, and extremely delicious. 
Locations: anticonoe.com/#locations

La Cornucopia: Although the food here is good, that isn't the focus of my high praise. The servers are quite nice and proud of what they are doing, and pride is rare to find. It's not just their friendliness that lands La Cornucopia a spot on this list, it is their seafood. I went there with my parents, who both said the sea bass was the best they have ever tasted, and my seafood gnocchi was exceptional. If you are a seafood person, I highly recommend La Cornucopia. However, the food is slow to come out, so make sure you don't have to be anywhere immediately afterwards.
Location: www.ristorantecornucopia.com/dove_eng.html
​
​
Eataly: This was the best place to eat out of the 26, hands down. It doubles as an authentic, high-quality Italian supermarket with food stations, and an authentic, high-quality restaurant. It's fairly priced, has good service considering it's so popular, and the food is spectacular. Not only that, but it has locations in the U.S. too, so you can eat and cook like an Italian if you choose to visit the American Eataly's, which have many ingredients shipped overseas from Italy. I would eat there or buy food there 100 times before I got sick of it, so this is definitely a must-try!
Locations: www.eataly.com/us_en/stores/

Honorable mentions: Pandemonio and Vino Vino are also fantastic
​
For dessert-
GROM gelato: This gelato is pretty much as pure and healthy as it gets, and is still one of the best I had in Italy (and I tried much more than I want to admit). Everything is naturally colored and has high-quality ingredients. The lines aren't long and GROM serves a variety of items other than gelato such as sorbets, shakes, hot chocolate, and baked goods. Highly recommended if you're looking for a more natural, old-fashioned gelato!
​Locations: www.grom.it/en/gelaterie.php

Venchi: Oh boy. Do not get me started on Venchi. I'm not quite sure if the gelato or chocolate it makes is healthy, but it is a master of dessert. I did not try the chocolate, but Venchi has a plethora of fantastic gelato flavors, which includes three variations of Nutella. My personal favorite flavors are the hazelnut with chocolate spread and the caramel, but none of the other flavors I sampled were left uneaten. The only thing to watch out for are the lines (or as Italians would say, queues), go to smaller Venchis because once I was stuck in a 30-minute line for a small cup of gelato, which seemed almost not worth it (but then again, it's too good to pass up).
Locations: www.venchi.com/uk/stores

Which of these stores and restaurants are you most excited to try? Share your opinions in the comments below!

Sample Dishes I Had: What to Order and What to Skip

My scale:
       1-------------2-------------3-------------4------------5
  Awful            Below          Average          Above       Excellent
                          average                                   average
***(Semifredo is made of whipped egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla, with white chocolate truffle, meringue, caramelized walnuts, pistachios, cinnamon, and cocoa powder in a hard chocolate shell. Sounds heavenly, right?)

Cooking Class: Cantucci

You may be wondering, what the heck is cantucci? Well, perhaps you might recognize it better as biscotti.

I have to admit, I hate American biscotti because it tastes flavorless and feels too stale every time. It seems, however, that the Italians have the recipe down perfectly.

In the instructions below (provided to me by a skilled Italian private chef), you will find how to make a flavorful and slightly fruity biscotti that is much better than the American version. (It's a fact!)
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I have realized that this may be hard to read on some screens, so I have found another recipe I trust will guide you in making authentic cantucci. Visit Eataly's cantucci recipe here.
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Top 2018 Summer Food Trends

6/14/2018

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Whether we realize it or not, there really is a separate category for summer food. In the summer we barbecue, cook with summer produce, and lay off the microwave since the weather is nice enough to grill everything. However, the summer food that Americans are into changes year to year, and after doing some research I have determined the top 6 trends that will be seen throughout the summer of 2018. Therefore, by following this advice your next outdoor gathering will have food that is on trend, and popular with your guests. So, get to your grill and start cooking, we've got some trends to uncover!
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6. Savory Crepes
Originally from France, crepes have become increasingly more popular,  not only as a dessert, but as a main dish. Although maybe not as  explored, savory crepes can be a perfect summer guilty pleasure. Roll up  vegetables, cheeses, spices, and maybe even meats in these flat  pancakes. A good substitute for tortillas, crepes are also low in saturated fat, sugar, and cholesterol. Also, we all want to spend as much time  outside biking, swimming, or running as possible in summer, and the high amount of carbs in crepes is sure to provide an energy boost without a sugar crash afterwards! Be sure to check out some of the favorites that I have discovered: shrimp and crab, smoked salmon and cream cheese, or eggs with mushrooms and spinach. To view more ideas, visit here.

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5. Unlikely Gazpachos
What is a gazpacho? Well, it is a chilled Spanish soup that is popular during  the summertime. While it is traditionally made of tomatoes, peppers,  cucumber, olive oil, water, and spices, people are getting creative with  altering the ingredients. For instance, as can be seen from the picture on the right watermelon cucumber gazpacho (recipe here) is a savory-sweet spin  off on the traditional version. Other unique gazpachos include cantaloupe,  strawberry-tomato, minty pea, and more. Personally, I'm compelled to try  the minty pea one especially. So, if you want to be more risky and fun with  your cooking, I strongly suggest whipping up an unlikely gazpacho!

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4. Quinoa Salad
Don't be afraid to try quinoa, a healthier rice substitute! While it may  taste a little bland  (but rice does, too) adding ingredients to it to make  a quinoa salad is a healthy dish that is  bursting with flavor. Quinoa is  fiber-rich, high in protein, can improve blood sugar, and is  gluten free  which makes it accessible to guests with gluten intolerance, a huge  plus! Quinoa salad can include any ingredients, but as an example my  mom makes a quinoa salad with  quinoa (obviously), pine nuts, dried  roasted tomato, feta cheese, and basil. This recipe is  fresh, the  ingredients are easy to find, and is very popular within my family. In  conclusion,  quinoa salad has a lot of flexibility and can be consumed by almost any guest, making it a  perfect side to a summer meal!

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3. Fruit and Vegetable Breads
For the past few years creativity with these is becoming more and more popular. Whether it's  zucchini or blueberry chocolate chip, almond cranberry, or even triple-spiced pear bread, it seems  that more people are finding ways to spruce up and sweeten loaves of bread. This is the perfect  dessert for guests who want to eat a little healthier and pair carbs with vitamins and/or potassium.  Plus, like the quinoa salad, there's a lot of flexibility, and many ways to change the ingredients to  make this dish your own!

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2. Homemade Popsicles
Whether they're popsicles made of natural fruit juice, frozen yogurt, or greek yogurt,  there are many different kinds of healthy popsicles that are easy to make right at home!  These cool treats are perfect for the hot days of summer, and are refreshingly delicious.  Also, to make them even sweeter and create texture variety you can put slices of fruit  inside. In fact, homemade popsicles further adds to the theme of the fact that many of  the summer dishes that are trending allow for unlimited creativity in order to make a  gathering truly yours.

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1. Baked Vegetables
It seems to be that topping vegetables with cheese, spices, and sometimes even  more vegetables will be popular this season! My favorite base vegetables to do  this with are portabella mushrooms and tomatoes, and the best cheeses are  parmesan, gouda, and ricotta. This is a great side dish for any cookout because it  includes vegetables and protein, plus the savory cheese may mask the less  likeable (in the minds of younger guests) flavor of the veggies. Also, these go  great as a burger substitute or in  between sandwiches!

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June Dessert of the Month: Anything and Everything to Know About Cake

6/9/2018

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There are numerous types of cake, and at least one of them can be found at almost any social gathering. Anyone who wants to be a baker at any level practically needs to know a lot about cake, but let's face it, who has the time to become experienced by experimenting for hours on end? Right. So, to help with that, in this lengthy post I have included everything that I have discovered on anything relating to cake.

Building from the cake itself to the decorative finishing touches, these suggestions are the most basic and then some of the more advanced absolutely need-to-knows about cake. Enjoy exploring!

The Definition of "Cake"

According to Oxford dictionaries, cake can be defined as, "​An item of soft sweet food made from a mixture of flour, fat, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and sometimes iced or decorated."

Basic Cake Vocabulary

  • airbrushing: an edible spray paint used to decorate cakes
  • buttercream: a common type of frosting that is made with lots of butter, and tastes creamy and incredibly sweet. Can be made both thick to cover cakes in frosting or thin (by diluting it with water) for small details
  • cake topper figures: people or objects that are placed on top of a cake to add to its theme, usually made with  gumpaste
  • drip cakes: cakes with frosting that looks like it's dripping off the side of the cake. The dripping illusion is often made with colored ganache
  • fillings: the flavors that can be added between layers in a cake
  • fondant: a smooth mixture of corn syrup, gelatin, and sugar that is often spread over cakes
  • ganache:  whipped chocolate cream filling
  • piping: used for more intricate designs, colored pipings are used to draw patterns or pictures on cake surfaces
  • sugar flowers: flowers made of a hardened sugar syrup that are edible, and great cake toppers
  • tiers: different levels and layers of a cake, often differently sized or themed
  • whipped cream: can be a filling or a topping, refreshing flavor used to contrast stronger ones

Themed Cake Ideas

Different Types of Cake

  • angel food cake
  • black forest cake
  • bundt cake
  • cake pops
  • cake push pops
  • charlotte/"lady finger" cake
  • cheesecake
  • coffee cake
  • cookie cake
  • devil's food cake
  • ice cream cake
  • marble cake
  • ooey gooey butter cake
  • pound cake
  • sponge cake
  • tiramisu
(to view more from around the world, visit here)

10 Best Frosting-Cake Flavor Combinations

  1. red velvet and cream cheese
  2. maple and apple
  3. coconut and dulce de leche
  4. banana caramel
  5. honey almond
  6. lemon raspberry
  7. chocolate cherry
  8. pumpkin white chocolate
  9. dark chocolate blueberry
  10. honey vanilla

Best Decorative Effects

  • gold leaf: an edible, thin faux gold material is used to cover toppers or parts of the cake to make it look more elegant and expensive
  • marble: different food colorings are mixed to make something look shiny, like it is made of marble
  • ombre: when airbrushing or other techniques are used to create a slow color transformation
  • ruffles: fondant can be manipulated so that a cake looks like it has real ruffles
  • "topsy turvy": a many-layered cake whose tiers are tilted at such odd angles it looks like it may fall over
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    Jessica A.

    A high schooler with a love of food. See the My Story page to find out more.

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