Italian Coffee

Espresso, caffè normale and cappuccino are types of Italian coffee, and one might wonder if there are as many types of coffee in Italy as there are Pastas. Quite surprisingly, there are and just like Pasta, Italian coffee is also an art form linked to many customs and traditions. Be it a caffè corretto shot down like a drink, a cappuccino and brioche that would make a lovely snack, or a granita di caffè con panna to chill off from the hot noon sun, Italy has a coffee drink for every occasion and every mood.

Italian Coffee

Italian Coffee

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Italian Coffee

Italian Coffee

The most famous of the Italian coffees are the cappuccinos -- the café corretto and café latte. Cappuccino is prepared with espresso and milk. A cappuccino is commonly identified as 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 frothed milk. Cappuccino is preferably served in a ceramic coffee cup to retain the heat, instead of glass or paper that is a comparatively poorer heat retainer. Café corretto is a coffee "corrected" with a measure of grappa, cognac or any other alcoholic content. Latte is Italian for milk, and café latte refers to coffee prepared with a larger measure of hot milk in it rather than coffee.

There are many other styles of Italian coffee, and they have all become world famous. In fact, Italy is the coffee house of the world, and has contributed to the enTire world many different styles of coffee that have so become a part of our culture and lives. Even espresso had its origins in Italy. It was from Italy that Starbucks got most of their coffee recipes and rose to fame quickly in the West. Despite all the progress and spread of the coffee culture, Italy still remains the coffee capital of the world.

Italian Coffee

Italian Food Culture

The Italian Food culture concerns not only what we see at Italian tables or in a rich Italian restaurant Menu.

Italian Food Culture

Italian Food Culture

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Italian Food Culture

Italian Food Culture

It is something much deeper in the Italians ' DNA.

Italians have some beliefs that go beyond education or tradition.

Concerning Pasta

An easy example could be the Pasta shapes and their seasonings. Considering that among dry Pasta (the ones you usually buy inside paper or plastic bags that last for long) the difference is only the shape of it, nothing else, the shape itself is something very important for Italians.

There's a traditional Pasta sauce recipe from Rome region called Pasta all'amatriciana (it's a tasty sauce made with tomatoes and bacon). Usually it's served using the bucatini Pasta (kind ofhuge spaghetti with a hole in its middle). An Italian woman was disgusted hearing her hAirDress telling her colleague that preferred it with short pasta. She said: "don't ask me why. It just is as it is. Amatriciana must go with long pasta. How can one imagine of Cooking it with short pasta? " The same goes for dough with oil and garlic (garlic and oil), you probably will never see it served using any other pasta that isn't spaghetti.

Cappuccino

A lot of people around the world drink coffee and milk. In Italy, people use to drink cappuccino- coffee and milk with addition of milk foam.

"All around the world people drink coffee and milk whenever feels like doing it. Italians will never ask for a cappuccino in theevening! Why? It is just as it is. It's not time to have a cappuccino. Cappuccino is for breakFast!

Italians do not accept someone who asks a cappuccino after, or even worse, together with dinner. They really twist their nose when they see someone doing it.

Drinking

In Italy there are bars everywhere. There are many small cities, having about 1.500 inhabitants that have about 20 bars.

It happens because drinking in Italy is associated with greetings. When an Italian meet a friend, it's natural to "drink something together".

If it happens to need a drink to someone seat besides you, never turn the jar or the bottle against the natural way of your hand. For example, if you have the jar in your right hand, the glass mustbe on the left side, never behind, on the right side of your right hand. Otherwise it may not bring good luck.

Meals

In many countries it's common to eat a salad as entrance.

Not in Italy.

Italians eat salad as a side plate for the second dish. Now you can find some tourist restaurants in main cities that propose rich salads for the tourists ... but Italians never ask for them!

Italians hqve liked to lunch time. If you like to visit Italy and want to have lunch, pay attention to restaurants ' closing times. Usually after 2:30 pm the kitchens are all closed and you'll have to eat a sandwich. If an Italian is traveling outside Italy, he will probably look for a restaurant during lunch time. If he doesn't or cannot findone, and finds one at 03:00 pm, he'll probably say that is not hungry anymore, that he uses to eat at that time otherwise he loses his hunger.

Italians trust their Food. While most of the tourists look for local Food, considering it part of the vacation, it's very common to see Italians looking for Italian restaurants while abroad. They seem to be afraid of new and different Food.

They begin to open themselves to new food when go outside Italy more often and learn to appreciate and trust foreign cuisines.

Trusting and loving Other than their own food, Italians hate when people try to mix other food cultures with Italian ones. An example? Never add ketchup to pasta dish! You cannot imagine how your Italian friend will stare at you if youtry to do so.

The interesting in all these is that they don't do it for being presumptuous, but they really believe you're wasting your taste. Italian culture still has a lot of "musts" that go with generations that just follow it without knowing why it is done in this or that way.

Italian Food Culture

Health Benefits Of Truffles

Although truffles are very costly, there are now many more reasons to eat it apart from the truth that it is very exciting to eat a delicacy. One of these reasons is you are consuming truffles because these may bring you health benefits.

Health Benefits Of Truffles

Health Benefits Of Truffles

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Health Benefits Of Truffles

Health Benefits Of Truffles

Through the years, contentions have been hounding the health benefits and nutritional value of truffles and mushrooms, generally. People say that edible mushrooms like truffles have no nutritional value at all and these are used just to add flavor to a selection of staple dishes.

Yet, more recent reports show that truffles and various sorts of mushrooms can bring a great deal of health benefits especially to vegetarians, individuals who don't eat meat and only consume vegetables.

Technically, truffles are mushrooms that don'thave stems and are usually discovered under the ground-usually under oak, pine, beech, and pecan trees mostly in various parts of Europe including Italy, France, Slovenia and Croatia. In Asia, some varieties are located in China along with in the Middle East while there are also some types native to North Africa.

So far, truffles are used only in the culinary field-as main ingredient to various dishes or as flavoring and garnishes to different specialties. The most frequent gourmet edible truffles that are being employed in various restaurants include the French Black Truffles, Italian White Truffles, the Chinese Truffles, and the Summer Truffles.

If you are fond of eating truffles and mushrooms generally, here are the some of the health benefits that you areable to expect:

1. It is a good source of high protein. Truffles have high protein content ranging from 20 to 30 percent for each serving. Experts say that truffles are excellent sources of high protein content which it very ideal because these contain all the amino acids necessary to good nutrition for humans. For people who don't consume fats and carbohydrates specially to people who are having Western diets-truffles are very ideal since it is a fantastic source of protein.

2. It is in addition to moderate source of carbs. The main eleMent of truffles and mushrooms in the main is glycogen and carbohydrates derived from chitin or also called the celluloses fungus which is a functional proponents of the fungal cell wall. All the same, compared to other vegetables, truffles havelower proportions of carbohydrates. This is in addition very good for people suffering from diabetes because truffles have low value of energy.

3. It is low-fat. As it is vegetable, truffles are ideal for individuals who cannot and do not want to consume too much fat. When dried, it has only about two to eight percent of fat which are mostly crude fat and lipid compounds such as fatty acids, sterols, phospholipids, glycerides and linoleic acid.

Health Benefits Of Truffles