Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, dating back to the 4th century B.C. Italian food is influenced by each region’s distinct culture and by Italy’s history with the Greek, Roman and Arab people. With the discovery of America, potatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes and maize were introduced. Although we now associate tomato sauce with Italian food, tomatoes weren’t introduced to Italy until the 18th century!
Northern and Southern Italian cuisines are distinguished by the ingredients used in their dishes. The Northern Italians use butter, cream, mascarpone cheese, risotto and fresh egg pasta, while the Southern Italians use mozzarella cheese from buffalo, olive oil and dried pasta. Southern Italians use tomatoes more as well.
The Northern Lombardy region is known for its dairy products, particularly butter, used in the past for cooking rather than the traditional olive oil, which had only been used by rich families as a salad dressing. Barona is a town located in the Lombardy region. It’s known for its rice dishes including Minestrone alla Milanese, a soup with vegetables, rice and bacon, Risotto alla Milanese, a creamy dish of short-grain rice with meat stock, saffron and cheese. Other dishes the region is known for include ravioli with a pumpkin filling from Montova, small quails with polenta from Bergamo and osso bucco, a traditional main course of veal with rosemary and sage. Popular cheeses of the region are gorgonzola, grana padana (similar to parmigiano-reggiano), crescenza and mascarpone.
Fish is plentiful throughout Lombardy in its rivers and lakes—tench, carp, pike, perch, eels and sturgeon from the Po are all very popular. According to Lombards, the best salami in Italy is made in the town of Varzi, and the best luganega, a mild and lean pork sausage, is made in the town of Monza. Pork is very popular and rabbit is celebrated in Erba with a special annual fair. Beef in Lombardy is tender, and flavorful, unlike how it is typically found in the rest of Italy. It is also known that the best parsley comes from Lombardy.
