When life gives you walnuts, make nocino!

When life gives you walnuts, make nocino!

The walnut is one of the most ancient trees ever cultivated by mankind. Its importance comes from two aspects: the wood, everlasting and hard, and the fruit that can be eaten fresh or dried. Cultivation In Italy, the cultivation of the walnut tree has a long tradition...
Caprese, one name three different delicacies

Caprese, one name three different delicacies

Each Caprese recipe refers to something completely different: it can be a chocolate cake, a salad or a sandwich, and having the same name they can all be called delicacies. Caprese cake If we think of Caprese as the cake, we need to talk about its origins because this...
Strange and funny names in the Italian kitchen

Strange and funny names in the Italian kitchen

When we think about Italian kitchen we think about tradition and tasty ingredients, but there are details about some dishes or ingredients that will cheer you up even more. Let’s discover the weird names of some of them! Ingredients The names of some ingredients...
Gricia, one of the best recipe from Latium

Gricia, one of the best recipe from Latium

Gricia is a very famous pasta dish from Latium. It’s the perfect combination for those who love Carbonara and Cacio e Pepe too. In fact it is considered a mix of the two. There are many versions, even one with tomato sauce, then called Amatriciana. Origins The...
Pecorino cheese, one of the Italian masterpieces

Pecorino cheese, one of the Italian masterpieces

Pecorino, one of the most known and loved cheese in Italy. Famous for its strong salty flavour and smell, it’s the main character of many dishes.   Origins The Italian cheese called Pecorino, has really an ancient origin! It goes back to 2000 years ago when...
Cacio e Pepe, poor ingredients and awesome taste

Cacio e Pepe, poor ingredients and awesome taste

Cacio e Pepe, is one of the traditional Italian pasta dishes, created by shepherds in Latium. Even if it includes poor ingredients, the awesomeness in guaranteed! Origins Cacio e Pepe  is among the most famous dishes in Italy and specially in Rome. It’s like the...
Hazelnuts, one of the delicious products of Italy

Hazelnuts, one of the delicious products of Italy

Among many varieties of dried fruit, hazelnut is for sure one of the most appreciated. Like many other dried fruits, hazelnuts have some really ancient origins. Fossils found in Germany, Sweden and Denmark prove that they were indeed part of the primitive men’s...
Carbonara, Queen of Rome

Carbonara, Queen of Rome

Carbonara is one of Italian’s best known dishes! If you travel to Italy and specifically to Rome, you MUST eat this delicacy. Origins There are many stories behind Carbonara, but the first mention about combining pasta and eggs can be found in “Il cuoco galante”...
Marzipan, a very ancient sweet tradition

Marzipan, a very ancient sweet tradition

Since the Arabic domination to the present days, marzipan has always been the main character of festivities. The term ‘marzipan‘ comes from Arabic maw-thabán, the name of a middle-eastern silver coin that corresponded to a certain quantity of a sweet dough...
Sarde, treasure of the Mediterranean Sea

Sarde, treasure of the Mediterranean Sea

Sarde are the most common “blue fishes” from the anchovies family. Even if it’s not a fancy or expensive fish, we can find it in a lot of ancient and modern recipes thanks to its versatility, but do you know where they come from and all of its...
“Polpette”: a small bite for a big treasure

“Polpette”: a small bite for a big treasure

If you ask an Italian about meatballs, the answer will be different based on the taste, the region and the preparation method followed by their grandmas when they were kids. The ‘polpette‘ The first time that the word ‘polpette’ (aka meatballs)...
Vin brûlé: the perfect winter beverage  

Vin brûlé: the perfect winter beverage  

Since ancient times, Vin brûlé represents Europeans’ favourite beverage during winter. What not everyone knows is that this type of beverage has really antique origins and different variations based on the place and the way in which it is made. ...