Italian cuisine offers much more than just pizza and pasta.
We often make the common mistakes and believe in stereotypes, so that’s why we decided to create the below list with 14 fun facts about Italian food.
We hope that you will find at least one point that surprises you!
14 Fun Facts About Italian Food
1. Margherita Is The Queen Of Pizza
Let’s start our list of fun facts about Italian food with our favorite Italian dish. Although Margherita is the simplest among all types of pizza, it was named after Queen Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna di Savoia. Pizza Margherita has the colors of the Italian flag: white (mozzarella), red (tomato), green (basil).
2. No Ketchup, please!
Real Italian pizza is served without sauces.
3. Cappuccino Only In The Morning
Italians know more about digestion than you can expect. For example, you should not consume milk after lunch or supper because it will digest longer. That’s why Italians have their cappuccino only in the mornings.
4. How To Cook Perfect Pasta
Italians do not add oil to the water where the pasta is cooked. Real Italian pasta is so high-quality that it does not stick during cooking, and thus the use of oil becomes unnecessary.
5. Secret Of The Real Mozzarella
The real mozzarella is made only from buffalo’s milk.
6. The Weirdest Cheese In The World
Do you know ‘casu marzu‘? It is the most original Italian cheese. ‘Casu marzu’ is a sheep cheese made in Sardinia, and for its production, live larvae of flies are used. They are also added to the cheese and then consumed. Enjoy!
7. Myths Of Italian Food
You will never find Spaghetti Bolognese in Bologna. Instead, look for ‘ragu’ or ‘tagliatelle bolognese’. Caesar salad, pizza pepperoni, spaghetti with meatballs, or Hawaiian pizza are the other examples of non-Italian dishes.
8. Don’t Forget About Coperto
Our least favorite fun fact: don’t be surprised if your restaurant bill is higher than you expected.
‘Coperto’ is the additional amount added to the bill (1-2 EUR per person or table), and it is a cost of taking place at the table.
This information should be displayed in the menu, so read carefully. Remember that ‘coperto’ is not a tip!
9. Pasta Lovers
63% of Italian eat pasta either every day or almost every day. In total, they consume 23.5 kg pasta in a year. Italians are big fans of al dente pasta, which not only tastes better, but also it keeps you full longer.
10. No Spoon, please!
Italians don’t use a spoon to eat spaghetti.
11. Feel The Real Taste Of Gelato
The real Italian ‘gelato’ should be stored at the slightly warmer temperature than ice cream, then to give it the right texture and smoothness, it should be scooped with a spade or paddle. The best Italian gelato contains less fat (3%-8%) than regular ice cream (10%-17%)!
12. Enjoy Free Water
The tap water is safe to drink in Italy. It’s free and delicious.
13. Roman Posca
Posca was the drink of the plebeians and the army in the ancient Rome. It was made by watering down the low-quality wine and adding herbs and spices. It tasted like vinegar, but posca was cheap, healthy to drink, and traveled well.
14. “Latte” = Milk
If you like to have a coffee with a steamed milk, remember to ask for “caffe latte”. If you ask for “latte” you will get a glass of milk.
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