Italians typically drink wine rather than beer or cocktails with meals, with the exception of pizza, which they usually drink with beer.
The traditional pairing in Italy
Don't be surprised if in Italy you see us Italians drinking a beer with pizza, it's our tradition. With pizza, our first thought is to order a glass of “barley wine”, as beer was formerly called. It is the quintessential combination for us: red, blonde, or dark beer.
As many of you know, pizza has been associated with Italy and Italians for a long time. In Italy, pizza lovers generally drink beer or Coke with their meals. The carbonation found in Coke and other cola products seems to aid in digestion. Carbonation can also be found in some mildly carbonated or sparkling wines.
What do Italians -- those inventors of what we know and love about pizza -- drink when they're having a slice or two? The answer, most often, is beer. Partly that's due to the enormous popularity in Italy right now of microbeers and the natural beer movement.
The smooth and velvety consistency of the milk provides a nice contrast with the salty and savory flavors of the pizza and its toppings. Plus, tomato-based foods, like the sauce in pizza, can be acidic and sometimes lead to indigestion and heartburn.
The carbonation helps burp up existing air in your stomach
By drinking carbonated beverage, you will allow the carbonation to enter and permeate throughout your stomach. The gases will help free up and remove existing air inside your stomach to make room for the remaining food you have left.
As Italians say, what grows together goes together. With that said, the refreshing minerality of Vermentino is fantastic for the zesty green flavors of pesto. Sauvignon Blanc makes a fabulous pairing too. You can also pair a pesto with red wine, particularly if the pasta dish has a cream or additional tomatoes in it.
It can be found served straight-up in bitter greens, contrasted in the bittersweet tension of cocktails like Negroni, or in Italy's nation-wide gamma of digestifs called amari (“bitters”). It is even in the Italian answer to Coca-Cola: a soda called Chinotto.
Chinotto (Italian: [kiˈnɔtto]) is a type of carbonated soft drink produced from the juice of the fruit of the myrtle-leaved orange tree (Citrus myrtifolia). The beverage is dark in color. Its appearance is similar to that of cola, but not as sweet, having a bittersweet taste.
Italians typically drink wine rather than beer or cocktails with meals, with the exception of pizza, which they usually drink with beer.
Is it rude to leave pizza crusts in Italy? No need pretending, Italians very often cut of the crusts of their pizza. It is not considered offensive or wrong.
Pizza at the restaurant in Italy is served unsliced in the great majority of cases, because this helps its presentation and flavour, preventing the runny pizza topping from leaking off the pizza base and wetting the edges. Not slicing the pizza for customers also minimizes the risk of it cooling down.
Simply put, the Italian digestif or digestivo is an alcoholic drink served after dinner to help with digestion.
If you are a newbie in baking pizza, you might be wondering about the order of putting toppings on the pizza. Italian pizzas are traditionally made with cheese on top, while American and deep-dish pizzas are made with the cheese beneath the crust. However, to know more about the topic, keep on reading below!
Italians eat pizza with a fork and knife. Pizza is to be enjoyed straight from the oven and piping hot. Waiting for your dinner to cool down is just not an option – protocol says it should be enjoyed straight away.
When it comes to pizza, everyone has their own preferences for toppings. However, there is one topping that has caused controversy and debate in Italy for decades: pineapple. While some Italians embrace the tropical fruit as a pizza topping, others reject it as an affront to traditional Italian cuisine.
Campari - Characterized by its dark red color and bitter flavor, Campari is the National Drink of Italy. Born in the Piedmont city of Novara, this distinct Italian alcoholic liqueur is made from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It's an acquired taste for sure, but it's ever-present in Italy.
A cheat meal is essentially one planned meal (or meal deviation) a week where you can eat anything you want that you wouldn't normally eat as part of your diet — pizza, burger and fries, tacos, whatever you have a hankering for.
In Italy, arguably the birthplace of pizza, pies are served uncut, so using a knife and fork to perform triangular cuts is mandatory. That said, some Italians continue to use their utensils, while others do not.
Pizza can help you absorb the antioxidant Lycopene. Lycopene is found in tomatoes, which are used to make the base sauce for pizzas. Lycopene helps to lower blood pressure and bring down high cholesterol. It's also more easily absorbed from cooked tomatoes as opposed to fresh tomatoes.