In Italian culture, lunch (Pranzo) is often considered the most important meal of the day and is, if complete, composed of four courses, namely: a first course (Primo), usually a dish based on pasta, risotto, rice, polenta, legumes, or a soup; Dinner is typically the largest and most important meal of the day in Italy.
Standing tall at the first position in the list of Italian foods that you must try is Spaghetti alla Carbonara. The Italians are very proud of the dish, so appreciating every bite of it is customary. You might feel that Carbonara pasta is something that can be found in any part of the world.
Lunch is the day's main meal, lasting up to two hours! If you plan to eat lunch with locals, block out time. A typical Italian lunch consists of a primo (pasta, soup or risotto dish), a secondo (meat or fish-based dish) and a contorno (side dish).
One of the main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, with many dishes made up of few ingredients, and therefore Italian cooks often rely on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the complexity of preparation. Italian cuisine is at the origin of a turnover of more than €200 billion worldwide.
Perhaps even more famous than pasta is the pizza Margherita, which is the most simple pizza with just tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella cheese. This staple pizza is impossible to not like, loved even by food connoisseurs who want to go back to something delectably Moorish.
The Italian love of family is one of the reasons why food is important in the Italian everyday life as extended families usually eat together at large gatherings to commemorate the many religious festivals celebrated in Italy, being the seat of the Catholic church, with the Pope living among the faithful.
Traditional Italian menus have five sections. A full meal usually consists of an appetizer, first course and a second course with a side dish. It's not necessary to order from every course, but usually people order at least two courses. Traditional meals may last one or two hours or even longer.
Italian meal structure is typical of the European Mediterranean region and differs from North, Central, and Eastern European meal structure, though it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and supper (cena).
Italians love to take vegetables, pasta, beans, fruit, bread, and nuts. They prefer fish to meat and the major fat they make use of is the olive oil, which they also use as salad dressing. Although they make use of salt, however majority of them like to use herbs, black pepper as well as garlic.
A typical Italian diet consists of three meals in a day. The most common foods in the Italian diet include pasta, cheese, vegetables, olive oil, meats, and wine. Italians give a lot of importance to fresh ingredients. They use seasonal ingredients to prepare meals.
Typically, Italian dinner dishes include a variety of pasta, soups, risottos, and seafood. With an Italian-inspired dinner menu, you'll find dishes like pizza, spaghetti, ravioli, and desserts such as tiramisu.
Breakfast in Italy: what to expect
Homemade breakfast in Italy is usually a straightforward affair. Traditional breakfast drinks in Italian households are coffee, tea and cocoa milk for the kids and the main breakfast foods are bread with butter and jam, biscuits and cereals.
Italians eat the most pasta worldwide – about 60 pounds of pasta per person per year. Most Italians eat pasta every day but they keep their portions in check. A portion in Italy is about a cup and the meal includes a small portion of meat and a large portion of vegetables and salad.
"Buon appetito" is an italian phrase said before and during a meal, thus, it is certainly categorized as an eating phrase. Buon appetito! Italian meals, especially dinners, are traditionally quite long.
Of course, pasta isn't the only Italian dish worth celebrating — we could never leave out eggplant parmigiana, polpette (meatballs), and a perfectly cooked pot of risotto. Read on for more Italian classics that chefs love to make.
The Typical Italian Dinner
Italian dinner or la cena, usually from 8:00 to 10:00pm, is another time that Italians enjoy sitting down together and socializing.
In Italy, breakfast is usually small, just enough to jumpstart the day—and your appetite. Dinner is short and sweet and sends you to bed not swollen but satisfied. Lunch, however, takes on an almost spiritual importance.
The simple answer is that it is consistent with the traditional culture of avoiding the heat of the day. Also, since the workday is divided in half by a long pausa, people don't finish work until around 7:30 or 8:00.
Pasta, bread, fish, meat and vegetables are among the major foods consumed in Italy during meals. Whether it's a lunch or a dinner, it doesn't matter. Because at the table you will find all this and more. But you must know that every and each region has its own traditions.
Eggs in Italian cuisine. Whereas eggs in the United States are primarily a breakfast item it's the opposite in Italy. Italians often have eggs for dinner and in classic lunchtime dishes like pasta carbonara.