The internet is truly opening doors not just in Italian food, but in all international cuisine. But, you do need to be careful when shopping for Italian food online. The first thing you want to do is make sure that the vendor you are buying from is as close to the source as possible. If you are looking for a specific ingredient then look for a vendor that specializes in that particular area. This will help you maintain an authentic taste as well as cut on the costs if you're not dealing with a middle man. See how long the vendor has been in business and what their experience is with Italian food. There are dozens of these Italian food specialty shops online, you just need to find the ones that you feel most comfortable with.

Another thing you want to pay special attention to is the shipping charges, especially if you are buying from another country. In Italian food there are many non perishable items and you will want to buy them in bulk since it is cheaper to ship it in the same order than to order it again. Avoid any online vendors that charge you shipping per item since all your purchases will be shipped together. The bulk of the shipping should be charged with the first item you order and rise gradually with each additional item. Many vendors will just charge flat rate shipping or you may be able to find specials with free shipping. Make sure you also read the fine print to understand all their charges. You don't want to be surprised by any processing charges or other extra fees.

When buying Italian food online it is also important to look at the company's return policy. A vendor should be willing to take back any food that is spoiled or ruined upon delivery. Italian food depends on fresh ingredients and online shopping is a great way to get not only the ingredients, but whole Italian food dishes already prepared. Just make sure you don't get stuck paying for Italian food that isn't fresh. These days online Italian food companies have mastered shipping fresh food to make sure it arrives fresh at your doorstep.

Demand the best from the vendors you deal with. If you haven't already, take the plunge and try buying Italian food online. You might discover a new favorite, or experience another side of Italian food without having to go out to a fancy Italian food restaurant.

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Probably the first and most well known of these franchises is the Olive Garden. The Italian food served here is heavy on spices and thick, creamy sauces. The salad is dressed with Italian dressing and served with breadsticks. Popular dishes include ravioli, lasagna, and minestrone. While this restaurant has done a great job of introducing people to the concept of Italian food, the food served here is a far cry from the real thing. The salad dressing and breadsticks served here would never be found in Italy. Since the menu is the same year round fresh ingredients are not a priority and hence the dishes are heavily seasoned to hide the fact that the underlying ingredients hold little flavor. Sadly, many people's views of Italian food and the stereotypes surrounding this cuisine are only furthered by this Italian food restaurant.

However, there are other large chain Italian food restaurants. Places like Macaroni Grill, Carino's, Buca di Beppo, and Carrabba's give a much better Italian food experience. While the Italian food served at these places certainly doesn't live up to the high standard of Italian food set by those who originated it, the food is still quite good. The ingredients at these restaurants are of a higher quality and the dishes are closer to an authentic flavor. Carino's is a great restaurant to go to for a casual meal. Macaroni Grill and Carrabba's are a little nicer and are great restaurants for an Italian food date.

These restaurants don't rely on pastas with overly seasoned heavy sauces to convince you that you're eating Italian food. They use a wider variety of ingredients that are more true to the spirit of Italian food. Buca di Beppo is a great family Italian food restaurant. The décor is that of an Italian home and the meals are served family style. It is recommended that you find some friends or family that enjoy Italian food to share with because the portions are quite large.

While Italian food chains are certainly not the best way to experience Italian food, they have come a long way and more and more restaurants are raising the standard to bring good quality Italian food to the general public that can't afford a plane ticket to Italy. More chefs are venturing out and trying new things with Italian food and the results are absolutely mouth watering. Italian food will always be popular in the United States. Just realize that when eating out at franchise restaurants you will never be able to replicate the flavor and quality of authentic Italian food made by Italians using recipes that have been passed down through the generations.

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Perhaps the most popular example of rice in Italian food is in risotto. Although risotto is considered a very serious dish in Italian food, it actually started out as a joke. As the legend goes a young apprentice was staining the glass used in the Duomo di Milano, a magnificent gothic cathedral, in 1574. He was relentlessly teased because it looked as if he had added saffron to pigments in order to obtain more vibrant and brilliant colors. When it came time for his master's wedding, he decided to play a little joke to show how tired he was of the teasing. So, he added saffron to the rice that was to be served at the wedding. The plan backfired and the rice was so popular amongst the wedding guests that it became the staple of Italian food that we know today.

There are four main components to the risotto we know in Italian food today. The first is the soffritto. Sometimes this can be special ingredients specific to the type of risotto being made. However, it is typically a mixture of vegetables, butter, oil, and onions. This mixture is sautéed in the same skillet where the rice will later be cooked. The next component is the broth. The broth can be homemade or canned and can be beef, chicken, vegetable, or fish. The third component is the flavoring ingredient. This is the component that will give the risotto its specific flavor. This can range from vegetables to meat, truffles, or the ingredient that started it all, saffron. Now of course, the final component is Italian rice. The rice that is used in Italian food is made up of large grains with lots of starch. This rice is perfect for risotto because it can absorb large amounts of liquid and still remain firm.

Risotto is a very popular Italian food dish, but it is also one of the most botched Italian food dishes because of the precise way in which the rice is prepared. Some tips to making it successfully at home include not washing the rice. If you were to wash the rice beforehand it would eliminate much of the starch that is needed to make good Italian food. There are also different types of Italian food rice and you will want to pick the rice that is most appropriate for your recipe. All rice is not created equal so check your recipe and cookbooks to decide which rice is best to use. You'll also want to use a double-bottom sauté pan.

This will keep the heat uniform to make sure the rice cooks evenly. It is important to sauté the rice until it is toasted before adding the broth. However, don't cook it too long or it will harden. This is the most important part of making an authentic Italian food risotto, make sure the rice is toasted. After that it is all downhill. Just follow these tips and pretty soon you'll be cooking like a professional Italian food chef.

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One appeal of Tuscan Italian food is that it is generally healthy. This is due in large part to its use of olive oil. There are many different varieties of olives that are grown in the area and used extensively in the cooking. Beans are also widely used as are vegetables, seasonal fruits, and mushrooms. Of course the area also has the cheeses that are a signature of Italian food. In October and November the people are up for a real treat because this is when the famous white truffles of the area appear. Contrasting this lighter side of the Italian food is the extensive use of meat in Tuscany. High quality beef can be found in the region.

There is even a specific breed used for the famous t-bone steaks that are known as Florentine steak. Pork is also used a source of protein in the Tuscan Italian food. One of the reasons for their famed use of meat has historical roots. When the country started relying heavily on polenta and other corn products, many people began dying due to malnutrition. It was discovered that the thousands of deaths were tied to a lack of protein and other nutrients. Since that time the Italians have taken care to add more variety to their diet than just pasta.

Tuscany has perhaps more unique Italian food dishes than any other region. Some popular dishes include fresh vegetables either raw or slightly cooked and served with olive oil that is seasoned for dipping. Tuscany is also known for a reheated vegetable soup dish. The meat dishes that are most unique to the area include Tuscan-style veal shank and T-bone steak. The Italian food that features pork in the area includes creamed bacon and a complicated dish of pig's liver stuffed into a pig's stomach and then slowly baked with stock and red wine.

The real Italian food gem in Tuscany is not just the unique entrees, but the unique breads. There are specific breads for specific holidays and seasons in Tuscany. On Good Friday bread that is baked on a bed of chestnut leaves is served. They also have breads made from maize, fried in olive oil, made with sweet chestnut flour with rosemary leaves, breads made from a mixture of different flours; the list goes on and on. Usually Italian food makes one think of all the different forms of pasta, but in Tuscany the Italian food of variety is the bread. On Easter Sunday special bread that is made with raisins, saffron, and other spices is consecrated in church before being served. It has a high fat content and is served with eggs. There are also sweet rolls that are eaten on the St. Anthony feast day. Who knew that Italian food included so many different breads? Just as there are many different cheeses in Italian food, there are just as many Italian food breads to serve with them.

Tuscany is a treasure trove of Italian food. Try eating at a Tuscan inspired Italian food restaurant, or make sure to visit Tuscany while in Italy to try all the different unique Italian food dishes that they have to share.

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Risotto is most simply a rice dish cooked very precisely. It is one of the most commonly ordered appetizers at Italian food restaurants. Yet for its amazing popularity, it is also one of the most common Italian food dishes to be botched. The key to a good risotto is to first cook the rice briefly in olive oil or butter. It should be cooked until it is evenly coated and begins to turn translucent. After that, broth is added to the rice slowly, one spoonful at a time. The most defining quality of a risotto is that the rice is toasted. If the rice isn't toasted than it's not a risotto, no matter how fine the Italian food restaurant is that you're in.

There are many different variations on risotto because it can be made and served with so many different Italian food favorites. In Veneto the ingredients added to the risotto are determined by location. For instance, in areas closer to the coast it will be made with fish and other seafood. As you move in from the coast you will see risotto made with different vegetables like pumpkin, asparagus, and radicchio. It is also commonly seen made with frogs' legs which appear in Italian food more than most people think.

The Veneto region is also home to some unique foods. The dishes here are heavier and rely on exotic spices and sauces. One unique dish that originated here and is quickly gaining popularity as an Italian food dish is pasta and beans. Beans are used in many dishes here due to their ready availability. This is also an area of Italy where anchovies and stockfish are used extensively in Italian food. However, fish is not the dish of choice here, being beaten out by meats and sausages. A favorite meat is sopressata which is a dry-cured salami. It gets its name from the fact that while drying it is often pressed with a weight and comes out looking flat. It is most often made with pork, but sometimes beef is used. Another favorite Italian food meat is garlic salami. The Italian food here is also reliant on some of the prized vegetables of the area. Veneto is especially known for their high quality red radicchio and their asparagus. One last dish that is unique to the area is a rice dish with young peas.

The Italian food of Veneto clearly breaks the mold. It is full of diversity from dishes made wholly with vegetables and rice, to some of the most famous sausages in the world. If a night of Italian food for you must include risotto, than Veneto is the place to be. If you consider yourself a sausage connoisseur than the Italian food of Veneto will again be a must taste for you. The region truly offers something for everyone!

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If you like Italian food then you may want to consider taking some classes to learn how to cook Italian food while in Italy. There are many resorts today that offer Italian food classes to their guests. There are even whole vacation packages focused around learning how to cook Italian food. You can take a tour through Italy and in each city or region that you stop in learn to make the local Italian food from the people who know it the best, the locals, not some tour guide or American teacher. If you decide during your vacation that you would like to try out a cooking class then ask the concierge or front desk at your hotel. They should be able to point you in the direction of some Italian food classes. Often resorts will have their own world class Italian food restaurants and it's not uncommon for them to open their doors to travelers who want to learn to make a dish from the menu. Be sure to ask the front desk at your resort about possible Italian food classes. Resorts don't always advertise these classes because they often fill up just on word of mouth.

If you are feeling a little nervous about learning to cook Italian food on your vacation, relax. The classes are typically very small so you'll be able to get one on one help. This is truly a great opportunity to expand your knowledge of preparing Italian food from actual Italian chefs. Don't worry if you don't know the first thing about cooking. These classes are structured to accommodate people with little to no knowledge of Italian food or even cooking for that matter. If you would like to take a more advanced or intermediate class then ask about those options as well, but the majority of classes will be for beginners. These Italian food classes for vacationers will teach you how to make easy dishes that look more complicated than they actually are. They're not going try and teach you something complicated that will only end up frustrating you. They know that it can be intimidating learning to cook Italian food from professional chefs so they will keep things simple. On the other hand, they also understand that you probably want to go home and impress your friends with an Italian food dish that seems really fancy, so they will teach you dishes with a certain "wow" factor.

The next time you plan a vacation to Italy, try to step off the beaten path and learn how to cook some authentic Italian food. The skills and memories you bring home will outlast any souvenir you could buy. Vacationing in Italy is not just about enjoying Italian food; it's about bringing Italian food home with you.

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Prior to 1550 the food in this region was known for its simplicity. Food was simply meant for sustenance and a distinct regional flavor had yet to emerge. However, that all changed in 1550. That is the time of the Council of Trent. The Council of Trent was an Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. The council was held in response to the growing Protestant Reformation in an effort to counter it. It is hard to imagine that such a religious and political event would have any affect whatsoever on the local Italian food. However, when all of these high ranking church officials came to the area, they brought with themselves a taste for fine food. It is this event that first taught the region to appreciate the art of fine cooking. This is a great example of how history has shaped the current state of Italian food.

The cuisine here was also influenced by the Republic of Venice and the Habsburg Empire. Other influences include that of the Slav, Austrian, and Hungarian cuisines. It's hard to imagine now that Italian food was shaped by these cuisines that many people think of as distinctly different than Italian food. This region is known for its use of fresh water fish in contrast to much of the rest of the country that uses salt water fish in much of their cuisine. It's also interesting to note that despite the foreign influences, it is this area that most popularizes the dishes that are traditionally thought of as Italian food such as pasta, tomatoes, and olive oil. However, in addition to these commonly thought of Italian food dishes is a host of other foods such as potatoes, dumplings, and sauerkraut made from scratch. Goulash is the most commonly served Sunday meal.

Health conscious travelers should also note that lard is still a very popular ingredient in the area. Those concerned with saturated fat should be sure to enquire about the ingredients of the Italian food they are enjoying in this region. But it is important to note that many chefs find that lard is the best ingredient for certain situations and the Italian food chefs in this region certainly feel that way.

There are some specific dishes that are unique to this region. One is potato dumplings with ricotta. You might not think of dumplings when thinking of Italian food, but they are quite common to the area. They even have canederli, a specific dumpling unique to the area that is made with leftover bread. This region also boasts its own regional sauerkraut as well as a stuffed chicken dish.

This region of Italy is a great example of how external forces have shaped Italian food. The style of cuisine here is an excellent blend of the popular Italian food and the unique authentic flavors of regional Italian food.

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The biggest feature of this region is the vast plains. These plains allow for an abundance of cattle and these cattle greatly affect the type of Italian food found in this area. For instance, while most people think of olive oil in conjunction with Italian food, in this region butter is much more popular. There is also a lot of cream used in the food here; again not something most people associate with Italian food. These distinct differences from the general ideas of Italian food are due to the abundance of cattle found in the region.

Cheese is a very important ingredient in the Italian food here. One important cheese is the robiola. This cheese is part of the Stracchino family and is a soft-ripened cheese that is distinctly Italian. It is made from a blend of cow, goat, and sheep's milk. The proportions of the different milks are distinct to different areas of the region and so it is possible to taste several different samples of the cheese, each with its own distinct flavor. Grana padano is also a very important cheese to the region. This is a hard, grainy cheese made from cows milk and aged anywhere from eight to twenty-four months. This cheese is important in the history of Italian food. It was invented by monks who used ripened cheese as a method of preserving extra milk. By 1477 this cheese was one of the most famous cheeses in the world and it certainly hasn't lost any luster with the passing years.

Another distinct feature of this area's Italian food is the use of single pot dishes. These are dishes which take less work to create and are therefore more popular amongst the working class of the area. Polenta is very popular as is rice. There are many different risottos that are common in the area as well as rice based soups. A popular version of risotto here is flavored with saffron. Another dish that is immensely popular and has made the region famous is its traditional ravioli with pumpkin filling. While ravioli is popular with Italian food lovers most have never had it with pumpkin filling. It is also served with melted butter and is often followed by turkey traditionally stuffed with stewed meats or chicken. True to the picture of Italian food the area boasts yet another unique pasta dish, this one with a twist as well. It is a dish of buckwheat pasta with potatoes, Swiss chard, butter, and Bitto cheese.

Of course you can't overlook the importance of desserts in the Italian food of Lombardy. The region boasts a few sweet dishes. They make a traditional Christmas bread made with yeast dough and dotted with candied citrus peel, raisins, and candied fruits. An even sweeter Italian food creation is torrone. This nougat confection is made from honey, sugar and egg white. It is then coated with crushed, toasted almonds. The last unique dish to the area is actually a condiment made of boiled fruits seasoned with mustard. This region really does expand a person's view of Italian food.

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The first ingredient is Mascarpone cheese. This cheese has very deep roots in Italian food. It was made as far back as the 13th century in the region of Lombardy. This cheese is concentrated milk cream and has a very high fat content, getting up to seventy-five percent. It is a smooth and creamy cheese. Traditionally it has been considered to be more of a winter dish and therefore shows up in more of the seasonal Italian food dishes. This is mainly because of its high calories and the fact that when it was first produced there was no refrigeration and this delicate cheese does not keep well in hot temperatures. Like many other Italian foods, the best Mascarpone cheese comes directly from Italy. However, it you're an Italian food lover making Tiramisu at home, there are plenty of makers of Mascarpone cheese in America.

The next ingredient is Zabaglione cream. This is a true classic Italian food dessert. It hails from the world renowned kitchens of Venice. When it originally became a popular Italian food dessert it was made with yolks, honey, and a sweet Cyprus wine. However, today the cream has taken on a new flavor. To begin with sugar is substituted for the original honey. The most stated difference in taste though, comes from the use of Marsala wine instead of the sweet Cyprus wine. This cream can be made from home and is easier to make than most Italian food chefs let on.

The third ingredient is the most distinctive factor of Tiramisu, espresso. This shot of caffeine is where the dessert gets its name, which means "pick me up". This is a coffee that is true to Italian food and is much stronger than American coffee. Espresso is the most important coffee in Italian food and can be seen following many Italian meals.

The fourth and final ingredient is Ladyfingers. These popular cookies originated in Italy and have made numerous appearances in not only Italian food, but in many other national cuisines. These cookies are remarkably light due to the fact that the dough with which they are made is rich with whipped egg white. They are immensely popular and one of the most appreciated Italian food desserts in Italy.

These four ingredients blended together just right and topped off with chocolate make an Italian food dessert that is as popular as the individual ingredients. Make sure when you prepare this at home that you take great care in choosing the ingredients, it will really make a difference in the quality of Tiramisu. Now that you know the correct quality and the origin of the ingredients you will surely impress your friends with you Italian food knowledge.

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Fazoli's is a fast Italian food chain in the United States. They are currently serving up Italian food in 400 locations throughout the United States. Now it should be noted that I am using the term Italian food very loosely here. This is a great choice for people who like traditional Americanized Italian food, but not such a good choice for Italian food connoisseurs looking for a fine meal. The Italian food served here includes such classics as spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine alfredo, lasagna, ravioli, pizza, subs, panini sandwiches, and salads. Many people like to catch one of these classic Italian food dishes through the drive through, but these people are missing part of what makes Fazoli's so popular and that is the breadsticks. If you dine inside a Fazoli's then you get unlimited free breadsticks. This is Fazoli's trademark and has helped them become popular in the United States.

While Fazoli's is certainly not an option for quality Italian food, it is a good option to fill a craving for Italian food without having to go out to a restaurant and take up a good part of your night. There are not many options today for fast Italian food and to many people the whole concept of Fazoli's strikes them as odd at first. Fast food is generally seen as the domain of hamburgers and finger foods. For this reason Fazoli's has not grown as fast or become as popular as other fast food chains. If Fazoli's continues to grow and gain popularity then it may prompt others to start more quality fast Italian food chains. Fast food chains are expanding to include healthy menu items and more quality food for the money. So there may be more of a place for Fazoli's as the country expands its views on fast food in general.

Fazoli's is cheap Italian food and you really do get what you pay for. Right now the only other real option for fast Italian food is to prepare it yourself. For some people making Italian food themselves defeats the purpose of fast Italian food so Fazoli's is a great option. With all the different innovations happening in contemporary Italian food it's possible that in the future there may be multiple options for getting fast Italian food of a good quality. In fact, in Italy there are already fast food restaurants that serve good quality Italian food. But, like most things in the world of Italian food, we can expect for it to be awhile before these developments make it to this side of the ocean. Until then we'll just have to make do with Fazoli's and resort to conventional restaurants to get fine Italian food.

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