You can't visit Bologna without eating tortellini, the local specialty, but why not learn how to make it too? The New York Times lists pasta-making classes in Bologna—perhaps it'll give you an idea for your next vacation....
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Sara Rosso of Ms. Adventures in Italy visited her favorite breadmaker in Puglia and took lots of mouthwatering photos of giant, perfectly formed dough balls to educate us on the art of baking. And to make us feel jealous....
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The Girl Who Ate Everything has finished meticulously documenting her trip through Italy. Poking through the archives, the quantity of gelato consumed is astounding....
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An artisanal food tradition has been quietly taking hold in Tuscany in the last two and a half decades: chocolate-making. And the chocolate in this region of central Italy has two defining characteristics: It uses the flavors of the area (lavender, olive oil, balsamic, rosemary) and "is made in handcrafted batches in small factories."...
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I never took much notice of supermarket meat counters until I saw this display of cured hams in all their fat-marbled glory at PAM, a major supermarket chain in Bologna. The meat shimmered like jewels. Pork-based jewels. When I came back home from my vacation in Italy I went back to ignoring supermarket meat counters. They're not the same here. Not even close....
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Adopt one of Italy's Nudo estate olive trees and you'll be sent all your tree’s produce for a year. Each tree produces about 2 liters of oil a year and Nudo guarantees a minimum of 1.5 liters....
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This past June when my friend Morten brought up the idea of joining him on a two-and-a-half week vacation in
Bologna the first thought that popped in my head (aside from, "Hell
yeah, I'm going") was, "What's the greatest amount of
gelato that I can consume without tearing a hole in my stomach?"
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Food safety concerns may stall farm bill: "Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said she will block the Senate bill if it includes a House-passed provision that would allow some smaller meat processing plants to opt out of federal meat inspections in favor of state inspections. The bill hasn't even emerged from committee yet." [Associated Press] Food crises in Zimbabwe deepens: Bakeries are closing for lack of flour in the country once known as the "breadbasket of Africa." [Voice of America] Italians plan "vote" against genetically modified food: As opposition wanes in North and South American, Italy is hoping to renew Europe's stand against "Frankenfoods." [Reuters] U.K. egg supply threatened: If prices aren't raised, farmers say they won't have incentive to...
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Italian consumers associations are asking their countrymen to boycott pasta today in a largely symbolic effort to draw attention to the rising costs of noodles. As is the case with most of these food-price stories these days, biofuel production is being blamed for the high cost of durum wheat, more of which is being diverted into ethanol-making. Says the BBC: "Pasta is a national dish in Italy, with each Italian eating on average 28 kg (62 lb) of pasta every year." And perhaps the most apt analogy was the one I just heard on BBC World Service radio: "An Italian without pasta is like an American without hamburgers." Photograph from iStockphoto.com...
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In her latest blog post, Ms. Adventures in Italy describes the process of catching and eating fresh sea urchins from the seaside in Puglia, Italy, accompanied by beautiful photos of the spiky creatures. Who wants sea urchin gonads now? I DO!...
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