Italy only became a united political entity in 1870, when Garibaldi brought about a physical union between states that had a history of warring and not cooking Italian food, though the Italian food heritage dates back to the time of ancient Rome.

Italian Food

By 1870 Italian food had a history, but it is not a history of a country but of its regions, and it represents their struggle to survive, it has been shaped by the landscape and its conqueror’s. Each region had a typically different food history, for instance in Northern Italy in Piedmont they are near France and Turin its capital has many French pastry shops and recipes.

Northern Italian Food

The North is the industrial part of Italy and its richest, both in terms of money and an abundant choice of foood.The plains that extend along the Po proliferate with grain, corn, rice, fruit, livestock and dairy products. Vineyards on slopes along the great arc formed by the Alps and Apennines are Italy’s prime sources of premium wine.Emilia-Romagna has to be one of the prime destinations for lovers of fine cuisine. This region is home to such wonderfully aged delicacies as Parma Ham, Parmigiano Reggiano and traditional balsamic vinegar, which can be as expensive as £2.000 a litre.

Italian Food in the South

The Southern recipes are the one’s most people will immediately think of when they think of Italian food; it is famous for its tomatoes, olives and Citrus fruits, and these influences have produced a different type of Italian food. Olive oil is fundamental, but the symbol of southern Italian food , curiously enough, came to be the tomato, which arrived with peppers, beans and potatoes from America. The pomodoro found a promised land alongside the eggplant from Asia, the melanzane that distinguishes the “parmigiana” classics of Campania and many other dishes. The irresistible piquancy of southern Italian food comes from herbs and spices, above all the tangs of garlic and chili peppers. It is the flavours of the South that have been incorporated into the USA as representing Italian food.

The colours of Sicily represent the tastes of Sicily, the yellow sun, the blood red earth, the tomato ripening on the vine, the yellow sun and the vast tracts of wheat across empty feudal landscapes. Yellow is the colour of the saffron brought by the ancient Greeks, the pungent yellow lemons, the colour of molten honey; both Sicilian colours and tastes overwhelm the taste buds.

Where are my Italian recipes

Well this is a page and it will have the main route of Italian food, there will be a section on Italian Pizza, Italian pasta, Italian antipasta, Italian salads, Italian desserts etc, you get the picture. Each Italian post will have the recipe, here is Ricotta dumplings.
I have made several lens about Italian food.
Italian pumpkin recipes
Italian Recipes
Tastes of Sicily
One of my Italian food posts can be found at Ragù alla Napoletana