Italian Food Dictionary

The Italians are perhaps best known for their contribution to the culinary arts. People from all over the world enjoy eating pizza, and various kinds of pasta. The Italians take pride in knowing that a great number of the world’s most enjoyed food are pioneered by them. Not only because they take pride in their culinary originality but because Italians take so much pleasure in cooking and eating. It is said that Italians consider it a recreational as well as traditional activity.

As much as many people enjoy Italian food, sometimes it gets confusing which one is which. So to help us remove some of the confusion, here are some Italian names for some Italian food. Consider it as a small Italian food dictionary of sorts:

• Aglio - garlic. Italians are big on garlic, if you see the word Aglio, it means that the base of the food or the sauce is heavy on garlic.
• Agliata - Garlic sauce, usually containing walnuts.
• Aglio Dolce - from the words Aglio (garlic) and Dolce (sweet); garlic which is chopped and soaked in milk to sweeten the flavor.
• Bolognese - one of the most popular pasta sauces. It refers to meat sauce. Sometimes refered to as Ragu.
• Cacciatore - refers to the method of stewing lamb, chicken and meat. it literally means “hunter-style”. Contains tomatoes, rosemary, garlic and vinegar.
• Calamari - squid.
• Calzone - pizza turnovers.
• Carbonara - a pasta sauce made with egg yolks, bacon, cheese and pepper.
• Fagioli - beans.
• Fettucine - ribbon like pasta made from basic flat egg noodles.
• Gambero - Shrimp.
• Gelato - ice cream.
• Latticini - Milk products.
• Minestrone - hearty, mixed vegetable soup.
• Mozzarella - soft, white cheese made from buffalo milk, but is now made from cow milk.
• Puttanesca - one of the more popular Italian sauces made from tomatoes, olives, garlic, chilies, anchovies, and olive oil.
• Tagliata - very fine slices of beefsteak.