Does Classic Italian Food Mean Pizza?

There is no doubt about it, for most people Italian food means pizza. Well, sometimes it means spaghetti, but nine times out of ten, people are thinking of pizza when they say they want to go out for Italian.

And while it is true, there is pizza I Italy, most times, the pizza you will get there bears little resemblance to the pizza most Americans are used to eating. Because some people think the type of pizza you find in Italy is more authentic, they say once you have it you never want regular American pizza again. But the truth is, as far as food goes (pizza included) the delight is in the taste of the beholder. Perhaps you have read some of the more modern wine courses which teach the theory that any wine is good wine, as long as you like it. Well, taste in food is the same.

If you taste both authentic Italian pizza and American pizza, and you decide that you like the American version better than the original. Then there is no reason that you should have to eat anything else. After all, it's your tongue and stomach, not that of somebody else.

People can be real snobs when it comes to eating, and with Italian food, this happens often. People get all wrapped up in what is the real flavor of the country and neglect the flavors that have been their favorites for years. This is not how meals are supposed to be. Meals are supposed to be fun.

Take pizza, for instance, rumor has it that pizza in Italy actually started in the Middle East where pieces of flatbread were used to hold toppings or seasoned oil and eaten without the benefits of plates or tableware. It is actually a pretty innovative idea, to be able to eat your plate when you are done with your meal. Originally, the flatbread was often unleavened like matzos, but when people found that it was relatively to control the leavening process, they began to make all kinds of breads to eat and enjoy.

One really excellent invention that helped make pizza into the dish we know and love today was the production of mozzarella cheese. The best kind of this cheese is made from the milk of water buffaloes and is from Campania. The cheese itself is eaten in many ways but on pizza, the low moisture style of the cheese is preferred.

When you combine baking the pizza in a traditional wood fire oven, and add a selection of toppings which these days can even include jalapeno peppers, you have a treat that may not be traditional, sure tastes great. Food traditions can certainly evolve and change from country to country but as long as eating remains a fun activity, I think that change is good. And why not, because the most important rule about eating is that good food is meant to be good fun.

Know more about Traditional Italian Food.