Italian meal structure is typical of theEuropean Mediterranean region and differs from that of Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe, although it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and supper (cena).[1] However, breakfast itself is often skipped or is lighter than that of non-Mediterranean Europe.[2] Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, calledmerenda (pl.:merende), are also often eaten.[3]
Full meals in Italy contain four or five courses.[4] Especially on weekends, meals are often seen as a time to spend with family and friends rather than simply for sustenance; thus, meals tend to be longer than elsewhere. During holidays such as Christmas and New Year's Eve, feasts can last for hours.[5]
Today, full-course meals are mainly reserved for special events such as weddings, while everyday meals include only a first or second course (sometimes both), a side dish, and coffee.[6][7] Theprimo (first course) is usually a filling dish such as risotto or pasta, with sauces made from meat, vegetables or seafood.[8] Whole pieces of meat such as sausages, meatballs, and poultry are eaten in thesecondo (second course).[9] Italian cuisine has some single-course meals (piatto unico) combining starches and proteins.[10]
Most regions in Italy serve bread at the table, placing it in either a basket or directly on the table to be eaten alongside both the first and second courses. Bread is consumed alongside the other food, and is often used at the end of the meal to wipe the remaining sauce or broth from the dish. The expressionfare la scarpetta is used to encourage a diner to use the bread to absorb the remaining food on the plate.[11]
The most popular breakfast (colazione) is sweet, consumed at home or at a café. If breakfast is consumed at home, it consists of coffee (espresso or prepared with amoka pot), milk or caffè latte accompanied by baked goods such as biscuits, for exampleshortbread, or by slices of bread spread with butter and jam or with honey orgianduja cream, made with chocolate and hazelnuts. Milk is sometimes replaced by fruit juice.[12][13] On some special occasions, such as Sundays or holidays, there may also be more baked goods, such as cakes, pies, pastries, or other regional specialties.
If breakfast is consumed at a café, espresso coffee predominates, together withcappuccino orlatte macchiato, accompanied by acornetto,bombolone, or other pastry;[14] however, the choice of breakfast desserts is varied, some of which are often present only in certain regions or cities. In recent decades, other types of coffee drinks have also spread, such asmocaccino andmarocchino.[15][16]
Much less frequent, but not completely unusual, is the savory breakfast (although much lighter and frugal than other European savory breakfasts), often consisting offocaccia (of different types and depending on the region) or even just toasted homemade bread topped with olive oil, tomato or sliced salami.[17]
However, many Italians only drink coffee for breakfast and no food.[18]
a second course (secondo), based on meat, fish, dairy products such as cheese or eggs;[24][25][26]
a side dish (contorno) of raw or cooked vegetables, which accompanies the second dish;
seasonal fresh fruit (frutta) as dessert.
Lunch is always served with bread.
Meals, particularly lunch, are generally concluded with a cup of espresso or coffee prepared with acaffè moka, sometimes followed by the so-calledammazzacaffè, consisting of a glass of local liqueur,bitter or sweet (of which there is wide choice).[27][28]
On special occasions, such as holidays and anniversaries, there are also two other courses:
an appetizer (antipasto); cold or hot, it is the least abundant course, and is generally composed ofcrostini,bruschetta, salami and/or sausages, cheeses and/or dairy products, cooked and/or raw vegetables or preparations based on seafood;[29][30]
Amerenda (from theLatinmerenda) is a snack in the mid-morning (around 10 a.m.) or mid-afternoon (around 5 p.m.). It is usually a light meal, consisting ofpanini ortramezzini, fruit alone or bread and jam, if not a dessert and, in summer, possiblygelato. It is common for children, and also eaten by adults.[35]
Unlike lunch, supper, when consumed among close family members, does not necessarily include a first course based on starchy foods (such as pasta or polenta) or cereals (such as rice), so sometimes supper consists of the equivalent of a second course (a meat or fish-based preparation), with or without a side dish, or a single dish, such as a soup, and including bread.[15][40][41]
An Italian-style antipastoMaccheroni all'amatriciana. Pasta is the archetypalprimo.A Lombardbrasato di maiale is considered a second course.A cup ofespresso typically consumed after a meal
A structure of an Italian meal in its full form, usually used during festivities:[4][42]
Aperitivo
theaperitivo opens a meal, and it is similar to an appetizer. Most people gather around standing up and have alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks such as wine,prosecco,spritz,vermouth, andgingerino. Occasionally small amounts of food are consumed, such as olives, crisps, nuts, cheese, sauce dips, little quiches or similar snacks.
Antipasto
theantipasto is a slightly heavier starter. It is usually cold and lighter than the first course. Examples of foods eaten aresalumi (such assalami,mortadella,prosciutto,bresaola, and othercharcuterie products), cheeses, sandwich-like foods (panino andtramezzino), marinated vegetables or fish, cold salmon or prawn cocktails; more elaborate dishes are occasionally prepared.
Primo
aprimo is the first course. It consists of hot food and is usually heavier than the antipasto, but lighter than the second course. Non-meat dishes are the staple of anyprimo piatto: examples are risotto, pasta, seafood or vegetarian sauces, soup and broth,gnocchi, polenta,crespelle,casseroles or lasagne.
Secondo
this course may include different meats and types of fish, including turkey, sausage, pork, steak, stew, beef,zampone,salt cod,stockfish, salmon, lobster, lamb or chicken. Theprimo or thesecondo piatto may be considered more important depending on the locality and the situation.
A contorno is a side dish and is commonly served alongside asecondo piatto. These usually consist of vegetables, raw or cooked, hot or cold. They are usually served on a separate dish, not on the same plate as the meat as in Northern European style of presentation.
Insalata
if the contorno contained many leafy vegetables, the salad might be omitted. Otherwise, a fresh garden salad could be served at this point.
Formaggi e frutta
an entire course is dedicated to local cheeses and fresh seasonal fruit. The cheeses will be whatever is typical of the region (seeList of Italian cheeses).
Dolce
next follows the dolce, or dessert. Frequent dishes includetiramisu,panna cotta, cake or pie,panettone orpandoro (the last two are mainly served at Christmas time) and thecolomba pasquale (an Easter cake). A gelato or asorbetto can be eaten too. Although there are nationwide desserts, popular across Italy, many regions and cities have local specialties. InNaples, for instance,zeppole andrum baba are popular; inSicily,cassata andcannoli are commonly consumed;mostarda, on the other hand, is more of anorthern dish.
Caffè
coffee is often drunk at the end of a meal, even after thedigestivo. Italians do not have milky coffees or drinks after meals (such ascappuccino orcaffè macchiato), but strong coffee such asespresso, which is often drunk very quickly in small cups while still hot. The termespresso, substitutings for mostx letters inLatin-root words, with the term deriving from the past participle of the Italian verbesprimere, itself derived from the Latinexprimere, meaning 'to express', and refers to the process by which hot water is forced under pressure through ground coffee.[43][44] Short drinks,grappa in particular, may go with thecaffè, either in a separate glass or mixed in (caffè corretto).
Digestivo
thedigestivo, also calledammazzacaffè if served after the coffee, is the drink to conclude the meal. Drinks such as grappa,amaro,limoncello or other fruit/herbal drinks are drunk.Digestivo indicates that the drinks served at this time are meant to ease digestion of a long meal. Even if thecaffè went with grappa, a sweeter digestivo may follow.
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