1.
Italian cuisine
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Italian cuisine is the culinary typical or originating from Italy. It has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots stretching to antiquity, Italian cuisine is characterized by its simplicity, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients. Italian cooks rely chiefly on the quality of the rather than on elaborate preparation. Ingredients and dishes vary by region, many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Cheese and wine are a part of the cuisine, with many variations. Coffee, specifically espresso, has become important in Italian cuisine, Italian cuisine has developed over the centuries. Although the country known as Italy did not unite until the 19th century, Italian food started to form after the fall of the Roman Empire, when different cities began to separate and form their own traditions. Many different types of bread and pasta were made, and there was a variation in cooking techniques and preparation. For example, the north of Italy is known for its risottos, the central/middle of the country is known for its tortellini, the first known Italian food writer was a Greek Sicilian named Archestratus from Syracuse in the 4th century BCE. He wrote a poem that spoke of using top quality and seasonal ingredients and he said that flavors should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings. He placed importance on simple preparation of fish, simplicity was abandoned and replaced by a culture of gastronomy as the Roman Empire developed. By the time De re coquinaria was published in the 1st century CE, it contained 470 recipes calling for heavy use of spices, the Romans employed Greek bakers to produce breads and imported cheeses from Sicily as the Sicilians had a reputation as the best cheesemakers. The Romans reared goats for butchering, and grew artichokes and leeks, with culinary traditions from Rome and Athens, a cuisine developed in Sicily that some consider the first real Italian cuisine. Arabs invaded Sicily in the 9th century, introducing spinach, almonds, Normans also introduced casseroles, salt cod and stockfish, which remain popular. Food preservation was either chemical or physical, as refrigeration did not exist, meats and fish would be smoked, dried or kept on ice. Brine and salt were used to pickle items such as herring, root vegetables were preserved in brine after they had been parboiled. Other means of preservation included oil, vinegar or immersing meat in congealed, rendered fat, for preserving fruits, liquor, honey and sugar were used. The northern Italian regions show a mix of Germanic and Roman culture while the south reflects Arab influence, the oldest Italian book on cuisine is the 13th century Liber de coquina written in Naples
2.
Ancient Roman cuisine
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Ancient Roman cuisine changed over the long duration of the ancient Roman civilization. In the beginning, dietary differences between Roman social classes were not very great, but disparities developed with the empires growth, traditionally, a breakfast called ientaculum was served at dawn. In the late morning, Romans ate a lunch, and in the evening they ate cena. With the increased importation of foreign foods, the cena grew larger in size and it gradually shifted to the afternoon, while the vesperna, a light supper eaten in the evening was abandoned completely. Prandium, a second breakfast, was introduced around noon, among the lower classes of society, these changes were less pronounced as the traditional routines corresponded closely to the daily rhythms of manual labor. Among the upper classes, who did not engage in manual labor, after the prandium, the last responsibilities would be discharged, and a visit would be made to the baths. Around 2 p. m. the cena would begin and this meal could last until late in the night, especially if guests were invited, and would often be followed by comissatio, a round of alcoholic beverages. In the period of the kings and the early Republic, but also in later periods, the cena essentially consisted of a kind of porridge, the simplest kind would be made from emmer, water, salt and fat. The more sophisticated kind was made with oil, with an accompaniment of assorted vegetables when available. The richer classes ate their puls with eggs, cheese, and honey, over the course of the Republican period, the cena developed into 2 courses, a main course and a dessert with fruit and seafood. By the end of the Republic, it was usual for the meal to be served in 3 parts, one course, main course, and dessert. Originally flat, round loaves made of emmer with a bit of salt were eaten, among the classes, eggs, cheese. In the Imperial period, around the beginning of the Christian era, bread made of wheat was introduced, with time, the bread was sometimes dipped in wine and eaten with olives, cheese, and grapes. At the time of the destruction of Pompeii in AD79, the ancient Roman diet included many items that are staples of modern Italian cooking. Pliny the Elder discussed more than 30 varieties of olive,40 kinds of pear, figs, some of these vegetables are no longer present in the modern world, while others have undergone significant changes. Carrots of different colors were consumed, but not in orange, however, some foods considered characteristic of modern Italian cuisine were not used. There were also few citrus fruits, butchers meat was an uncommon luxury. The most popular meat was pork, including sausages, beef was uncommon in ancient Rome, being more common in ancient Greece - it is not mentioned by Juvenal or Horace
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Regional cuisines of medieval Europe
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The regional cuisines of medieval Europe were the results of differences in climate, seasonal food variations, political administration and religious customs that varied across the continent. Though sweeping generalizations should be avoided, more or less distinct areas where certain foodstuffs dominated can be discerned. In the British Isles, northern France, the Low Countries, the northern German-speaking areas, Scandinavia, in the south, wine was the common drink for both rich and poor alike while beer was the commoners drink in the north and wine an expensive import. Citrus fruits and pomegranates were common around in the Mediterranean, dried figs and dates occurred quite frequently in the north, but were used rather sparingly in cooking. At no time during the Middle Ages was there a completely unified state that all or even a majority of all German-speaking peoples. The map was dotted with minor kingdoms, free cities and, in the High and Late Middle Ages, the controlled by the Hanseatic League. Most of these were under the loosely defined suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, the extensive use of lard and butter for cooking and a diet that was perceived as especially fatty gained Germans a reputation as being the fat Germans. The fasting regulations of the Catholic Church posed particular problems to the German population, olives could not be cultivated and olive oil was an expensive import. Oils made from various nut were available, but in short supply. By far, the most common sources of fat were butter and, above all, mustard was used in other parts of Europe long before the Middle Ages, but seemed to be especially common in Germany. A 14th-century travel account by Eustache Deschamps, a French poet and it was rare that recipes for use in dire situations were included in recipe collections, but one example from a cookbook in Low German has been preserved. The most common grains in Poland were millet and wheat, barley and oats were cultivated, but used mostly as animal feed or for brewing beer. Cabbage, kale, peas, broad beans, and onions were the most common vegetables. Dill and mustard were almost ubiquitous potherbs and parsley was used as a green in stews, as a flavor additive. Beef, pork and poultry were the most common meats, with the appearance of mutton. Game, as elsewhere, was prized, but in short supply and usually limited to the high nobility. Fish was a staple, but unlike Germans, Poles tended only to eat it on fast days when meat was forbidden by the church. Beer was drunk by all classes, and came in many different varieties and made from millet, wheat, barley
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Early modern European cuisine
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The cuisine of early modern Europe was a mix of dishes inherited from medieval cuisine combined with innovations that would persist in the modern era. Fare was naturally dependent on the season, a cookbook by Domenico Romoli called Panunto made a virtue of necessity by including a recipe for each day of the year. There was a great increase in prosperity in Europe during this period, which gradually reached all classes and all areas. Everywhere both doctors and chefs continued to characterize foodstuffs by their effects on the four humours, they were considered to be heating or cooling to the constitution, moistening or drying. Nationalism was first conceived in the modern period, but it was not until the 19th century that the notion of a national cuisine emerged. Class differences were far more important dividing lines, and it was almost always upper-class food that was described in recipe collections and cookbooks. In most parts of Europe two meals per day were eaten, one in the morning to noon and one in the late afternoon or later at night. The exact times varied both by period and region, in Spain and in parts of Italy such as Genoa and Venice the early meal was the lighter one while supper was heavier. In the rest of Europe, the first meal of the day was the more substantial, throughout the period, there was a gradual shift of mealtimes. The first meal, then called dinner in English, moved from before noon to around 2,00 or 3,00 in the afternoon by the 17th century. By the end of the 18th century, it could be held as late as 5,00 or 6,00 and this necessitated a midday meal, luncheon, later shortened to lunch, which was established by the late 18th century. Breakfast does not receive attention in any sources. Breakfast, when it began to be fashionable, was usually just a coffee, tea or chocolate, there is no doubt that working people since medieval times ate some sort of morning meal, but it is unclear exactly at what time and what it consisted of. The three-meal-regimen so common today did not become a standard until well into the modern era, as in the Middle Ages, breakfast in the sense of an early morning meal, is largely absent from the sources. Its unclear if this meant it was universally avoided or that it simply was not fashionable enough to be mentioned, as most sources were written by, for, and about the upper class. For most of Europe, the varieties of grain were the most important crop. The differentiation was in the varieties, its quality and how it was prepared, the lower classes ate bread that was coarse and of considerably higher bran content while the upper classes enjoyed the finely ground, white wheat flour that most modern Europeans are used to. Wheat was considerably more expensive than other grains, and rarely eaten by many, most bread was made with a mixture of wheat and other grains
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Sicilian cuisine
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Sicilian cuisine shows traces of all the cultures which established themselves on the island of Sicily over the last two millennia. Although its cuisine has a lot in common with Italian cuisine, Sicilian food also has Greek, Spanish, French, normans and Hohenstaufen influences are also found, such as in the fondness for meat dishes. Later, the Spanish introduced numerous items from the New World, including cocoa, maize, peppers, turkey, in Catania, on the east coast, initially settled by Greek colonists, fish, olives, broad beans, pistachio and fresh vegetables are preferred instead. Much of the islands cuisine encourages the use of vegetables such as eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes, and fish such as tuna, sea bream, sea bass, cuttlefish. In Trapani in the western corner of the island, North African influences are clear in the use of couscous. The starters are an important aspect of Sicilian cuisine, common Sicilian starters include caponata and gatò di patate. Maccu is a Sicilian soup and foodstuff prepared with fava beans as a primary ingredient and it is a peasant food and staple food that dates back to ancient history. Maccu di San Giuseppe is a traditional Sicilian dish that consists of various ingredients, the dish may be prepared on Saint Josephs Day in Sicily, to clear out pantries and allow room for the springs new crops of vegetables. Spaghetti ai ricci Pasta con le sarde and Pasta alla Norma are the most popular pasta dishes typically Sicilian, after the pasta in the typical Sicilian menu is served a second dishes or main dish that could be indifferently meat or fish based. Main dishes based on products are couscous al pesce and Pesce spada alla ghiotta. Candy in Sicily was heavily influenced by the Arab candymakers in the 9th century, marzipan fruits may have been invented at the Convent of Eloise at Martorana in the 14th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Sicilian monasteries produced candies and pastries, the only surviving convent to follow this tradition is the Monastery of the Virgins of Palermo, which makes breast-shaped cakes in honor of St Agatha of Sicily. Traditional sugar statues, called pupa di cena, are still made, granita is particularly famous and well known. Related to sorbet and italian ice, in most of Sicily it has a coarser, many were first introduced by the Arabs from the 9th to 11th centuries, but some have been brought more recently to the region as well such as the Washington navel from Brazil. Today, all provinces of the produced wine and wine by the introduction of modern methods of Sicily established itself on the European wine market. Sicilian red wines have a content of 12.5 to 13. 5% and are usually drunk in the evening with roast or grilled meat. Well-known red wines include the Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the Nero dAvola mainly those produced around Noto, the dry and white wines and rosés usually have an alcoholic content from 11.5 to 12. 5% and are mainly taken with fish, poultry and pasta dishes. In addition, various dessert wines are produced, such as the famous Marsala, more typical Sicilian drinks are the limoncello, a lemon liqueur, and the Amaro Siciliano, a herbal drink, which is often consumed after meals as a digestive
6.
Cuisine of Veneto
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Cuisine in Veneto may be divided into three main categories, based on geography, the coastal areas, the plains, and the mountains. Each one can have many local cuisines, each city with its own dishes, the most common dish is polenta, which is cooked in various ways within the local cuisines of Veneto. Polenta once was the staple food of the poorer classes. In Veneto, the corns are ground in very more little fragments than the rest of Italy, so, typical of many coastal areas, communities along the coast of the Laguna Veneta serve mainly seafood dishes. In the plains it is popular to serve grilled meat together with grilled polenta. Other popular dishes include risotto, rice cooked with different kinds of food, from vegetables, mushrooms, pumpkin or radicchio to seafood. Cuisine from the areas is mainly made of pork or game meat, with polenta, as well as mushrooms or cheeses. A typical dish is casunziei, hand-made fresh pasta similar to ravioli, among the typical seasoning of Venetian cuisine, you can find butter, olive oil, sunflower oil, vinegar, kren, senape, mostarda, salsa verde. The following are typical of the three subregions of the Veneto. The page for Venetian language provides additional information on writing and pronouncing the dishes names, Bigołi in salsa, bigoli pasta served with an anchovy and onion sauce. Fegato ała venesiana, a high-class Venetian plate of liver, chopped and cooked together with chopped onions, mołeche, small green species crabs, when they arrived at the peak of phase changes and then soft, they are fried. The mołeche are very valuable because the process of changing the water brackish lagoons lasts a few hours, pasta e faxioi, bean soup with noodles. Połenta e schie, small shrimp from the lagoon, fried and perched on a bed of very soft, Rixi e bixi, a poor but tasty dish consisting of a simple risotto with pancetta and peas cooked in a broth. Rixoto de gò, rice prepared with goby, also known as gò, sarde in saor, fried sardines, dipped in partially fried onion in the same oil in which the sardines are fried, raisins and pine nuts, other spices and sprinkled with plenty of vinegar. One leaves everything to marinate at least one night, sepe al nero, cuttlefish cooked with their ink lagoon. Among the many Venetian desserts, the most well-known are, Baicołi, pinza, an Epiphany cake based on cornmeal and mixed dried fruits and nuts. Brasato allAmarone, braised beef meat cooked with Amarone wine, often served together with polenta and it is tradition to eat homemade potato gnocchi on Venerdì Gnocolar, the last Friday of Carnival. Some recipes also add olive oil, grated Parmigiano Reggiano or butter, the sauces name comes from pear, dialect for pepper, hence pearà, peppered
7.
Cuisine of Abruzzo
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The isolation that has characterized the region for decades has ensured that it maintained a culinary art alive and independent. Abruzzo boasts a cuisine distinct within Italy, well known for its variety, the mountainous, agricultural, and coastal aspects of Abruzzo have contributed to its cuisine. Due to the mountains themselves, much of Abruzzese cuisine grew separated from the influence of international commerce and civilization until the 20th century, fostering a unique culinary tradition. In 2013, the Italian organization Confesercenti led a research which indicated Abruzzo as the best region where to eat in Italy according to foreign tourists ratings. Lamb and sheep are also an important source of Abruzzese cheese, such as sheeps milk ricotta, mountain goat meat is also common in Abruzzo. In addition to mushrooms, Abruzzese cuisine commonly employs rustic or peasant vegetation such as lentils, grasspeas and other legumes, artichoke, eggplant, famous Abruzzese dishes include arrosticini, maccheroni alla chitarra, and scrippelle. Mussels with saffron, classic steamed mussels prepared with parsley, onion, bay leaf, white wine, olive oil and seasoned with saffron sauce. Stockfish or salt cod, cod cooked in a pan with potatoes, tomatoes, oil, garlic, parsley, onion, red pepper, salt, sauce allaquilana, mix of beef marrow with saffron in Abruzzo, eggs, cream, butter. One of the most prominent dishes of the region is maccheroni alla chitarra and this dish is created by pressing or cutting pasta through an instrument called a chitarra, creating long thin noodles similar to spaghetti. The pasta is served with a sauce, often flavored with peppers, pork, goose. This dish is served with regional side dishes, such as the bean. This soup is flavored with tomatoes, garlic, oil. Some of these include, Arrosticini, a skewered sheep dish. Le Virtù, a soup from Teramo made with legumes, vegetables and pork meat. Timballo abruzzese, large baked lasagna-like dish, containing pasta sheets or scrippelle sheets filled with meat, vegetables and/or rice, often served for Christmas, porchetta abruzzese, a moist boneless pork roast, slow roasted with rosemary, garlic, and pepper. Seafood also plays a role in the cuisine of Abruzzo, especially in areas located closer to the coast. The variety of available to the area has resulted in several fish-based Brodetti, coming from such places as Vasto, Giulianova. These broths are often created by cooking the fish in a pot, and flavored with tomatoes, herbs
8.
Italian wine
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Italy is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, and Italian wines are known worldwide for their broad variety. Italy, closely followed by France, is the world’s largest wine producer by volume and its contribution is about 45–50 million hl per year, and represents about ⅓ of global production. Italian wine is exported around the world and is extremely popular in Italy. Grapes are grown in almost every region of the country and there are more than one million vineyards under cultivation, although vines had been cultivated from the wild Vitis vinifera grape for millennia, it wasnt until the Greek colonization that wine-making flourished. Viticulture was introduced into Sicily and southern Italy by the Mycenaean Greeks and it was during the Roman defeat of the Carthaginians in the 2nd century BC that Italian wine production began to further flourish. During this time, viticulture outside of Italy was prohibited under Roman law and it was customary to mix wine with a good proportion of water which may otherwise have been unpalatable, making wine drinking a fundamental part of early Italian life. As the laws on provincial viticulture were relaxed, vast vineyards began to flourish in the rest of Europe, especially Gaul and this coincided with the cultivation of new vines, like biturica. These vineyards became hugely successful, to the point that Italy ultimately became a centre for provincial wines. Depending on the vintage, modern Italy is the worlds largest or second largest wine producer, in 2005, production was about 20% of the global total, second only to France, which produced 26%. In the same year, Italys share in dollar value of table wine imports into the U. S. was 32%, Australias was 24%, along with Australia, Italys market share has rapidly increased in recent years. In 1963, the first official Italian system of classification of wines was launched, Vini Varietali, These are generic wines that are made either mostly from one kind of authorized international grapes or entirely from two or more of them. The grape and the vintage can be indicated on the label, Vini DOP, This category includes two sub-categories, i. e. Vini DOC and Vini DOCG. DOC wines must have been IGP wines for at least 5 years and they also must follow stricter production regulations than IGP wines. A DOC wine can be promoted to DOCG if it has been a DOC for at least 10 years, in addition to fulfilling the requisites for DOC wines, before commercialization DOCG wines must pass stricter analyses, including a tasting by a specifically appointed committee. DOCG wines have also demonstrated a superior commercial success, currently there exist 332 DOCs and 73 DOCGs for a total of 405 DOPs. A number of sub-categories also exist regulating the production of sparkling wines, within the DOP category, Classico is a wine produced in the historically oldest part of the protected territory. Superiore is a wine with at least 0.5 more alc%/vol than its correspondent regular DOP wine and produced using a smaller allowed quantity of grapes per hectare, Riserva is a wine that has been aged for a minimum period of time, depending on the typology. Sometimes, Classico or Superiore are themselves part of the name of the DOP, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture regularly publishes updates to the official classification
9.
Italian-American cuisine
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Italian-American cuisine is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States of America. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, as immigrants from the different regions of Italy settled throughout the various regions of the United States, many brought with them a distinct regional Italian culinary tradition. Many of these foods and recipes developed into new favorites for the townspeople, Italian-Americans often identify foods with their regional heritage. Southern Italian staples include dry pasta, tomato sauce, and olive oil, whereas Northern Italian staples include foods such as risotto, white sauce, American cuisine has readily received innovations from Italy, such as espresso and specialty coffee drinks, tiramisu, and Nutella. On the other hand, e. g. Pasta alla Carbonara, Many Italians then were happy to use powdered eggs and bacon supplied the United States and their armed forces for pasta dishes. Italian-American food and Mediterranean cuisine has been influential in the American diet. It is one of the top three cuisines in the United States, according to the National Restaurant Association. Donna Gabaccia in Italian Americana Winter and Summer 1998 volumes, no.1 &2 states that Food and cooking are powerful expressions of our ties to the past, Italian, Mexican and Chinese cuisines have joined the mainstream. These three cuisines have become so ingrained in the American culture that they are no longer foreign to the American palate. According to the National Restaurant Association study, more than nine out of 10 consumers are familiar with and have tried these foods, and about half report eating them frequently. Rated high on the list of popular, or trending, items in the include, Mediterranean flatbread, ciabatta bread, espresso. Pizza and spaghetti are also common dishes in the United States, however, there is a strong association between Italian-American cuisine with the history of winemaking in the United States. Many Italian wines were first introduced to the United States in the late 1700s, Italian vintners were first brought to the state of Florida in 1766 by Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a British Consul at Smyrna. Philip Mazzei, an Italian physician, and close friend of U. S. President Thomas Jefferson, also helped to cultivate vineyards, olives, and other Mediterranean fruit with the help of Italians. In later years, American viticulture was more influenced by the Italian diaspora of the transatlantic migrations, in California, Italian-Americans were inspired by expanse of rolling hills and fertile fields. Prior to Prohibition starting in 1919, many wineries had made their start, Seghesio, Simi, Sebastiani Vineyards and Foppiano began in the late 19th century, others included Giuseppe Magliavacca’s Napa winery, Secondo Guasti’s Italian Vineyard Company and Andrea Sbarbaro’s Italian-Swiss Colony. From 1919 until the Repeal of Prohibition in 1933, many Italian-Americans struggled to keep their vineyards going, Many remained through providing sacramental wine to the Catholic Church or grape juice to the general market. These few holdouts can be credited with salvaging America’s viticulture heritage, in an industry that values the longevity and tradition of the vine, today, Italian-American wineries prove a powerful asset on the world market
10.
Osteria
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An osteria in Italy was originally a place serving wine and simple food. Lately, the emphasis has shifted to the food, but menus tend to be short, with an emphasis on local specialities such as pasta, grilled meat or fish, ideal for a cheap lunch, osterie also cater for after work and evening refreshment. Some provide music and other entertainment, similar to osterie are bottiglierie, where customers can take a bottle or flask to be re-filled from a barrel, and enoteche which generally pride themselves on the range and quality of their wine. Thanks to the archives of Bologna, it has been possible to date back to a Osteria del Cappello certified from 1375. This osteria could have changed many times until 1700. In fact the locales were not property of the host, the actual location of the ostaria dates back to 1652, when host Domenico Simoncini decides to place the inn in Via de Fusari near Piazza Maggiore. In 1712 the Bolognese engraver Giuseppe Maria Mitelli included the osteria in the Giuoco nuovo di tutte le osterie che sono in Bologna, with the same logo as nowadays. The sign of the tavern in the game occupies the box #41, followed by the description of the tavern as a place where it is possible to eat good partridges finely larded, together with croutons. The Osteria Del Cappello is the inn of this old name to be still in activity in Bologna. In the Florios 1611 Italian-English dictionary Osteria=Hosteria=An Inn, an hosterie, the Oxford Companion to Italian Food
11.
Italian meal structure
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Italian meal structure is similar to most other European ones, consisting of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, called merenda, are often included in this meal structure. Italians also commonly divide a celebratory meal into several different courses, Italian breakfast consists of caffè latte or coffee with bread or rolls, butter and jam. A cookie-like rusk hard bread, called fette biscottate, and cookies are commonly eaten, children drink hot chocolate, plain milk, or hot milk with very little coffee. If breakfast is eaten in a bar, it is composed of cappuccino and cornetto or espresso, other products, such as breakfast cereals, fruit salad, muesli and yogurt, are becoming increasingly common as part of the meal. However, Italian breakfasts vary by region and by season, in some regions, such as Tuscany and Umbria, in the past, people used to drink red wine into which they would dip their biscuits. It is also common for Italians to have a quick breakfast snack during the middle of the morning. Lunch is usually regarded as the most important meal, most shops close for the pausa pranzo between 13,00 and 16,00. In most schools, children are given a break when they can go home for lunch, or eat at the school cafeteria. Many adults still make their own food and takeaways are still not very frequent, a typical Italian lunch consists of a first course il primo, a second-course il secondo served together with a side dish il contorno and fruit. Commuters and other workers tend to eat less often at home, many foreign fast-food chains operate in Italy, especially in big cities and along motorways. Italian fast-food chains are also prevalent, often featuring versions of dishes, including Autogrill. Many children and adults have a snack called merenda, generally consumed after school or in mid-afternoon. This may include a variety of foods. Dinner is usually a meal in Italy. For cena, people tend to have food, such as soup, broth, salad, cold meats. A structure of an Italian meal in its form, usually performed during festivities. Aperitivo The aperitivo 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, gingerino
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Cuisine of Corsica
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The cuisine of Corsica is the traditional cuisine of the French island of Corsica. It is mainly based on the products of the island, and due to historical and geographical reasons has much in common with the Italian cuisine, and marginally with those of Nice and of Provence. The geographic conformation of Corsica, with its eastern coast low, malaria-ridden and impossible to defend, the agricultural products exported during Antiquity reflect this situation, these were sheep, plus honey, wax and tar, produced by the widespread forests. Moreover, the island was famous for its wines, exported to Rome. In the 18th century the chestnut had almost completely replaced cereals, above all chestnut plantations radically changed the diet of the islanders, preserving them from the recurrent famines. An old Corsican proverb from upper Niolo asserts, Pane di legnu e vinu di petra, next to chestnuts, at the end of 700 the basis of Corsican diet was given from cereals, dried vegetables and charcuterie. The poor of the region instead worked in the vineyards in the spring till the harvest. A few during summer went to reap the corn in the plain of Aleria. He also writes that from November to June is only chestnut bread was consumed, the monotony of this diet was broken eating trouts and eels. Large-scale cultivation of the tree was introduced in Corsica during the Genoese domination. After that, they are ground to produce flour, which gets an unmistakable smoke flavour from this process. The unplucked chestnuts are eaten by the pigs scratching around in the forest and these are additionally fed with chestnut flour, so that their meat acquires a characteristic taste. Used to prepare polenta and cakes, this flour was the staple food for the Corsican. Today chestnut flour is a French AOC and a European AOP, at the end of 20th century 85% of the chestnuts plucked in Corsica were transformed in flour, a unique case among all the French departments. The 300 t of flour so obtained were consumed almost totally in Corsica, Corsican traditional cheeses are exclusively made with sheep or goat milk. In the mid 80s, in the island were raised 150,000 sheep and 20,000 goats, the most important among them is Brocciu, a whey cheese akin to ricotta, produced for the most part with sheep milk, sometimes with goat milk. It can be consumed fresh or aged, and is an ingredient of innumerable Corsican dishes. Brocciu is the only Corsican cheese to have deserved the AOC denomination so far, other notable cheeses are the niulincu, the balaninu, the bastilicacciu and sartinesu, the cuscionu of the Zicavo valley, also in the south
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