Glossary
The words on Italian labels
The acronyms on the packet, the terms you hear at the counter and the techniques that keep coming back. One entry per word, with the answer in the first line.
Animal rennet in Italian cheeseMost Italian PDO cheeses are legally required to use animal rennet from calves, lambs or kids, so Parmigiano…Bronze-die pasta, explainedBronze-die pasta is extruded through dies made of a copper-tin alloy rather than Teflon. The friction leaves…Coffee rules in Italy (and which ones are real)Two rules are real: an espresso costs less standing at the counter than sitting at a table, and milky coffee…How Italian cheese is agedAgeing, stagionatura, is the controlled loss of water and the slow enzymatic breakdown of proteins and fats.…How to read an Italian food labelAn Italian label carries more than most shoppers use: the country where the durum wheat was grown, the olive…How to read an Italian menuAn Italian menu is a list of courses, not a set meal: antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno, dolce. Side dishe…Italian food certifications explainedItalian labels carry four different kinds of mark: EU geographical indications (DOP and IGP), the EU's metho…Italian sounding: the fake-Italian food industryItalian sounding is the global trade in food that evokes Italy without coming from it: names, flags, invente…The structure of an Italian mealItalian eating runs on a fixed clock: breakfast standing at a bar, lunch from 12:30 to 14:30, kitchens close…What "al dente" actually meansAl dente means the pasta is cooked through except for a thin central core of starch that has not fully gelat…What DOP meansDOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) is the Italian form of the EU's PDO, Protected Designation of Origin…What IGP meansIGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) is the Italian form of the EU's PGI, Protected Geographical Indication…What is a Consorzio di TutelaA consorzio di tutela is the producers' body recognised by Italy's agriculture ministry to protect, promote …What pasta filata meansPasta filata (PAH-stah fee-LAH-tah, literally spun paste) is not a cheese but a technique: the curd is left …