Transcript my group project

Southern European Cuisine
JULIA PICCININI
PARISA CRANE
ERIKO TAKAMINE
Southern
Europe
 Follow Mediterranean Diet
 Health Promoting with emphasis on grains, legumes, vegetables,
and fruit
 Tomato is of particular importance to character of southern
cooking
 Similar foods due to shared climate and influences but
different ways of preparing depending on country and
region
 Contemporary Food Habits

Consume more milk and meat and less fish, produce and legumes
Agriculture and Core Foods
 How the geography and history interacted to
produce the current and traditional food ways.
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Lies along the Mediterranean Sea with a warm Mediterranean
climate
North: Agriculturally richer: fresh pastas more common
(stuffed with meat, cheese and vegetables)
South: Agriculturally poorer, pasta is usually dried and served
with unfilled tomato-based sauce
Agriculture and Core Foods
 Name and prevalence of the major religions
associated with Italy
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Roman Catholic Church-Catholicism
National parishes helped immigrants adjust to America
Agriculture and Core Foods
 Location of Italy
 Lies along the Mediterranean Sea
 Shaped like a boot
 Separated from the rest of Europe by the Alps (forms northern
boarder)
Agriculture and Core Foods
 Emigration from Italy
 More than 5 million Italians have settled in the US
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Majority came from the poorer southern Italian provinces and
from Sicily between 1880 and 1920.
Earlier immigrants settled in the large industrial cities on the
East Coast
Due to discrimination, many communities within urban
centers were formed, often called “Little Italies”.
Many cities still have “little Italies” such as: North end of
Boston and North Beach in San Francisco
In the US now, there are approx. 17 million Americans of
Italian descent and 500,000 immigrants who were born in
Italy
Agriculture and Core Foods
 Food: Breakfast
 Light: Coffee with milk (caffe latte), tea or hot chocolate, bread
and jam
Agriculture and Core Foods
 Food: Lunch (Main Meal)
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Appetizer course:
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Wet course (Minestra) or Dry Course (Asciutta)
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Soup or dry course (asciutta) of pasta, risotto, or gnocchi
Main course
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Antipasti (ham, sausages, pickled vegetables, and olives, or crostini
(crispy slices of bread with various toppings like tomatoes and cheese)
Fish, meat, poultry, roasted, grilled, pan-fried or stewed. Usually
served with starchy or green vegetable, followed with salad. Bread is
also served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.
Dessert
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Fruit and cheese; pastries or biscotti, ice-cream on special occasions
Agriculture and Core Foods
 Food: Dinner
 Lighter version of lunch
Wine usually accompanies dinner and lunch
 Coffee and espresso after dinner, at home or in coffee house
 Marsala may be served with cheese before the meal for a light
appitizer course or after dinner
 Wine custard (zaboaglinoe) (dessert)
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Agriculture and Core Foods
 Specific core foods needed to make a meal fit the
definition of a meal:
 Pasta
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Served:
With sauce (asciutta)
 In soup (en brodo)
 Baked (al forno)
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Shapes:
Spaghetti (string)
 Capelli d’angelo (angel hair)
 Linguini (flat stips)
 Fettucini (ribbion)
 Tagliatelle (medium width flat noodle)
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Agriculture and Core Foods
 Way of eating today in America?
 Milk products
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Meat/poultry
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2nd and 3rd generation southern Europeans drink more milk into
their adulthood than ancestors
More meat and less fish are eaten then in Europe
Fruits and Vegetables
 1st
and 2nd generation southern Europeans generally eat only fresh
fruits and vegetables.
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Fats and oils
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Use of olive oil has decreased
Religious or Social Meaning of Food and Food
Customs in the Culture
 Roman Catholic is the
largest religious group
in Italy
 There are many
holidays associated
with the religion
Religious Holidays
 Capodanno (New Year’s
Day)
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It starts on December 31 and a
national holiday
It was originally religious
People eat lentils with family
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Symbolize money and good
fortune for the coming year
In some parts of Italy, people
eat a cotechino (a large spiced
sausage) or a zampone
(stuffed pig's trotter).
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symbolizes the richness of life
in the coming year
Religious Holidays
 Ognissanti (All Saints’ Day)
 It is on November 1st and a national holiday
 People bring flowers to grave of their relatives and respect
their ancestors
 People eat lunch together in some town
 Two major desserts are enjoyed
Pane dei Santi are like flat bread with walnuts, figs and raisins
 Castagnaccio is a cake
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Religious Event
 Carnival
 It is taken place in Venice, Italy
 It starts 40 days before Easter
and lasts two weeks
 The first carnival recorded is in
1268
 People wear costumes and
masks
 Costume contests are held
 Frittelle and galani are the
famous food
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NJWvBDj2bcg&feature=relat
ed
Importance of Food in the Culture
 Italy is the country that may
have the world’s oldest known
cookbook
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Apicius (cookbook) was written
around the 4th century
 During the Middle Ages, Italian
food was often mentioned by
writers
 Italian culture sees family
connections important, so meals
are necessary
Social Customs and Manners
 People wait until everyone is
ready to eat
 Host should cook food more
than needed
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Many different kinds of dishes are
prepared
 Traditionally, one meal lasts
three hours
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People should eat a small amount
of food from different dishes
 Guests should bring a
homemade dish even though
a lot of dishes are already
prepared
Eating Behaviors/Etiquette
 Engage in “passeggiata” a leisure stroll before and
after dinner
 Do not eat in front of tv, computer, or while
reading a book
 Keep your wine glass almost full if you don’t want
a refill
Table Manners
 Keep both hands above table
 Don’t rest elbows on table
 Burping is extremely vulgar
 Utensils used for all foods including fruit
 Knife held in right hand, fork in left
 Place utensils diagonally across your plate to indicate you
are finished with your food
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFXL_wKJsoE
Implications of the Cultural Background to the
Health Care Provider
 Health disparities:
 Experience less heart disease, stomach and lung cancers,
strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity then other
western nations.
 More of a relaxed stress free lifestyle and are physically active
 Since 1950, more of the cuisine has changed towards
westernized diet causing a higher risk of cancer
 Now, instead of traditionally, they are enjoying fast food,
which is causing obesity rates and other diseases such as
diabetes to rise.
Implications of the Cultural Background to the
Health Care Provider
 Barriers to cross cultural communication:
 Not many, Italian dishes and traditions seem to be welcome.
 Pasta and wines are enjoyed by many Americans
Implications of the Cultural Background to the
Health Care Provider
 Traditional therapies:
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Heavy vs. Light
-Heavy food (fried items/red meats) is difficult to digest
-Light food (gelatin, custards, soups) is easy to digest and good
for those who are ill
Wet vs. Dry (with or without ample broth or fluid)
Wet (leafy greens-escarole, spinach, cabbage, soup) food is also good
for those who are ill
 Served once a week to “cleanse out the system”
 Illness is associated with dryness of the body
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Acid vs. Nonacid
Citrus fruits, raw tomatoes, and peaches are thought to be acidic
foods.
 Acidic food may cause skin ailments
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Traditional Health Beliefs and Practices
• Similar to American culture but also associate with folk medicine
Prefer to seek advice from family and friends before consulting a health
professional
Well being is defined as ability to pursue normal, daily activity
Illness is due to contamination through unclean sick person or hereditary
(blood)
Unsatisfied cravings are seen to cause deformities
• If woman doesn’t eat food that she smells, she may suffer miscarriage
Fresh air is believed necessary to health
• “heavy” air in US considered unhealthy compared to Italian “light” air
Minor illnesses are believed to be contribute by evil eye (Malocchio)
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Malocchio (Evil Eye)
 Caused by bad thoughts of other people
 Influences lives of person being thought about
especially in weak condition
 Ways to ward it off:
 Garlic due to its pungent smell
 Carrying a piece of amethyst ( a purple variety
quartz)
 Red peppers made into a garland
 Small red pepper looking thing with a little man in a
tuxedo and top hat with humpback
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Rubbing the humpback brings good luck
Malocchio cont.
 Believe certain people have “healing powers”
 Malocchio taken away by these healers since
its assumed cause of their misery by:
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Using dish of water and dropping oil from finger
If oil makes many spots, you have a bad problem with evil
eye
 Try again until only one spot occurs which shows the evil
eye has been taken away
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Foods with
Medicinal Value
 Basil- lowers blood sugar levels, reduces fever and
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irritation from insects
Fennel- stimulates appetite, aids in digestion,
increases breast milk production, eye wash for
conjunctivitis
Liver, red wine, leafy veggies- good for blood
Raw egg or dandelion greens- strength and vitality
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil- health promoting
(served with bread at meals)
Believe wine mixed with milk in stomach causes too
much acid so it is avoided at meals and consumed as a
snack
Italian Phrases
 “Ciao!” – “Hello!”
 “Come va?” – “How’s it going?”
 “Ho molto fame!” – “I’m hungry!”