Region of Campania food

The pizza in its modern aspect and taste was born in Naples

Historical and original pizza from Naples are pizza fritta (fried pizza), with or without being stuffed with ricotta cheese; if stuffed it is called Calzone (like single part of trousers); then it cames pizza Marinara (pizza seamans'style), with just olive oil, tomato sauce and garlic; and the queen of all pizze it is the pizza Margherita with olive oil, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and some basil little leaves.

Spaghetti are a best known dish from southern Italy and Campania. neapolitans were among the first to use tomatoes not only as ornamental plant, but also as food and garnishment.

Campania it is also home to Lacryma Christi, Fiano, Aglianico, Greco di Tufo, Pere 'e palomma, Ischitano, Taburno, Solopaca, Taurasi wines.

Campania is regarded throughout Italy as the producer of the best Mozzarella di Bufala (Mozzarella made from buffalo milk), fiordilatte (flower of milk) made by cow milk, ricotta from sheep or buffalo, provolone from cow milk, and caciotta made from goat milk. Buffalo cattles are in Salerno and Caserta.

Mozzarella it is very famous for being soft and chewing cheese and it made strings and melts itself gently if exposed to heat. It just smells and tastes of milk, so it is very apprecciated over any cheese worldwide for being not stinky at all. It is so a good cheese that there are rising mozzarella producers all over the world, in USA, in Australia, and even in China where cheese it is not very apprecciated due to genetical reasons (2 chinese out of 3 when becaming adults loose their capability to digest milk).

Very famous are the cakes and pies from Campania. The pastiera pie it is made in the easter period. Also casatiello and tortano are easter bread-cakes made adding pork grease and/or oil to the dough of the bread and are garnished with chops of salame and various chops of cheese mixed and cooked with the bread.

The babà cake it is a very known neapolitan gourmandise, best served with Rhum or limoncello liquor. It is an old austrian cake which arrived in Campania during austrian domination of Kingdom of Naples and here was modified to became a walky cake for citizens alwayas in hurry for work and other occupations.

The sfogliatella is another pasty cake from Sorrento peninsulawhich conquered first Naples and neapolitans, then whole Campania. last century become famous in entire Italy, and now begins to be known worldwide as like as the zeppola cake.

Talking of liquors, limoncello it is a worldwide apprecciated liquor born in Campania, in the Sorrento peninsula.

During Christmas period it is very apprecciated the Struffoli which are little balls made of cake dough fried and covered with honey.

Zeppole of Saint Joseph day are another cake which is conquesting all the world.

Deriving from some similar dishes from France, other famous campanian very apprecciated dishes are also the so called russian salad made of potatoes in mayonnayse garnished with shrimps and vegetables in vineager. Strange to know the russians call this dish Olivier Salad and the germans called it italian salad. Also from France domination comes the "gattò" or "gateau di patate" (pie made of boiled potatoes cooked in oven).

Very famous are the fish based dishes such as "insalata di mare" (sea salad), "zuppa di polpo" (boiled soup of octopus), "zuppa di cozze" (soup of mussels). There are also the "frittelle di mare" (fritters with seaweed) made with edible poseidonia algae. A vaste quantity of dishes made of fishes are very famous such as "triglie al cartoccio" (red mullet in the bag), and "alici marinate" (raw anchovyies in olive oil). Isle of ischia it is famous for the fish dishes but also for the cooked rabbits.

Talking of vegetables, from Campania are the beautiful and very tasty lemons of Sorrento, that were loved by german writer Goethe:

"Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn?" ("Do you know the land where the lemon-trees bloom?), Goethe, Mignon.

Also from campania are the friarielli or friggiarelli vegetables. Friarielli are broccoli that tastes bitter. This fact gives this vegetable a decise and intense taste, and made it good to be fried and best served with sausages.

Famous worldwide are the nuts of Campania from Salerno and Benevento.

Campanian cuisine distinghish itself into various typical zones, neapolitan rich of fish food; salernitan which mix up mountain and sea; benevantan and avellinese from inner and mountain land; casertan and aversana rich of fresh vegetables and mozarella cheese; Cilento cuisine typical of the foremost south of Campania; Sorrento cuisine which melts together the cuisine from Naples and from Salerno, and the mountain ones, because Sorrento peninsula it is a mountain which elevates upto from the sea.