Italian cheese by clada74

If you are looking for great cheeses Italy has hundreds on offer, so buy Italian cheese and take a gastronomic journey via its regional offerings. Cheeses made by add another distinction. Go online and explore the expanding number or venture into retail specialty stores to see how many cheeses are now available.

Cheeses carry a regional taste

Piedmont is known to have the most extensive selection of cheeses. The uncommon cheeses of the region include the Castelmagno which is a blue cheese; the Bra which has both mild and strong versions; the Tomme cheese made from a mixture of cow and sheep and goat milk; the intense Raschera; the Robiole des langhe which also has a dark truffle variety; and Tomini fresh or cooked. More available cheeses include one of the oldest Italian cheeses the Fontina and the Fontal the soft cheeses that melt well and the Seiras ricotta.

The northern region of Trentino Alto-Adige has cheeses demonstrating an Austrian influence. The slightly sharp and peppery Vezzena which has a hard granular texture, the mild and delicate Dobbiaco, the fragrant and delicate Grana Padano from Val di Non, the Puzzone di Moena with its intense aromatic perfume are amongst those hailing from this region. From the northeast Val Brembana in Lombardy near the Swiss border is the warm buttery tasting Mandriano di Zambla that is available in the United States and approximates to a cheese not available yet, the Formai de Mut produced in limited amounts that has a delicate aromatic herbal flavor reflecting the cows diet on the alpine pastures.

Mozzarella can be found in the southern region where sheep and buffalo milk cheeses prevail . Further south there is also goats and sheep milk cheese; but, also the rare Caciocavallo Podolico with milk from the native Podolico cows.

Wines paired with cheese means delicious options

Friuli has handmade by farmers local unpasteurized specialty cow milk the latteria cheeses made in copper lined vats twice a day daily, the Carnica smoked ricotta and the Montasio that tastes like an Asiago or Swiss cheese when sold young with age lending flavor.

He also advises trying more whites with strong cheeses and going from light to strong tastes. He notes the Parmigiano Reggiano and a vintage spumante match well. Thus, a Mandriano di Zambla and a white like a pino grigio or pino bianco will be savored. When you buy italian cheeses you might enjoy taking his advice and pair light delicate cheeses with matching wines for a start with bolder tasting cheeses and more robust wines to follow.

Learn more about buy Italian cheese. Stop by Luigi DeMarco’s site where you can find out all about imported cheese and what it can do for you.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Ahhhh, still relishing the Cologne Christmas market. Since I took home the gluhwein mug (they sell these at the market for 4.50 euros), I could whip up our own gluhwein — Yeah!

I rarely drink alcohol but I think it’s the sweetness of the gluhwein that makes it easier for me to sip and enjoy. Picked up this recipe from Recipebazaar. Big thanks to Kree!

Gluhwein at the Ccologne Christmas market -- 4.50 euros

Ingredients:
3/4 cup water (or orange juice)
3/4 cup white sugar (or less to taste)
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange
10 whole cloves
1 (750 ml) bottle red wine

What to do:

1. Combine the water (or orange juice), cinnamon stick and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer.
2. Cut the orange in half and squeeze alll the juice you can get out of it into the mixture.
3. Push the cloves onto the outside part of the orange peel and include this in the mix.
4. Let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes more or until it get syrupy. (Mmmm)
5. Now, pour in the wine and continue to heat until it’s just about ready to simmer. Turn of the heat and then remove the orange peel.
6. Serve these in pre-warmed mugs (to avoid any breaking).

Enjoy with friends and relatives!

Mmmmm... gluhwein!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Photo by Tavallai

Another Dutch snack I love is raw herring, or as they call it here — maatjes. You’ll find these red, white and blue stalls mostly in the center of cities and towns in the Netherlands. These stalls normally have all the food on display, so be on the lookout for the raw herring.

Signs like this one on the left makes it easy for you to find this delicious herring treat.

Most Dutch speak English so go ahead and ask. This shot was taken just recently, you can see how much the raw herring costs. Well, Volendam is expensive so expect it to be slightly cheaper elsewhere.

The herring will be given to you on a cardboard plate (the Dutch are big on recycling), and if you want, a generous amount of chopped onions rest on top of the herring.

It’s time to eat it… the Dutch way. This may get a bit messy because of the onions. At one go, arch your head and carefully lift the raw herring above your head, making sure the onions don’t fall on your eyes or cleavage. I don’t have to worry about that since I don’t have one.

Lower the herring into your mouth (wherelse) and take a big bite… mmmm savor the taste of freshly prepared herring and onions! Two more bites and you’re done. That’s it!

Want to see how raw herring is prepared?

Amsterdam city break: A Girl’s Best Friend

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

La Carbonara at the Campo dei Fiori

Carbonara by monkeycat

I love Spaghetti Carbonara. It’s easy to make and my sons make me feel I’m the best cook in the world. But, it’s not just the taste that I love. Carbonara takes me temporarily to the Eternal City. Rome is one of those cities that you just don’t visit once. I’ve been there several times with my groups but never get tired of the Italian capital.

I found the La Carbonara photo when I was organizing my digital images (I am terrible at it). I ws with a Filipino family and we arrived at around 1pm. The restaurant is located at the Campo dei Fiori and it was packed but the person in charge was able to clear a couple of tables in the second floor. We ordered salads and spaghetti carbonara, of course.

We enjoyed everything this Rome restaurant served us but I wonder if it’s because we were hungry. The spaghetti carbonara tasted wonderful! Not too salty as a couple of reviews I’ve stumbled across online.

Campo dei Fiori market as seen from 2nd floor of La Carbonara

La Carbonara is located at the Campo dei Fiori. There is a lively market selling fruits, vegetables, flowers and since a lot of foreigners drop by, there are souvenirs as well. When the market clears the square in the afternoon, the city’s cleaners come bring order to the place by cleaning up for the evening crowd.

There are bars and restaurants that offer all kinds of gastronomical delights to the locals or visitors. Talk about a tasteful experience!

For those who wish to visit Rome, you can visualize it with a little help from some spaghetti carbonara! Buon appetito!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Paella Valenciana photo by benjieordonez

Planning to visit Spain soon? Add a little bit of inspiration and excitement by preparing Paella Valenciana! When I think of Spain, one of the first visions I have is paella. And I’m  not the only one. The province of Valencia considers their paella as its provincial pride. The earliest known versions of Paella Valenciana had as its ingredients – marsh rat and eel. Don’t worry, the recipe I am including here is simple and ingredients easy to find.

This is the basic Paella Valenciana as taken from Wikipedia. A good friend of mine used to cook the best Paella Valenciana. She isn’t around anymore, but I think I’ll ask her daughter for the recipe and share it with you here on a future post.

• Heat oil in a paellera.
• Sauté meat after seasoning with salt.
• Add green vegetables and sauté until soft.
• Add garlic (optional), grated tomatoes, beans and sauté.
• Add paprika and sauté.
• Add water, saffron (or food coloring), snails and rosemary.
• Boil to make broth and allow it to reduce by half.
• Add rice and simmer until rice is cooked.
• Garnish with fresh rosemary.

Add some color and local flavor when you take that trip to Spain by arriving during the city or town fiesta. The place comes alive! Paella is prepared for eveyrone! Author Fiona Pitt-Kethley shares her photo of the gigantic paella  served free in Cartagena!

Free paella photo by Fiona Pitt-Kethley

This post hopefully inspired you to prepare some paella at home with thoughts of visiting Spain sometime soon! Besitos!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Photo by waynemah

Determining a good quality wine requires understanding how wine quality is determined and how that affects the price. When you understand this, you can be sure that you are making the best wine purchase for the value of your hard earned money.

It can be extremely helpful when deciding what wines to serve when you throw that wine tasting party or when purchasing wine online. There are “official” wine qualities, but you should never ignore personal taste. Personal taste is not determining wine quality, but if you don’t like the wine, then it doesn’t matter what “official” quality it is, or how much it costs.

When two glasses of wine, of the same variety, are poured in two separate glasses, little difference can be seen from the two. The most likely difference will be the price tag on both of the bottles, which vary greatly. It is impossible to determine which of the two glasses is of better quality since they look the same. So what makes the difference between a higher quality and lower quality wine?

The more expensive the wine does not necessarily translate to a higher quality wine. Nor does our personal taste. The color, variety, production method, origins of the grapes, taste and viscosity are general factors to determine the quality of wine. Higher quality wines are usually matured in oak barrels for a longer period of time. These are the main factors in determining the official quality of wines.

What it all comes down to though, is personal taste. No matter the official quality of wine, personal taste is the final factor which will make you decide whether or not you will purchase a certain bottle of win. If there is a wine which is the most expensive and highest rated among all the wines, and you don’t like this wine, it is unlikely that you will purchase it.

In my experience of searching for a good affordable wine, I learned some important things to consider before ever picking up that bottle. I probably learned more than I’ll ever have learned about wine online. The wine making process, the laws behind production of wine, and how the quality of wine is determined. With this collective information, it was easy to finally achieve my goal of finding that perfect bottle of wine at the perfect price. Learning to throw a wine tasting party can also be a fun way to learn about wine ratings.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s always a lot of fun to go to the weekly market and find out what there is to take home to family. These photos were taken last month when I was out with a girlfriend. She discovered these larger sized stroopwafels and wanted to share this precious find with me.

I had a fun time watching the couple make fresh stroopwafels that I took the various steps in creating this favorite Dutch treat. This isn’t exactly what they said but I thought I’d weave a short story in. Hope you like it!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.