Italian Food Glossary

This Italian food glossary is just t its beginning. It will grow by itself, and also fed by your questions .

It is intended to give you answers that may seem obvious ...but they aren't. Or maybe they seem to be obvious, and you feel ashamed to ask for! (Click on the word if you want to know more about it)

amaretto	candies made with sweet and bitter almonds. There was an Italian almond loquor named amaretto that changed name but it is still a way to ask for this kind of drink.
ammazza caffè	Alcoholic beverages (mainly liquors) used after a meal as a digestive drink
antipasto	the first dish of a meal, usually cold cuts, olives or seafood salad
aperitivo	aperitif.. Italian daily use mainly before lunch time
bresaola	Italian cold cut made with calf meat
cornetto	most common pastry used for Italian breakfast. French croissant
frizzante	sparkling white wine
Grana Padano	typical cheese that comes from a specified region of Italy
Grappa	distilled drink made of Italian grapes' skin
mortadella	Italian typical cold cut make with pork meat
panna cotta	Italian dessert made with milk cream
Parma	Italian city and name of a raw ham producers consortium
Parmigiano Reggiano	typical cheese that can be produced ONLY in a specified Italian region
pasta	It can be referred to pasta cooked for a main meal, or pastry commonly served in Italian breakfast
peperone	vegetable very used in Italian cuisine, it can be red, yellow or green
prosciutto cotto	cooked ham, the one used in toasts and pizza
prosciutto crudo	raw ham
ragu	typical italian sauce made with grounded meat and has a long cooking time
salame	Italian cold cut with pork meat
salsiccia	pork sausage
sorbetto	a light ice cream made oly with fruit and water, sometimes it's served between a fish and a meat dish
speck	smoked raw ham
spumante	sprinkle wine
sugo	typical italian tomato sauce
tiramisu	Means "pull me up", Italian typical dessert with mascarpone cheese and coffee
vino novello	young wine, to be drunk in the next few months after its production