ROME – This summer’s record heat is putting the dominance of “grandma’s cooking” on Italian holiday tables at risk. At least next Ferragosto. This is according to a survey conducted by CNA Agroalimentare.
The survey confirms the age division of Italy at the table. Traditional dishes still prevail in homes where the cooks, especially when many people gather, are over 60. But a lighter cuisine, in which cold dishes and raw foods that facilitate hydration reign supreme, is becoming more and more widespread in homes inhabited by young people, in restaurants, and in seaside resorts.
Gone to the attic, especially in summer, the traditional sequence of meals from appetizer to dessert, what makes the difference is the main course (if not the only one) around which the meal revolves. The real contest is therefore between lasagna, variously declined (meat, fish, vegetables) and named (timballo, vincisgrassi), and pasta or rice salad in one of its many versions: from vegetarian to classic, with tuna or wurstel, Asiago, mayonnaise.
After the main course, the role of raw foods (not only vegetarian dishes but also carpaccio and tartare) and grilled foods is growing on our tables, also in this case not only of vegetables but also of fish and meat.
To refresh their palates (rather than ice cream, granitas and semifreddos) the vast majority of Italians choose watermelon or cocomero. Three Italians out of four, without any divisions, from registry office to geography, consider it the most suitable food to combat the heat and to conclude a worthy “Ferragosto Lunch”, to extol the title of Gianni Di Gregorio’s cinematic gem.
