Coffee, tea and wine (hot chocolate)

For today’s class, we were supposed to do fieldwork on wine, coffee or tea. As people might already have guessed, I do not like any of these drinks, so I decided to do fieldwork of my own. It was my pleasure to do tasting on cioccolata calda (hot chocolate). I have been tasting this delicious drink since I was little. Since I did not like white milk, my mother decided to give chocolate a shot, and she was not mistaken. It was an acquired taste for me, since I began to love this marvelous drink by the age of 18. When I asked for hot chocolate in Verona I was surprised with a treat that I will never forget. This delicious drink was not just plain hot chocolate made with cocoa powder and water as I was used to drinking it at Dunkin’ Doughnuts. The hot chocolate in Italy is something similar to pudding, less dense, but much more tasty. I fell in love with it right away! This kind of hot chocolate is called fermente. The reason of its great taste is the lack of cocoa powder. This drink is with 100% chocolate. Since cocoa powder has almost not chocolate, the taste of hot chocolate can sometimes be disappointing or lacking overall. So far I have had cioccolata calda made of milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Both of these were a treat from haven. I know that when people are in Italy they go crazy with the coffee since it is supposed to be exquisite. Anyhow, I would say that they should be cioccolata calda a shot because they will not be disappointed with this incredible drink.

Food in Italy

As an Uruguayan, I feel like I am home in Italy. Uruguay is made of 50% Italian immigrants and 50% Spanish immigrants, therefore there is a great Mediterranean influence in my country. Italy has reminded me of the great tastes that I have not experience for so long. The sauces, the pasta, the meat, even the water, have been tastes that I have forgotten about. Even though I still eat these kinds of foods in the United States, the ingredients are not as fresh, therefore there is a great lost of taste. I love the fact that the meat is so fresh. The meat tastes incredible exquisite, and the only factor that changes it is the freshness of i. I am not a vegetable eater, but I can see the difference in color of the vegetables as well. Also, I was told by my classmates that the fruits and vegetables are super delicious.
One thing that really caught my attention was the use of wine. Italians drink as much wine as they do water, and they drink lots of water. I was very surprised to find wine as part of the drink selection in the cafeteria of the university. I guess that wine is very healthy for people and it seems that is wine of the many contributors to the healthy lifestyle that Italians lead.
I would have to say that my favorite dish so far has been the Kabab. Even though is not an Italian dish, it shows the great influence of spices and flavors that have reached the peninsula, specially from India.
Another thing that I have forgotten about was the portions sizes of the meals. In the United States, the portions of the meals are double the size of the meals in Italy (and Uruguay as well). Even though Italians have two dishes for their meals (primo e secondo piatti), these portions are not very big. Again, I think that this is another factor of the success of the Mediterranean diet.
These are some of the the influences and distinctions that I have encountered so far in my travels through the peninsula of Italy. As a go along, more experiences will come.