Basic Italian cooking ingredients

So you have decided that you will start cooking some Italian dishes. Find a great database of Italian recipes and enjoy entering the world of pasta, pesto and parmagiana.

It can help to have the basic ingredients found in many Italian cuisine. That way, you’ll be able to get your Italian food preparation ready for any day, without having to buy a lot of food. Let's look at some of them!

Garlic: It may sound like a cliché, but this humble bulb has a place in almost all Italian cuisine. Store in a cool, dry place such as a root cellar or pantry. When buying garlic, look for bulbs with black discoloration below. This may indicate age or shape.

Tomato sauce: Don't go too far here. Your local grocery store brand and national brands cannot be distinguished if you put it in a container. Avoid “preseasoned” blends, as you will be adding your herbs and spices to your recipe.

Pasta: Do not buy large quantities of any particular noodle. Instead, keep a small number of the most common varieties, such as spaghetti, linguine, elbow macaroni, small and large shells and broad egg noodles. Lastly, it helps if you can keep long noodles in a long container. Most plastic goods manufacturers have a “pasta keeper” of some kind available.

Parmesan Cheese: 

While it may not always be an ingredient, freshly baked Parmesan is almost always a welcome addition to a bowl of pasta. Kraft has a brand new "cut" product with a cheese block in a container with its grater. It works very well, and the price is not expensive.

Olive Oil:

 One mistake made by many Italian rookies is to use less expensive virgin olive oil for things like pan-frying. Use regular olive oil, which will be yellow in color and 50 percent cheaper, for these purposes. You will still get all the health benefits!

Keep your pantry well maintained, and you’ll be ready to cook any Italian recipes you desire!