Calabria cuisine, as well as the cuisine of all the other Italian regions, has been influenced by its history and conformation.
Visiting Calabria means finding the - very frequently strong – savours that characterize this fantastic Italian region, and eating in Calabria you get the opportunity to taste some of the common dishes and goods that are component of the culture and background of this region.
Although many typical dishes of Calabria have remained the same via time and have been influenced by the peoples that inhabited this area in the past, from the Greeks and the Arabs, Calabria cuisine is well-known all more than Italy (and past) for the large use of chilli peppers, an ingredient that was imported only after the discovery of The united states, thus less ancient than other components. And chilli peppers, in fact, is very widespread in Calabria delicacies, and numerous dishes are characterised by strong and spicy savours. This is the situation of ‘Nduja, a typical soft salami, and of whitebait of bluefish in oil, which is called Jancumangiari in Calabria, and is ready with chilli peppers and fried. An additional very widespread ingredient in the delicacies of this area is onion, strictly from Tropea! The little village in the province of Vibo Valentia has been strictly linked with the name of the famous crimson onion, which has gained the high quality mark, and which is notably sweet. Onions are used as components for many dishes, like "freselle" with tuna, a common dish of Tropea. The fact that this delicacies is characterised by powerful and spicy savours may seem strange, as it appears to be in contradiction with the higher temperatures recorded in summer time in this area, but chilli peppers, onion and powerful savours are important components of Calabria delicacies.
Calabria delicacies is self-evidently rich of fish dishes, as this is 1 of the Italian areas with the higher percentages of coasts. If you occur to visit the coasts of Calabria, you will most likely happen to taste scrumptious fish dishes. Tuna and swordfish belong to the most widespread fishes of Calabria cuisine, at minimum as much as Tyrrhenian Sea is concerned, while on the Ionian coasts the specialty is whitebait of bluefish. Some of the dishes that stand out are "sardella", a sauce produced of pilchards or whitebait of bluefish and enriched with spices and chilli peppers, of course – that you can unfold on bread or pour on to pasta.
Not only fish though: also the offer of meat dishes (goat and pork above all) is very wealthy in Calabria. Some typical dishes of this area are "frittole", produced with pork ring and meat boiled in the fat of the pork, lamb chops Cosenza style (with onion, tomatoes, peppers and eco-friendly olives), Calabria sausages, the extremely well-known "soppressata" (a kind of salami that can be spicy or sweet) and pasta with pork and goat sauce.
The most widespread vegetables are, aside from onions, aubergines, broad beans, tomatoes and peppers, which are used to prepare extremely delicious dishes like Aubergine Parmesan or "pipì chìni" (stuffed peppers).
To sum up, consuming in Calabria means tasting strong savours and dishes that inform you a great deal about this Italian area.
