BellaItalia food store Blog
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Categories: Shop with us
Nobody expected our lives to change so much from one day to the other.
As #ItalianAmericans we heard from our friends and families back in Italy how things changed rapidly also there and we had a feeling that we should get ready to be more united than ever, even from far away.
The best thing we can do is to stay home, try to stay safe for our families and be responsible avoiding all unnecessary risks.
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Mar 12 2020
COOKING WITH LAURA: ZEPPOLE
Zeppole di San Giuseppe: the traditional Italian recipe for Father’s Day
On March 19th in Italy is impossible to miss the smell of freshly baked or fried Zeppole. This dessert tastes always amazing but it is traditionally served on father’s day.
This tradition was born as a way to honor the day of Sait Joseph, the father of Jesus, who to support his family took up also the job of “frittellaro” - selling fried sweets. We don’t know if this story is true, but what is certain is that the tradition of cooking Zeppole on father’s day stick to this day and we love to honor it!
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Feb 29 2020
Mimosa Cake for the International Women’s Day
Categories: Cooking with LauraOn the 8th of March International Women's Day is celebrated around the world. Every country has its own tradition and in Italy it is customary to gift a Golden Wattle flower - in Italian Mimosa.
What we feel is most important about this day is that it is celebrated to remember the rights obtained by women in the last century and those still to be obtained.
The tradition to gift Golden Wattle on this day is typically Italian: Do you know why?
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Feb 08 2020
Shop with us: for Carnival!
Categories: Shop with usGrowing up in Italy, every February we celebrate the Carnival!
Carnival takes place 40 days before Easter and it ends on the night of "Fat Tuesday". In 2020 the “Fat Tuesday” will be on the 25th of February leaving us 3 weekends to celebrate!
The most famous carnival of Italy is the one celebrated in Venice, but also other cities like Viareggio and Ivrea, still follow spectacular traditions during this festivity!
In Venice, the carnival includes sophisticated masquerades and parades while in Ivrea, for example, the core celebration centers around the Battle of the Oranges which involves townspeople and tourists, divided into teams, throwing oranges at cart-based teams — with considerable violence!
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Feb 01 2020
Producer of the Month: Acetaia Malpighi
Categories: The producer of the monthIn our journey to bring the best Italian food anywhere in the world we were lucky to meet Acetaia Malpighi and their amazing products!
We met them near Modena, where the Estate “Del Cigno”, owned by the Malpighi family, is located.
This magic place, visited by 22 thousand people every year to discover the vineyards and the Ancient “Acetaia”, is still the heart of the brand and the place where the Malpighi family produces its precious vinegar.
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Jan 17 2020
The secret for a great Italian Aperitivo!
Categories: Cooking with LauraThe secret for a great Italian Aperitivo!
An Aperitif is a drink, usually alcoholic, served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, but for some people, especially in Italy, “Aperitivo” is almost a lifestyle!
For us, this is the perfect excuse to meet friends at a bar and eat some delicious food while also sipping a glass of wine or the king of aperitif cocktails: a Spritz!
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Categories: The producer of the month
Discover the taste of one of the less-known regions of Italy!
Number 37 on The New York Times “52 Places to Go in 2020” is Molise, a small region in the south of Itlay that came to be famous as the region that “doesn’t exist”.
After all this publicity this well-kept secret is not so much a secret anymore!
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Jan 05 2020
Shop with us for the Epiphany!
Categories: Shop with usDiscover this sweet Italian festivity
“L’Epifania tutte le feste porta via” is an Italian saying meaning: “With the Epiphany, all the holidays are over”.
The Epiphany, or day of the “Befana”, is celebrated each year in Italy on the 6th of January, marking the end of the winter holidays which began on Christmas. The 6th of January is usually also the last day of vacation from school for the kids.
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Dec 20 2019
For every Panettone (or Pandoro) it’s Cream!
Categories: Cooking with LauraPanettone and Pandoro are classic desserts for the Holidays. For us, they are not just a treat on the Christmas table, we love to eat them also for breakfast and with every toast and celebration: from Santo Stefano to New Year’s Eve!
But Pandoro and Panettone alone can become a bit boring...so it is becoming a new tradition for me to add delicious creams to these desserts to make it even more difficult to resist!
Crema al Mascarpone is the must for Panettone!
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Dec 01 2019
Discover December’s producer: Di Iorio!
Categories: The producer of the monthWhile many families are divided between those who love Panettone and those who love Pandoro, there is no doubt that Torrone - Nougat - will be on every Italian table for Christmas.
The origins of Torrone are debated, some say it was the Arabs that imported this recipe to Sicily and that it was so loved by Roman Emperors that they made it popular all over the Italian peninsula and the rest of Europe.
What is undoubtedly true is that for such a simple recipe to turn out so good best quality ingredients and the experience of the “mastro dolciario” are the two things that matter most.
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