Serves: 5
alla pizzaiola: anything cooked with tomatoes, garlic, and oregano
amaretti: crisp Italian macaroons made with bitter almond
amaretto: almond-flavored liqueur
arancini: fried rice balls with meat or other filling
Arborio: a variety of medium-grain rice from Piedmont used for making risotto
baccalà: salted cod
balsamico or balsamic vinegar: Italian vinegar made from cooked trebbiano grape must the best labelled tradizionale and aged many years in barrels made with various types of wood
biscotti: literally "twice cooked," though it refers to all kinds of cookies
bistecca fiorentina: thick-cut grilled porterhouse steak prepared in the Florentine style
bollito misto: mixed boiled meats served with various sauces, a specialty of northern Italy
bottarga: preserved roe of tuna or mullet that is either pressed and sealed in wax or dried and sold ground or in flakes the best being pressed bottarga from Sardinia
braciola: thin slice of meat, usually stuffed, rolled, and cooked in tomato sauce
branzino: sea bass
brodo: broth
bruschetta: grilled or toasted bread rubbed with garlic and brushed with olive oil or topped with tomato salad
caciocavallo: Sicilian cow's milk cheese similar to provolone
calzone: literally "big sock" pizza dough folded around a filling and baked or fried
capers: the tiny unopened buds of the caper flower, a wild plant that grows all over the Mediterranean, typically sold in salt or in vinegar
caprino: Italian goat cheese
Carnaroli: a medium-grain rice preferred by many cooks for making risotto
carpaccio: thin slices of raw veal or beef, served cold with a pink sauce also, by association, thin slices of vegetables and fresh or smoked fish, served cold with a dressing
cassata: Sicilian cake layered with ricotta cream
crespelle: crepes
cotechino: a large, preserved sausage, often served with lentils or mashed potatoes
crostata: a sweet or savory tart
crostini: toasted bread topped with cheese, vegetables, pâté, etc., usually served as an appetizer
diavolicchi, also known as diavolilli: literally "little devils" tiny dried hot chilies
dolci di cucchiaio: desserts such as custards, puddings, etc., that are eaten with a spoon
enoteca: a bar or store with a large selection of wines
fagioli secchi: dried beans
fagiolini: green beans
farro: an ancient grain similar to wheat, spelt, and emmer, eaten whole in salads or soups or ground into flour
fennel pollen: ground dried fennel used to season pork and other meats in Tuscany
fettuccine: narrow ribbons of fresh or dried egg pasta
fettuccine di frittata: "noodles" made from cooked eggs
finocchiona: Tuscan salame flavored with fennel seeds
focaccia: flatbread seasoned with olive oil and salt can also be baked with herbs, olives, onions, tomatoes, etc.
Fontina Valle d'Aosta: creamy, semifirm cow's milk cheese that melts beautifully good for cooking and eating
forno: oven
fragoline del bosco: tiny Alpine strawberries
freselle: hard black pepper-flavored biscuits to soak and serve as a base for stews or salad
frittata: flat omelet
fruttivendolo: produce vendor
giardiniera: mixed pickled vegetables often sold in jars
gorgonzola: blue-veined cheese from Lombardy used for cooking and eating
gnocchi: dumplings eaten with a sauce or in broth, most often made with potatoes, but also with bread, squash, or other ingredients
grana: a crumbly cheese suitable for grating
granita di caffè: coffee ice dessert
Grana Padano: a type of cow's milk grana cheese
grappa: spirits made from distilled grape seeds, skins, and pulp left after the juice has been pressed out for wine
grissini: breadsticks
involtini: small stuffed meat rolls
lenticchie di Castelluccio: tiny, flavorful lentils from Umbria
luganega: long, thin, fresh sausages
manicotti: baked crepes or pasta tubes with a cheese filling
mascarpone: creamy, soft, and mild cheese from Lombardy used for pasta and desserts
minestra: soup
montasio : cow's milk cheese from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, mild when young and sharp when aged
mortadella : large cured pork sausage made with finely ground spiced meat
mostarda: fruits preserved in mustard syrup
mosto cotto: grape juice cooked to form a thick dark syrup, used to flavor desserts
mozzarella: semifirm cheese from Campania made with either cow's milk or water-buffalo's milk
Nutella: a popular jarred chocolate hazelnut spread, which is the equivalent of peanut butter for Italian children
orata: gilt head bream
orzo: barley in Italy, though a small, seed-shaped pasta in the United States
orzotto: barley cooked like risotto
osteria: an informal Italian restaurant
ovoli: a type of wild mushroom
pancetta: unsmoked Italian bacon made from pork belly seasoned with salt, pepper, and sometimes spices, tightly rolled and cured in salt
pan di Spagna: sponge cake
pane a cassetta: sliced white bread
panettone: a yeast risen cake with dried fruits originally from Milan, but now eaten all over Italy especially at Christmas
paninoteca: an informal restaurant that features sandwiches
panino: either a round roll or a sandwich made on such a roll
panna cotta: literally "cooked cream" gelled heavy cream usually served with a fruit or chocolate sauce
Parmigiano-Reggiano: a partially skimmed cow's milk cheese made exclusively around the cities of Reggio-Emilia and Parma, aged about 18 months, used for both cooking and eating
pasta: literally "paste" it can refer to any type of dough or foods made from dough, including noodles, dumplings, and pastries
pasta frolla: pastry dough
pasticceria: pastry shop
pecorino: any cheese made from sheep's milk, typically from Tuscany, Umbria, or southern Italy, excellent for eating when young and semifirm used for grating when older.
Pecorino Romano: firm aged sheep's milk cheese made around Rome and in Sardinia
peperoncino: any type of small fresh or dried chile
pesce azzurro: any type of dark-fleshed fish
pesto: any type of sauce made with mashed ingredients basil pesto is the best known
piadina: a flatbread from Emilia-Romagna
pizza bianca: pizza dough baked with olive oil, cheese, or other toppings, but no tomatoes
pizza dolce: cake or sweet bread
pizzelle: lacy wafer cookie
polenta: white or yellow corn meal mush, served soft like mashed potatoes or sliced, then grilled or fried
porchetta: whole roast pig cooked with herbs and garlic
porcini: meaty wild mushrooms
prosciutto: cured unsmoked Italian ham
provolone: piquant firm cow's milk cheese originally from Sicily
puntarella: pale green and white shoots of Catalan chicory, a favorite Roman salad green in springtime, served with anchovy and garlic dressing
ragù: meat sauce for pasta
rana pescatrice: monkfish
rapini: one of several names for broccoli rabe
ribollita: Tuscan bread and vegetable soup
ricotta: soft fresh cheese made from sheep's or cow's milk, used for pasta and desserts
risotto: rice cooked and stirred with broth and flavorings until creamy
risotto al salto: crisp risotto pancake
robiola: a soft fresh cheese from Piedmont usually made from cow's milk, though sometimes blended with sheep's or goat's milk
rollatini: small stuffed meat rolls, usually cooked in a sauce
rughetta: Italian arugula
salame: ground meat cured with salt and spices shaped like a sausage
salsa balsamella: white sauce made from milk, flour, and butter
salsicce: sausages
salumi: collective name for salame, prosciutto, mortadella, and other cured meats
scaloppine: a small, thin slice of meat. A cutlet
seppia: cuttlefish
sfinciuni: Sicilian onion and anchovy thick-crust pizza
sfogliatelle: Neapolitan pastry filled with ricotta, semolina, and orange zest
soffritto: a flavoring base, usually made with onions, celery, peppers, and meat sautéed in oil
sopressata: a type of salame
spiedini: anything cooked on a skewer
stoccofisso: dried salt cod
tagliarini: very thin fresh egg pasta ribbons
tagliatelle: fresh pasta ribbons similar to fettuccine
taleggio: an aromatic, flavorful soft cow's milk cheese from Lombardy
taralli: round sweet or savory biscuits from southern Italy
tonno: tuna fish
torrone: either nougat or hard caramel candy made with nuts or sesame seeds
torta: a sweet or savory layered cake or other dessert
tramezzino: thin Roman sandwich made on white bread with crusts removed
trota: trout
tartufi: truffles, black or white varieties of a mushroom family, rare and very expensive, that grow underground near tree roots, especially in Piedmont and Umbria, and are located for harvesting by specially trained dogs
ventresca di tonno: tuna belly preserved in olive oil
Vialone Nano: a variety of medium-grain rice used for making risotto
vongole: small hard-shell clams
zabaglione: whipped egg custard flavored with sugar and wine, served as a dessert or sauce
zampone: sausage stuffed pig's foot
zeppole: yeast raised donuts
zucca: squash
zuppa: soup
From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This 05- Glossary recipe is from the Cook'n in Italy Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
"I must say this is the best recipe software I have ever owned."
-Rob
"Your DVO cookbook software saves me time and money!"
-Mary Ann
"Call it nutrition software, meal planning software, cooking software, recipe manager, or whatever you want. It is the software I use to stay healthy!"
-David
"Your software is the best recipe organizer and menu planner out there!"
-Toni
"Thank you so very much for creating such a wonderful cooking recipe program. I think this is the best recipe program there is!"
-Sarah
"I saw lots of recipe software for PC computers but I was having a hard time finding really good mac recipe software. I'm so glad I discovered Cook'n! It's so nice to have all my recipes in a computer recipe organizer. Cook'n has saved me so much time with meal planning and the recipe nutrition calculator is amazing!!!
-Jill
My favorite is the Cook'n Recipe App.
-Tom
