Emilia Romagna

Emilia Romagna, you guessed it, is comprised of two regions, Emilia and Romagna. Emilia is the part of the Region that is more inland, while Romagna is the east part of the Region that touches the sea. From this region, see again cuisine divided between meat and fish, stemming off of what is local and grows in that certain region. This may also be due to the fact that the Etruscans and Romans fought over this land, and ultimately the Romans took over in 300 B.C.. After the Roman Empire split, however, we begin to see a flourishing light coming from Bologna, which is the center of Emilia Romagna. Out of this light, ideals spread, and the first University is created, and the city was nicknamed "La Dotta, La Grassa, La Rossa", which means the Erudite (Knowledgeable), The Fat (Rise in knew cuisine) and the Red (Due to Bricks and how the city was built). From this new light, many traditions (in terms of food) arose, and the world was truly affected by these.

In terms of Food ways, we see the rise of making cheese and salumi, which you know are near and dear to the Italians. In terms of Cheese, we see the mother of all cheeses, PARMIGIANO REGGIANO BABY! (Mentioned in blogs before, this is my favorite of all time). And in terms of Salumi, we see Prosciutto di Parma, in which Hind legs of Pigs of a certain breed, (which means they HAVE to come from Italy, or it aint Di Parma son) are cured with salt and aged for 12-16 months with the aid of the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas winds. After the aging process, these bad boys hit the market and are sold to whomever wants them, either for slicing, cooking, or my favorite, eating it straight off the bone like the barbarian you are (yes, I am mostly talking about myself but I know some of you would if you got the chance).

Through most of these different food products, come the traditions that they hold. And through the Slow foods movement of Italy, we can hold and cherish these ways forever. In the good ol' states of Merica, we cherish them fast foods n' stuff like that, cause you know, it's fast and we like that. But here, if it's fast, no one likes it (Other than cars of course). Italians like to cherish their foods, and the people and culture of Emilia Romagna truly embodies this through the cuisine they share with the world, and I would like to say thank you, cause they have truly impacted the way we eat food.