Here's a glimpse into Italy's history and how it's cuisine and culture has been shaped by experience over time. It is interesting to see how much influence history has on the cuisine.
After watching "Big Night" I was curious to see how much Italian cuisine has adapted to fit the American palate. I found this article different comparing Italian American dishes to their authentic Italian counterparts.
When choosing ingredients for cooking, I've always found myself grabbing fresh produce at the market over their canned or frozen counterparts. My thinking was that I would be able to extract the most flavor and nutrition from the actual fruit or vegetable itself in its purest form. However, after reading this article, I've come to realize that perhaps I was wrong. Many fruits and vegetables including apples, bananas and carrots are harvested before they ripen and are allowed to artificially "ripen" thereafter. Apples can be up to a year old by the time you buy them at market. Because frozen and canned produce are harvested after they reach peak ripeness and immediately processed, perhaps they are the better option over fresh produce. Besides probably having a better nutrition profile, they also beat fresh produce in their convenience factor when it comes to cooking. Fresh or frozen? Or canned? I'm interested to hear what you guys think.
http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/038italian.html