美食是意大利人的生命

Lots of people go to Italy to eat and drink.

For Italians， food is not just nourishment1， it is life. Italians gather around to prepare and enjoy food. They meet in bars， pizzerias2 and restaurants， or share meals in the home.

Italians love their food. And no matter which country in the world people are from， its hard for them to say no to pizza， pasta or gelato.

Pizza is surely one of the most famous Italian foods in the world. In Italy， its usually baked in a wood-fired oven3. Its thin and covered with a lot of fresh vegetables， sliced ham， salami or olives. Italians usually have one whole pizza each. They dont need knives nor forks when eating pizza， instead， they fold the pizza with one hand to serve.

And the second most famous Italian food is pasta. Dated back to 1154 in Sicily（西西里島）， there are over 200 different shapes of pasta in Italy. An average Italian eats about 27 kilograms of pasta each year. That means every man， woman and child in Italy eats a big plate of pasta 6 days a week.

No trip to Italy is complete without gelato. Though “gelato” translates to “ice cream”， its not quite the same. Gelato has way less butterfat4 than ice cream and far more varieties. It melts faster in the mouth and has stronger flavors5. Italians love their gelato very much. It is completely common to eat it 2 or 3 times a day in the summer time.In Italy， there are so many gelato shops that it is hard to ignore6 them.

However， there are way more Italian dishes besides pizza， pasta and gelato. Italy offers the best coffee， fresh and tasty seafood rice， yummy salami， the most amazing tiramisu which everyone loves， etc.

Wine is also a big part of Italian culture， and the country is home to some of the worlds most famous vineyards7. In Italy， remember to order wine with a meal， because beer and soft drinks are only really acceptable with pizza. If you dont drink wine， choose mineral water with bubbles in it. Tap water is just not common in Italy. By the way， if you decide to visit a vineyard for wine tasting， try some olive oil grown and produced there， its so good that its called“l(fā)iquid gold”.

Italian cuisine8 has influenced food culture around the world and is often regarded as an art. All Italians are born chefs. They can make the best meal out of the most basic ingredients9：pork， beef， seafood， potatoes， rice， pasta and tomatoes. Italians love their food and many dishes are based on fresh vegetables and seafood too. Fresh and simple ingredients， easy to cook， -its no wonder Italian food is one of the top 3 most popular foods worldwide.

很多人去意大利，就是為了吃吃喝喝。

對(duì)意大利人來說，食物不僅僅是營養(yǎng)所需，更是生活。他們聚在一起準(zhǔn)備食物、享受食物。他們?cè)诰瓢伞⒈人_餅店和餐廳碰頭，也常常在家里聚餐。

意大利人熱愛美食。無論來自哪個(gè)國家的人，都難以拒絕比薩餅、意大利面或意大利冰激凌。

比薩餅絕對(duì)是全世界最著名的意大利食物。在意大利，比薩餅通常在木火爐里烤制而成。它的皮薄，上面鋪滿新鮮蔬菜、切片火腿、意大利香腸或橄欖。意大利人吃比薩餅時(shí)，常常用一只手將其卷起來，不用刀叉，一人吃一整個(gè)。

其次要算意大利面了。這種1154年起源于意大利西西里群島的食物，僅在意大利，就有超過200種不同形狀的花樣。每個(gè)意大利人平均每年消耗約27千克意大利面。也就是說，無論是男人、女人還是小孩，一周7天中，就有6天會(huì)吃上一大盤意大利面。

如果你去意大利，不吃意大利冰激凌，就跟沒去一樣。意大利冰激凌“gelato”和冰激凌“ice cream”不同，奶油含量更少，種類更多；吃起來它融化得更快，味道更濃郁。意大利人非常喜愛他們的冰激凌，在夏季，一天吃個(gè)兩三次毫不稀奇。在意大利，冰激凌店比比皆是，難以讓人視而不見。

意大利的美食并不止世人皆知的比薩餅、意大利面和冰激凌。這里還有醇香的咖啡、新鮮美味的海鮮焗飯、可口的意式香腸、既讓人驚艷又老少皆宜的提拉米蘇……

葡萄酒也是意大利文化中極其重要的一部分。意大利有不少世界聞名的葡萄莊園。啤酒和碳酸飲料一般搭配比薩餅，而正餐你一定要來一杯葡萄酒才行。實(shí)在不喝酒的話，你就點(diǎn)一杯氣泡水吧。他們是不太喝自來水的。此外，如果你決定參觀葡萄園，并品嘗美酒的話，可以順便嘗嘗那里種植和生產(chǎn)的橄欖油。它非常美味，常被人稱作“液體黃金”。

意大利菜影響了全世界的美食文化，也是很多人眼中的藝術(shù)品。每一個(gè)意大利人，都是天生的美食家。他們選用最基本的食材，就能輕易做出最美味的食物，比如豬肉、牛肉、海鮮、土豆、米飯、面條和西紅柿。意大利人熱愛美食，大多數(shù)菜都是用新鮮蔬菜和海鮮制作而成。食材簡單、新鮮，制作方便。無怪乎，意大利菜是全世界最受歡迎的三大菜系之一。