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| WHAT IS ITALIAN? By Tom Boyles - PMQ Editor-in-Chief |
Click here to download the pdf of this article. Click here to view the advertising index for this issue. |
You can view video of PMQ’s Italy Tour at www.pizzatv.com.
Welcome to this special edition of PMQ’s Pizza Magazine in which we focus on all things Italian. The catalyst for this issue began with a discussion amongst the PMQ staff about how pizza seems to have lost its Italian identity. That posed the question; “What is the definition of true Italian food?”
This was a question PMQ Publisher Steve Green set out to answer with a month-long trip to Italy. During this quest he sought out the leading Italian food and equipment suppliers as well as speaking with experienced pizza makers throughout Italy…and even a professor at the University of Parma who is working to crack the secrets of great tasting pizza on a genetic level.
In the following pages, of which we are calling the What is Italian? Section, you are going to not only learn about the roots of Italian foods and why certain dishes came from certain areas, but you will learn about many other specific Italian foods and beverages. Here is a preview of some of those articles:
La Cucina Italiana
We All Scream for...Gelato?
Italian Flour: The “00” Enigma
Italian Olive Oils
Italian Cheese
Italian Vino
Italian Coffee
As mentioned, PMQ traveled extensively throughout Italy for nearly a month interviewing pizza professionals, but while there he also did a lot of filming and recording. You can go on the trip with him by viewing his video tours of Italian flour companies, buffalo mozzarella cheese producers, tomato processors, balsamic vinegar manufacturers, pizzerias, competitions and vineyards at PizzaTV.com and listening to interviews at PizzaRadio.com. Some of the other stories that came from this trip were:
The Pizza Genome Project: In this article PMQ talks with professors at the University of Parma who are working with pizza suppliers to develop newer and healthier ways of making pizza by looking at it from a scientific point of view.
The Guiness Pizza Challenge: See how innovative pizza makers in Italy are capturing some headlines, and a few world records, by making the longest pizza you’ve ever seen.
Metal Heads: PMQ visits with the Italian supplier GI Metal, who manufacturers and supplies over 200 different pizza making products from peels to pans.
The World Pizza Conference: Leaders from the Italian pizza community sat down to discuss the future of pizza and how it can be shaped by our industry and this year they invited PMQ to the meeting.
You can watch in-depth videos on all of these stops at PizzaTV.com. In the meantime, browse the following pages and get a preview of the detailed videos that are online.