Dubai - Know the world of cheese before you visit stalls at the ongoing Dubai Food Festival.
Published: Sat 27 Feb 2016, 11:00 PM
Last updated: Mon 29 Feb 2016, 7:25 AM
From pasta to pizza to antipasti, Italian food has grown to become one of the world's most favorite cuisines. Traditional Italian cuisine dates back to a few centuries and over time, it has deftly carved a niche for itself in the modern palate. Pasta, pizza, espresso, and gelato are hugely popular foods across the globe.
However, the key ingredient to what makes Italian cuisine irresistible and delectable is the 'cheese' and Italy has been the long Italy has long been a proud producer of some of the most widely recognised cheeses in the world.
Go drool at Dubai Food Festival
The 17-day gastronomic delight Dubai Food Festival opened last week under the theme of 'Celebrate Taste'.
Reaching all corners of the city, the festival features a mouth-watering line-up of activities, and engages more than 1,000 restaurants and 30 celebrity chefs showcasing the diversity and multicultural nature of Dubai's culinary offerings.
Now in its third year, the Dubai Food Festival celebrates the city's reputation as the culinary capital of the region.
The festival brings back favourites such as the Etisalat Beach Canteen, the official must-visit hub; the Masterclass Series presented by Al Islami and the popular Taste of Dubai; as well as exciting new events such as Dubai Restaurant Week, Dine With The Stars and Eat The World DXB.
For more information, visit www.dubaifoodfestival.comdubai
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However, did you know that several types of authentic Italian gourmet cheese are protected under EU law?
From hard full flavour offerings to soft and mild varieties traditional cheeses such as Gorgonzola, Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana enjoy a culinary appreciation in restaurants and upon families' tables across the globe. These varieties of gourmet cheese are also widely available in most supermarkets across the UAE. "Italian cheese is the backbone of Italian food," said Chef Alessandro Cargiolli, the executive chef at Nais Kitchen in Jumeirah Lake Towers.
"However, it is unfortunate that except for a handful, most visitors to authentic Italian restaurants are completely clueless about the authenticity and the ingredients that go into make Italian cheese and Italian food," Cargiolli said.
Speaking to Khaleej Times at the Gulf Food Exhibition, 2016 (February 21-25) after a live cooking demonstration, Cargiolli said that over the years, flavours of Italian food has become widely distorted because people use cheese in abundance while cooking.
"You don't need so much cheese. For example, while cooking one cup of pasta, all you need is 10-15 gms of cheese. But today, I see that people use entire cups of cheese while cooking a small portion of pasta.. The food loses its essence and flavour," added Cargiolli.
"Buying good quality Italian cheese from supermarkets in UAE is an expensive affair, but many of these cheeses were invented several thousands years ago and much is to be learnt about its use," he said.
Educating about cheese
Upholding the authenticity of these cheeses is the Associazione Formaggi Italiani DOP e IGP (Association of Italian PDO Cheeses) - known as AFIDOP - which brings together the main groups, 25 regional groups for the protection of Italian PDO cheeses.
Under the EU law, P.D.O refers to Protected Designation of Origin, which promotes and protects the names of quality agricultural products and their basic characteristics originating from specific geographical areas.
AFIDOP has been a regular participant at the Gulf Food for the last four years and according to Nicola Cesare Baldrighi, the president of AFIDOP, their main aim is to protect and regulate authentic Italian cheese. This year, AFIDOP exhibited four of Italy's most celebrated cheeses Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, Gorgonzola, Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano.
Baldrighi, who is a farmer himself, In order to obtain PDO accrediation, the products must go through a rigorous process.
"These include unique cheeses that are deeply rooted in history and are closely linked to their region of origin. The aim is to safeguard the cheeses as well as the use of their names. Some of these cheeses are still manufactured the same way as it was done 1,000 years ago," said Baldrighi.
Currently, Italy is the number one country in Europe producing PDO cheeses and out of 186 PDO cheeses recorded in Europe, 49 have origins in Italy, making 26 per cent of global PDO cheeses Italian.
"There is a lot of history behind these cheeses. Take - Grana Padano for example. It was created nearly 1,000 years ago by the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle Abbey, near Milan. The monks created a recipe to make a cheese that could withstand the test of time using the surplus of milk," said Baldrighi
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
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