At home I'm used to driving at least five miles to a grocery store about once a week to buy groceries. My cart is usually full of meat, produce grown hundreds of miles away, and other foods that while high in nutrients, were enriched and processed to get there. I fill up my huge refrigerator and pantry with my goods, essentially hoarding them for a later date.
The first culture shock when I got to Italy was to find that my apartment had a fridge only fit for a dorm room, no microwave, and little storage space for dry goods. Italians, especially those living in a city, don't store food like we tend to in America because of the access they have to fresh food on a daily basis. While in Florence, I was within walking distance of at least three large, open air markets selling everything from excellent peaches to cows tongue. Notice I said within walking distance, meaning I and other locals walked to the market nearly every day and carried back our groceries. Unlike in America where we are so dependent on cars, the Italian food culture automatically includes exercise.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for me while cooking for myself in Italy was the fact that I couldn't afford to buy meat. Of all the fresh food available, meat was the most expensive and I learned through my class that Tuscans rely much more on vegetables and bean proteins in their main dishes. This is one reason why the Mediterranean diet is better for heart health, it lacks much of the saturated fat and calories that Americans consume through red meat. Because Italy is smaller across than our country, it is also easier to distribute seafood everywhere from the coasts. This means that another large portion of protein in the Italian diet is from fish which gives also the benefit of omega-3 fatty acids.
I can't talk about Italian food without mentioning olive oil. In my experience, if the food wasn't sauteed or fried in extra virgin olive oil, it was drizzled on top before serving. While EVOO is high in fat, it is the healthy monounsaturated fat that actually lowers bad cholesterol and raises good. In most regions of Italy, olive oil is used whenever an American would have the instinct to use butter. The reason why olive oil is such a staple in the Italian diet is because it is also a huge part of their economy. The country is second in the world for olive oil production. Experiencing olive oil in Italy is experiencing a very fresh product. It is far superior in nutrients to other vegetable and synthetic oils we frequently cook and fry food with in America.
Of course in order to know exactly what you're eating, you must be cooking it from the raw ingredients. This is part of what I have heard termed the slow-food movement that Italian cooks are trying to maintain as Western culture shoves McDonald's down their throats. Cooking food at home of course is the slowest, but it definitely gives you a better appreciation of the ingredients and the process. It also preserves each cook's variation on a traditional preparation. My professor at Apicius, a native of Florence, never had us follow a written recipe exactly. Even most experiences when dining out are much slower; the skilled chefs take their time to prepare each dish with care. The meal is an event that may take hours and cover multiple courses, particularly if it's for a special occasion. My fellow students and I were taken to a restaurant our first night in Italy, and we sat in awe as the courses just kept coming and coming. The goal of an Italian meal is to savor every bite of food and to enjoy the company around you.
My final impression of Italian food culture is that it is very much defined by the slow-food atmosphere and by quality. Diet changes with the seasons based on which produce is best, and the question of finding organic ingredients is hardly necessary because it is the norm. It was hard adapting to a new food culture, but the lessons I learned were invaluable and some that I hope to share as much as I can when I return home.