Italian Cooking Masterclass at Eataly

There’s nothing that helps a dish taste delicious than using quality and authentic ingredients, and this is exactly what we explored at a fantastic Italian cooking masterclass I attended at Eataly.

There has been a recent increase in “Italian sounding” produce, which actually has little connection to the home of the true ingredients. This phenomenon affects products like Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma and olive oil.

Yet as a leading country for food and wine production, Italy has over 300 agri-food products and 500 wines recognised as Protected Designation of Origin (PDI) and Protected Geographical indication (PGI) by the European Union. This means there are a large variety of authentic products on offer and purchasing these certified options goes a long way in supporting the local small business.

At our cooking class we used authentic products from Italy to create a delicious, traditional Italian menu.

The menu included:

• Tasting di culatello di Zibello DOP, Prosciutto di Parma DOP, Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 24 to 60/120 months)

• Cold soup with Mantuan melon IGP, basil and Mazara red prawns DOP tartare (the prawns can also be grilled or removed)

• Paccheri Gragnano IGP pasta, San Marzano tomatoes and stracciatella cheese

• Lemon dessert

We also enjoyed paired wine with our food, which completed each of the dishes perfectly.

It was obvious from the fresh smells to the depth of flavour in our ingredients that choosing authentic products can really make a difference to your cooking.

Here are some top tips on how to ensure you’re buying authentic ingredients:

• Read food labels when food shopping and recognise if the products are Italian.

• PDO/PGI logos are an easy way to recognise if a product is authentic; the designations of origin also highlight the strong link with the territory of origin and with the traditional know-how that was used to produce them.

• Support small producers by buying Italian products in supermarkets or deli, as they buy directly from Italy.

I’ll certainly be looking out for the PDO/PGI menu when I next go shopping for Italian ingredients!

Have you heard of PDO/PGI before? Let me know in the comments below!

Her Favourite Food & Travel x

in partnership with The Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK.