Author Archives: Kerry Hull

Italians drink wine every day. No matter the region, wine is an essential piece to the many cultures of Italy. What makes wine so culturally significant? Italy has been making wine for centuries and it is home to some of the oldest-wine producing regions in the world…the earliest of winemaking can be traced to theContinue reading “Wine, the Italian Way”

Unfortunately, many of the olive oils we buy, especially in America, are not “real” olive oils. Almost 80% of Italian olive oils imported to the U.S. are false. What does it take to be fraudulent olive oil? First, the label can be misleading. Even when labeled “Italian extra virgin” it can easily be neither ofContinue reading “Olive Oil: What is Real and What is Fake?”

There are more than 1,000 different shapes of pasta used in Italian cooking. Each and every one of these shapes has a different meaning behind it. There is such a variety of sauces in Italian cuisine which is what primarily causes the variety in pasta shapes. Dry pasta also differs from fresh pasta when itContinue reading “Pasta Shapes!”

This past seek we learned how to properly taste olive oil! An expert in the field of olive fermentation and olive oil production taught us just how to do so. She first presented to us the science behind the olives themselves. Of course, olives are not edible directly from the tree. Instead they must beContinue reading “Olive Oil Tasting”

I was lucky enough to be joined by fellow students in learning the process of making sourdough bread. The owner, Lorenza, showed us the step-by-step process, and thoroughly explained the reasoning behind each step. At L’assalto, they use local, stone-milled flour that is minimally refined so that there are valuable nutrients still present. Then warmContinue reading “Bread Baking at L’assalto ai forni”

My Italian cooking journey began right here at La Nicchia in Ascoli Piceno. It is owned and run only by the family who started the business. Their primary focus is on pizza, made in-house from scratch. My fellow classmates and I were lucky enough to learn how to make the pizza right there in theContinue reading “Pizza Making at La Nicchia”