Nuts in Italian cooking
What sorts of nuts are common in (real) Italian cooking?
Looking online it seems that walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts figure heavily but do Italians use cashew nuts, peanuts, pistachio or other nuts?
Best Answer
Traditional "continental" Italian cuisine only use locally grown produce.
This includes depending on the area: Almonds, Walnuts, Pine nuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, pistachio (maybe some other less known nuts)
Peanuts and Cashew (and others exotic nuts) came in later in Italian cooking; they were probably introduced with the advance of food transportation technologies (cargo ships, refrigerated containers...)
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Quick Answer about "Nuts in Italian cooking"
Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, chestnuts and pine nuts are all typical Italian crops. Though cashews, peanuts, Brazilian nuts, macadamia nuts and pecans are not grown locally, half-a-century of market globalization has given them passport into the Italian diet.What nuts are used in Italian cooking?
Some of the most popular nuts that they are using in Italy will include hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts and pistachios. Some of these Italian nuts are so high quality and high in demand that production has been increasing in order to export them to other countries as well.Are there nuts in Italian food?
Italy is the world's second-leading producer of hazelnuts, but almonds, walnuts, pistachios and peanuts are also grown in the same areas.Are peanuts used in Italy?
Peanuts are really not used at all in Italian cooking, and other nuts (such as walnuts) are not used often. Most restaurants will not even have these items on the premises. The most commonly used item (which are really seeds and not nuts) would be pine nuts (pinoli in Italian), which are used in pesto.Do they have pecans in Italy?
The Italian farm Sirgole has created the first pecan cultivation in Italy, a crop which is suitable for Salento (South Italian) weather.Torrone (Italian Nut \u0026 Nougat Confection) – Great Valentine’s Day Treat!
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Answer 2
I would say cashews and peanuts are not traditional Italian. Pistachios and hazelnuts are commonly used for desserts, think nutella for example. Pine nuts (pesto) and chestnuts are also traditional. It might not what you are looking for, but nutmeg is a common Italian spice.
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