What do Italians eat? It depends on where they live. Specific eating habits are rooted in each of the 20 regions that make up the Belpaese, as shown by a study by 'italiani.coop', the research tool of Coop Italia's Research Office. Scrolling through the regional records it is easy to recognize the sign of local tradition. But there is no shortage of surprises.
What Italians eat, regional primates
Famous for the skewers, Abruzzo is not surprising when it appears as the first region for the consumption of sheep and lamb, with an average annual expenditure of 81 euros per family.
Same goes for Campania's record in consumption of tomato paste (56 euros per year per family on average), a food that dominates in Campania kitchens, as well as the main ingredient in pasta sauce e pizza.
The major consumers of typical Italian foods
In the ranking of the most purchased products, food and drinks made in Italy are famous all over the world. Pasta, extra virgin olive oil, white and red wine, cheese, grissini, coffee, cookies, to name a few.
The biggest expense (201 euros) to buy dry pasta e fresh pasta, also filled, is registered in the Marche.
Emilia-Romagna has the highest expenditure for wine (192 euros), while the higher outlay (204 euros) to buy olive oil belongs to the families living in Liguria, and for the cheese to Lombardy (489 euros).
Breadsticks are popular where they were born
Another confirmation in the consumption linked to tradition? In the homeland of the Italian breadstick, Piedmont, has the highest expenditure in Italy (512 euros) to buy bread and breadsticks (the primacy is also attributed to the Aosta Valley, merged in the statistics with Piedmont). And Trentino Alto Adige confirms itself as the homeland of Italian yogurt (161 euros), consumed mainly in the Northern regions.
What do Italians eat? A few surprises
An unexpected fact concerns Sicily, Italy's first buyer of chicken (336 euros). But it is not the only one.
Famous for its wines, Friuli Venezia Giulia surprises by emerging as the first buyer of chinotti (90 euros). And Lazio is the first consumer of XNUMX cups milk (294 euro).
The cup of coffee? In Sardinia
It is easy to think that the largest consumer of coffee is Campania, where the espresso is of inimitable goodness. But the data disproves this belief. The first region for coffee consumption (173 euros) is Sardinia. And Campania is only in seventh place in the ranking.
Homemade cookies or desserts?
Campania, on the other hand, is the land of biscuit consumers (152 euros), immediately followed by Lombardy. Of all the Italian regions, Calabria is the one that buys the least. But just search through the data to discover that the cookies in that land are made at home. Higher consumption of sugar e flour they are located in Calabria.
Full research is available here.
