Eating with the Seasons in Italy
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| Focus on what's fresh, and you're in for edible adventures. |
Italian cooks love to serve you fruit, vegetables and seafood at their freshest seasonal peak. If you simply must have porcini mushrooms outside of October and November...they'll be frozen.
Each region in Italy has its own specialties, which you'll see displayed in local markets. To get the freshest veggies at a fine restaurant, request "Un piatto di verdure della stagione, per favore" (A plate of seasonal vegetables, please).
Your server will be impressed, and your taste buds will thank you!
Here are a few examples of what's fresh when:
Excerpted from Rick Steves' Venice guidebook.