Page:Wood - Foods of the Foreign-Born.djvu/36

20 decreasing and more wine used at meals and on social occasions, accompanied by cakes.

The food produced in Central Italy is not very different from that of the north. It is raised more abundantly, however, as the farming season is longer. Fruits and vegetables are produced in quantity, and the poorest people have them in abundance. Very little meat is used; it is served not more than once a week in some families, and in others on festive occasions only. Here again we find the many kinds of pasta, or macaroni, used in combination with different vegetables, garlic, and oil. When bread is eaten with it, no butter accompanies it.

The peasants use very little pastry or cake except on feast days; then they are elaborate—such as Gateau Margherita, made with ten eggs and the whites of five more, butter, flour, and almond flavoring. In the frosting of cakes the Italians exercise all their artistic ability, beautifying and ornamenting them. It is because of the expense and the unusual amount of time and work required to make them that pastries are not used oftener. Fruit takes their place in the everyday diet of the people.

Goats furnish milk for the family. The children drink it, and the surplus is used for cheeses of various kinds.

Thus we see that the people of Northern and Central Italy have a very well-balanced diet in their own country, with protein from milk, cheese, eggs, and meat; carbohydrates from macaroni in various forms and from bread; mineral matter from fruits and vegetables; and fat from olive oil, lard, and pork. From the milk, vegetables, and egg yolks they derive vitamines to promote growth and repair tissue.

It is difficult to measure their daily food in calories, as they generally have a one-dish meal, prepared in a large