Italian Snacking Around the Clock
Dear snackers, this one is for you!
We all know that Italy loves its food and that the array of stellar regional specialties goes on as far as the eye can see. But Italy is not a glutton! Rather than serving itself the massive plates our North American restaurants have accustomed us to, she aims for moderation, leaving a lot of delicious room for a world of snacks, bites, and the like. Eating is just so fun—why not make it so that you can enjoy it a little bit at a time, all day long? Similar to the famous tapas culture, Italians love to pick at a vast assortment of bite-size delights that mirror the wonders of the specific region they were created in. From the mid-morning spuntino to the afternoon merenda and nighttime antipasto, we take you on an epic day of Italian snacking… and a tour of the country while we’re at it!
10:38 a.m. — Spuntino di metà mattina
After a light breakfast and the whirlwind of morning routine, you find yourself a little hungry. It might not be lunchtime yet, but it sure is time for a midmorning (metà mattina) treat! A spuntino, or snack, is just the thing you need in between two tasks, while you chat for a few minutes with a colleague or get some fresh air as you head on to your next appointment. Maybe you’ve packed a nice fruit or chic nuts in your bag that morning in anticipation of that time. Or maybe you’re in the mood for a little something sweet—a slice of crostata (chocolate and apricot, perhaps?) with a second coffee. If you’re interested in a savoury treat that day—and bright, sunny flavours inspired by the dramatic seaside of Puglia—you could go for a handful of crunchy taralli and a few marinated olives. And just like that, you’ve got what you need to hold you over until lunch!
4:12 p.m. — Merenda
Lunch was a nice, balanced full meal, but your stomach is now growling and dinner is still a long way away. And if kids are part of the equation, you know you’ll need to have something ready when they get home from school or daycare to avoid a meltdown. No worries, merenda has got your back! The name of this popular snack apparently comes from the verb meritare which means to deserve or merit something. So basically, it’s the well-deserved treat you need to get to the finish line of a busy day. Merenda ties you over as you check off the last things on your daily to-do list and maybe run to the market or grocery store to grab the last-minute things you’ll need for dinner. You could choose to transport yourself all the way to Liguria as you bite into a quick focaccia or farinata sandwich. Or you could go for the chic Venetian piazza route with a few tramezzini as you take a little breather before moving on with your day. What’s that? You’re more of a Capri type of person? Well, you can always count on the classic mozza-tomato-basil crostone. You should also know that in Italy, gelato is considered to be a perfectly normal option for merenda… just in case that’s of interest to you!
6:33 p.m. — Aperitivo or antipasto
Friends or family (or both) just walked in, and everyone is gathered around the kitchen island or patio table, chatting. All emails have been sent, you traded the button-up shirt for a t-shirt, and glasses of spritz worthy of an authentic Bologna bar have just been served. You planned a nice main dish for your crew, but for now, you just want to take a minute to savour the moment. Maybe your BBQ aficionado friend is firing up the arrosticini as if you were in the middle of the Abruzzese mountains. Or perhaps, it’s Sicily you’re channelling with your arancini and eggplant meatballs. And if it’s more of a busy weekday vibe, you remember that you can whip up a nice charcuterie board packed with cold meats, cheeses, chips, and last summer’s marinated veggies in a few minutes only. Soon, you’ll get the water boiling for the pasta and prepare the salad, but for now, you’re enjoying a little sacred moment of downtime.
They say there are as many Italian specialties as there are Italian villages. No wonder then that folks over there would want to expand their food horizons by snacking around the clock. Why not do the same and add little bites of goodness to your plate throughout the day!
