Whether in Italy or anywhere, if the dining table is dazzling and eye-catching, it not only means welcoming the guests, but also makes the host family proud. Every family has its own special way of setting the table, but there are also unified regulations. [IMG] About dishes/pictures/culinary arts/western/Italian/tableware placement [/IMG]

Italians invite friends to dinner, and they will spread tablecloths or placemats. The tableware mats they choose are usually made of cloth or straw.

To bring water to the table, whether it is clear water or mineral water, it must also be contained in glass bottles. As for wine, it can be supplied in glass bottles or original bottles, which depends on different factors, such as the quality of wine, whether there are enough glass bottles, personal taste and so on. If the dining table is large, water and wine must be placed on both sides of the dining table for convenience.

Salt and pepper are put in monitoring bottles and pepper bottles respectively, and one bottle can be used by one person or shared by the whole table. However, because Italians are superstitious about passing salt bottles, they usually just put the salt bottles back on the table and never give them directly to another guest. Salad dressing is usually a common condiment for the whole table, but it can also be used alone. It is mainly made of olive oil and vinegar, which is convenient to be supplied by a distributor. [IMG] About dishes/images/culinary arts/western/Italian/salad dressing [/IMG]

Italians often eat bread when they eat, but they don't use cream, so there is no cream on the table. The bread served on the table is rolled up or cut into thick pieces, or torn into small pieces by hand when eating, so there is no knife on the table. Put the bread in the bread basket, or on a separate silver plate, sometimes on the tablecloth.

Italians fold napkins into squares or triangles and put them on the right hand side of the seat. After eating, you don't have to fold the napkin, just put it back to the right.

The most common central decorations in the center of the dining table are flowers, soup plates or silverware.

Even in formal occasions, such as wedding banquets, seats are rarely arranged. When the guests want to sit down, the host will tell them the right place. The host and hostess must sit opposite each other. The most important or oldest lady sits in the first seat on the owner's right, and the second most important or oldest person sits in the first seat on the owner's left, so that they can sit on the right and left respectively according to their importance and age. The same is true of the hostess's left and right seats, and husband and wife should avoid sitting together.

The seating arrangement depends on the dishes, and a meal usually has three courses. [IMG] About dishes/pictures/culinary arts/western food/Italian food/tableware 2 [/img]

A three-course meal: pasta as an appetizer and fruit as a dessert.

Use a flat plate instead of a soup bowl to hold spaghetti. Don't pile plates with other dishes together. Pasta is never put on the guest's plate immediately, and usually comes to the table after the guest sits down. The fork for eating pasta is the same size as the fork for eating the main course, and both forks should be placed on the left hand side of the seat; Because dessert is fruit, there should be a knife and fork on the table, with the blade on the left and the fork teeth on the right.

A three-course meal: soup as an appetizer and cake or pudding as a dessert.

Usually the soup is placed on the main course, and the spoon is placed on the right side of the main kitchen knife, usually with the blade facing the dish. As dessert is cake or tart, forks and spoons must be provided on the table.

Few people eat four or five courses at a meal, including appetizers and pasta, followed by soup with meat, fish as the main course, and dessert or fruit. However, if appetizers are served with other appetizers, another fork smaller than the main course fork should be placed on the left hand side of the table.

glass

There are mainly three kinds of glasses on the dining table, a large flat glass and two glass glasses. It is common for three or five friends to have a drink at dinner. As for the placement of glasses, the big glass is placed on the tip of the knife, just like the shape of the English word "I", and then the other glasses are placed on the right side of the glass in a petal shape.

Homecooked food

Lunch or dinner is a good time for family reunion. They can discuss and share the activities of the day while tasting delicious food. In fact, many families can have two meals at home every day because children usually go back to school in the morning. When working mothers don't have enough time to prepare lunch, they usually prepare sandwiches, cold-cut meat and cheese in advance, or heat ready-made food in a microwave oven or stove, while older children can heat pasta or meat dishes themselves, but many mothers prefer to go home in a hurry and have lunch with their children at lunch time, especially in small towns where shops and offices will be closed for an hour. Of course, the decoration of the dining table at home is very simple, and many families just eat in the kitchen.

Supplement:

Etiquette of eating pasta

People who eat spaghetti for the first time will find it difficult to master its etiquette at first, although many Italians are not good at eating spaghetti, so spaghetti will not appear on the menu of all formal banquets to avoid embarrassment for guests. Therefore, don't feel discouraged when you start eating spaghetti, although try to learn its etiquette: hold the fork with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger, practice turning it on an empty plate a few times as if it were wrapped around something, and then wrap a small amount of spaghetti with the fork. If it is too much at first, try again until you have successfully accumulated the correct amount.

Supplement:

Immediately after rolling up, put the spaghetti in your mouth, and then push the spaghetti left outside your lips into your mouth with a fork. [IMG] About dishes/pictures/culinary arts/western/Italian/spaghetti [/IMG]

Hands: Italians always put their hands on the table when sitting, but don't touch the table with their elbows.

Start eating: It is considered polite to wait until the dishes are served to each guest and the host family or the oldest lady begins to eat.

After eating: After eating a dish, the knife and fork must be placed on the plate in parallel, facing south and north respectively.