Authentic Pesto Sauce - International Day of Italian Cuisine January 17, 2011

Authentic Pesto Sauce from Liguria

Today is the 4th Annual International Day of Italian Cuisine.  To honor the date Genovese pesto was chosen as the official dish of the IDIC 2011, a worldwide celebration of authentic Italian food.

Pesto sauce of Genoa Italy, in the region of Italy is made with 7 ingredients: PDO Genovese basil, garlic, olive oil Riviera Ligure PDO, salt, pine nuts, pecorino and grana padano cheese. Pesto, an oily green sauce beloved by Italian food fans the world over may also soon have its own certification. Italy's Liguria region is seeking a European Union "STG" (Guaranteed Traditional Speciality) mark for pesto meeting strict criteria for genuine, Ligurian ingredients.

The seven ingredients of true pesto are all native to the liguria region.  PDO stands for Protected Designation of Origin, a European certification the Liguria region has already secured for locally produced basil and extra-virgin olive oil.

"With the STG designation we want to protect the seven ingredients of true pesto: PDO Genovese basil, garlic, olive oil Riviera Ligure PDO, salt, pine nuts, pecorino and grana padano cheese," said agricultural councilor Giovanni Barbagallo. "Defending the traditional pesto recipe from imitations is a priority for Liguria."

"We want to unite the name of Liguria with the territory's quality products, like pesto, as a fundamental strategy for tourism development through Ligurian culinary specialties," declared Genoa's tourism councilor Angelo Berlangieri.

The word "pesto" comes from "pestare", or to crush with a pestle and mortar, a reference to the original method for creating the Genovese sauce. Hence pesto is also known as "battuto genovese" or Genovese mince or mash. The pasta condiment was still rare in the days of legendary Genovese explorer Christopher Colombus, but had become well established by the 19th century.

IDIC's Pesto Day is officially sponsored by the Liguria Region, Grana Padano cheese, Genova Pasta and a consortium of olive oil makers, among others.

Over 2,000 participating restaurants in roughly 40 countries will honor real Genovese pesto January 17, and will even see pesto-based Ligurian specialties served on 14 ships of the Italian cruise company Costa Crociere. So get out and visit your local Italian restuarant for authentic pesto. And if you are lucky enough to be cruising with Costa this week, well buon appetito!

For more on authentic Italian food visit WebVisionItaly's Italian Cooking shows, including a video of how to make pesto sauce.

For more about cruises around Italy including Costa cruise itinerary click Italy cruises. To visit Cinque Terre, Genoa and other Ligurian destination click Italian Tourism Italy travel packages for independent Italy travel deals or click Italy tour packages for guided tours of Italy.

Italian Cooking Show Authentic Italian Recipes

WebVisionItaly.com produces the Italian Cooking Show with authentic Italian recipes prepared by the best Italian chefs in the world. To learn how to prepare flavorful authentic Italian recipes click WebVisionItaly.com Italian Cooking Show - it's better than the best Italian cookbook - it's an Italian Cookbook with video.

WebVisionItaly.com Italy is an authentic look into life and food in Italy. And what would life in Italy be without an Italian cooking show full of authentic Italian recipes prepared by native Italian chefs from the world's best Italian restaurants in New York, Providence, Los Angeles, Miami, Rome, Florence, Milan, and more. WebVisionItaly.com Italian Cooking show is the only authentic Italian recipe television show presenting Italian food recipes prepared by native Italian chefs. Each Italian Cooking Show focuses on a region of Italy where the chef preparing the Italian recipe is an authentic Italian chef to the region of Italy.

WebVisionItaly.com opens up the world of authentic Italian cooking and Italian recipes by bringing you video of the Italian chefs preparing Italian food recipes that they were born into. If you’ve always wanted to immerse yourself in the aromas, the sounds and the flavor of rustic Italian cooking with a modern flair, you have over 50 Italian cooking TV shows to choose from. Each authentic Italian cooking show shows you how to prepare traditional Italian recipes you’ll love. The WebVisionItaly.com Italian Cooking Show is an Italian Cookbook with video. No need to buy the Italian cooking DVD or buy the Italian cookbook - all the authentic Italian recipes and the Italian cooking shows are available online on the WebVisionItaly.com Italian Cooking Show channel.

You can also download everyday Italian recipes to use in your Italian kitchen, including ones used on WebVisionItaly.com Italian Cooking television shows, right from the website. WebVisionItaly.com Italian Cooking Show is the most watched Italian TV cooking shows of all time, the dishes you’ll find on site will create a new culinary experience for you. With just one viewing of WebVisionItaly.com Italian cooking shows, you can begin creating delicious Italian dishes in your very own kitchen.

WebVisionItaly.com Italy welcomes you with open arms and a warm hug, so visit the Italian Cooking Show today.