Risotto#Italian regional variations

File:Lemon Pea Risotto.jpg

Rice has been grown in southern Italy for centuries, and gradually made its way to northern Italy, where the marshes of the Po Valley were suitable for rice cultivation.{{Cite web |title=All About Risotto: The History & Fundamentals of a Favorite Italian Dish |url=http://www.cuisineathome.com/articles/all-about-risotto/ |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=www.cuisineathome.com |language=en}} According to a legend, a young glassblower's apprentice of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano from Flanders, who used to use saffron as a pigment, added it to a rice dish at a wedding feast. Risotto is believed to have originated in what is now known as Lombardy.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eZE7n1khu6AC&dq=risotto+lombardy&pg=PA341 | title=Fodor's Italy 2010 | isbn=9781400008490 | author1=Fodor's | year=2009 | publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications }} The first recipe identifiable as risotto dates from 1809. It includes rice sautéed in butter, sausages, bone marrow, and onions with broth with saffron gradually added.{{cite web|url=https://www.corriere.it/cronache/11_gennaio_29/perrone_fabbrica_duomo_c9650902-2b72-11e0-8f5d-00144f02aabc.shtml|title=La fabbrica del Duomo e l'invenzione del risotto|newspaper=Corriere della Sera|date=29 January 2011|author=Roberto Perron|language=it|access-date=4 July 2017}} There is a recipe for a dish named as a risotto in the 1854 {{lang|it|Trattato di cucina}} (Treatise on Cooking) by Giovanni Vialardi, assistant chief cook to kings.[https://www.accademiaitalianadellacucina.it/sites/default/files/print_pdf/AIC_Itinerari%20del%20riso_All.compressed.pdf La Cucina del Riso, p76, Accademia Italiana della Cucina, 2014]. {{ISBN|978-88-89116-32-6}}. However, who invented risotto in Milan cannot be stated with certainty.[https://www.ibs.it/risotto-storia-di-piatto-italiano-libro-alberto-salarelli/e/9788874953516 Summary of Risotto. Storia di un piatto italiano by Alberto Salarelli, 2010, published by Sometti]. {{ISBN|8874953518}}.

The rice varieties associated with risotto were developed in the 20th century, starting with Maratelli in 1914.{{cite web|url=https://www.agrodolce.it/2014/08/01/riso-le-tipologie-utilizzarlo-cucina/|title=Tipi di riso, varietà e usi|newspaper=Agrodolce.it|date=1 August 2014|author=Lorella Fabris|language=it|access-date=4 July 2017}}

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A high-starch, round, medium- or short- grain white rice is usually used for making risotto.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} Such rices can absorb liquids and release starch, so they are stickier than the long grain varieties. The principal varieties used in Italy are Arborio, Baldo, Carnaroli, Maratelli, Padano, Roma, and Vialone Nano.{{cite book|title=Starting with Ingredients|last=Green|first=Aliza|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7624-2747-5|publisher=Running Press|page=810}} Carnaroli, Maratelli (historical Italian variety), and Vialone Nano are considered to be the best (and most expensive) varieties, with different users preferring one over another. They have slightly different properties. For example, Carnaroli is less likely than Vialone Nano to get overcooked, but the latter, being smaller, cooks faster and absorbs condiments better. Other varieties such as Baldo, Originario, Ribe, and Roma may be used but will not have the creaminess of the traditional dish; these varieties are considered better for soups and other non-risotto rice dishes and sweet rice desserts. Rice designations of {{lang|it|superfino}}, {{lang|it|semifino}}, and {{lang|it|fino}} refer to the grains' size and shape (specifically the length and the narrowness) and not the quality.

There are many different risotto recipes with different ingredients, but they are all based on rice of an appropriate variety, cooked in a standard procedure.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/may/06/how-to-make-perfect-risotto|title=How to make the perfect risotto|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 May 2010|author=Felicity Cloake|author-link=Felicity Cloake|access-date=3 July 2017}} Risotto, unlike other rice dishes, requires constant care and attention.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/risotto-rice|title=Risotto rice|website=BBC goodfood|access-date=4 July 2017}} The rice is not to be pre-rinsed, boiled, or drained, as washing would remove much of the starch required for a creamy texture.{{cite web|url=https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/666-why-rinse-rice|title=When to Rinse Rice|website=Cook's Illustrated|date=November 2009|access-date=4 July 2017}}

The rice is first cooked briefly in a soffritto of onion and butter or olive oil to coat each grain in a film of fat, called {{lang|it|tostatura}}; white wine is added and must be absorbed by the grains. When it has been absorbed, the heat is raised to medium–high, and boiling stock is gradually added in small amounts while stirring constantly. The constant stirring, with only a small amount of liquid present, forces the grains to rub against each other and release the starch from the outside of the grains into the surrounding liquid, creating a smooth creamy-textured mass.{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23431270-200-proof-in-the-pudding-15-cooking-tips-tested-and-myths-busted/|title=Proof in the pudding: Myth-busting 15 common cooking tips|website=New Scientist|date=24 May 2017|author=Sam Wong|access-date=4 July 2017}}{{Cite book|title=McGee on Food and Cooking: An Encyclopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture|last=McGee|first=Harold|date=2004|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|page=475|chapter=Risotto|isbn=9780340831496}} When the rice is cooked the pot is taken off the heat for {{lang|it|mantecatura}}, vigorously beating in refrigerated balls of grated Parmesan cheese and butter, to make the texture as creamy and smooth as possible. It may be removed from the heat a few minutes earlier and left to cook with its residual heat.{{cite web|url=https://www.taste.com.au/quick-easy/articles/cooking-ripper-risotto-matt-preston/nli74jrh|title=Cooking ripper risotto|website=Taste.com|date=17 June 2014|author=Matt Preston|access-date=4 July 2017}}

Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy, even if no cream is added, due to the starch in the grains. It has some resistance or bite (al dente) and separate grains. The traditional texture is fairly fluid, or {{lang|it|all'onda}} ('wavy' or 'flowing in waves'). It is served on flat dishes and should easily spread out but not have excess watery liquid around the perimeter.

Many variations have their own names:

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• List of rice dishes

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• Barrett, Judith, and Wasserman, Norma (1987). Risotto. New York: Scribner. {{ISBN|0-02-030395-5}}.
• Hazan, Marcella (1992). Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. {{ISBN|0-394-58404-X}}.

{{Rice dishes}}

{{Lombard cuisine}}

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Category:Cuisine of Lombardy

Category:Italian rice dishes

Category:National dishes