Italian Food Names & Menu Terms: A Guide for Travelers

Not sure what you’re ordering in Italy? This guide explains Italian food names and restaurant terms in English, organized by category, so you can understand dishes and ingredients before you order.

Reading an Italian menu becomes easier when you recognize a few recurring words. Some identify the main ingredient; others describe how a dish is cooked or the regional specialty behind its name. Browse the categories below to look up pasta, seafood, meat, cheeses, desserts, drinks, and useful menu vocabulary. The terms are listed alphabetically within each category for quick reference.

Distinguish “Cannella” (cinnamon) from “Cannellini” (white beans) and recognize that “fame” means hunger, not that the waiter thinks you are famous. We hope these Italian food names help you enjoy delicious, varied Italian cuisine. Buon appetito!

How to Read an Italian Menu

• Antipasto, antipastino — a starter or appetizer. Antipasto is the standard menu term; an antipasto all’italiana often includes cured meats and preserved vegetables.
• Assaggi — tastings or small portions (plural of assaggio).
• Assaggio — a taste or tasting; sometimes a small sample portion.
• Bacaro — a traditional Venetian wine bar serving small snacks called cicchetti (Venetian cicheti), often accompanied by an ombra, a small glass of wine.
• Bere — to drink
• Bicchiere — glass, particularly a drinking glass.
• Bicchierino — a small glass or cup; in food and drink contexts, the meaning depends on what is being served.
• Bocconcino — a small, bite-sized morsel; the word is used for pieces of meat and small mozzarella cheeses, among other foods.
• Bottega — shop, often a small specialty food shop.
• Cameriere, cameriera — waiter; waitress.
• Cena — dinner or evening meal.
• Cesta — basket; on a food menu it can refer to a basket of bread or food.
• Cibo — food
• Colazione — breakfast; prima colazione is also used.
• Cucina — kitchen or cooking; also cuisine, as in cucina italiana.
• Cuoco — cook; cuoco capo or chef may refer to a head chef.
• Desco — table; dining table
• Fame — hunger; ho fame means “I am hungry.”
• Fuori stagione — out of season
• Gusto — taste or flavor; in a gelateria it denotes an ice-cream flavor.
• Kasher — kosher: food prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary rules (also written kosher).
• Mercato — market
• Pranzo — lunch or the midday meal in modern Italian; an older or formal use can mean a substantial meal.
• Spuntino — a snack or light bite.

Italian Cooking Terms & Descriptions

• Acerbo — unripe or immature; for fruit or wine, can mean sour or harsh.
• Acido — acidic or sour in taste.
• Affumicato — smoked
• Agro — sour or tart; all’agro may describe food dressed with lemon and olive oil.
• Amaro — bitter
• Asprigno — slightly sharp, tart or sour in taste.
• Ben cotto — well cooked or well done.
• Brodo — broth or stock.
• Ceneri — ashes; appears in expressions such as sotto la cenere (“under the ashes”).
• Cotto — cooked
• Cremoso — creamy or thick, as opposed to liquid or runny.
• Crudo — raw or uncooked; prosciutto crudo is cured, uncooked ham. It does not, by itself, mean rare or cured.
• Dado — stock or bouillon cube.
• Farcito — stuffed
• Forno — oven; al forno means baked, while forno can also mean a bakery.
• Frantoio — olive press
• Griglia — grill; alla griglia means grilled.
• Imbottito — stuffed
• Impanato — breaded
• Invecchiato — aged or matured, particularly of wine and cheese.
• Legno — wood; forno a legna means wood-fired oven.
• Lesso — boiled, often referring to meat cooked in water or broth.
• Macinapepe — pepper mill
• Macinato — ground or minced, especially meat; also a past participle meaning ground.
• Pastella — batter, particularly for frying.
• Piccante — spicy or hot; can also mean pungent or piquant.
• Ruspante — free-range or farmyard-raised, commonly describing chicken.
• Sgusciato — shelled
• Unto — oily or greasy

Pasta, Rice, Gnocchi & Sauces

• Agnolotti — filled pasta parcels particularly associated with Piedmont, commonly stuffed with meat or vegetables.
• Alla bolognese — Bologna-style meat ragù served with pasta; in Bologna it is commonly called ragù alla bolognese.
• Amatriciana — a pasta sauce made with guanciale, tomato and Pecorino Romano, originating in the Amatrice area.
• Arancini — Sicilian fried rice balls or cones, coated in breadcrumbs and filled with ingredients such as ragù, cheese, or peas; arancine is also used regionally.
• Bavette, Bavettine — long, narrow, flattened pasta strands similar to linguine; bavettine are the smaller version.
• Bigoli — thick, rough-textured spaghetti-like pasta traditional in Veneto, often made with whole-wheat or white wheat flour, water, and sometimes eggs.
• Bucatini — thick, hollow spaghetti-like pasta, often served all’amatriciana or alla gricia.
• Cannelloni — large pasta tubes filled with meat, cheese or vegetables, typically baked with sauce.
• Capellini — very fine, long pasta strands, thinner than spaghetti; also called angel-hair pasta.
• Chitarra — spaghetti alla chitarra: square-section egg pasta traditionally cut using a stringed frame in Abruzzo.
• Conchiglie — shell-shaped pasta.
• Ditalini — small, short tubular pasta, commonly added to soups.
• Farfalle — bow-tie or butterfly-shaped pasta.
• Fettuccine — flat ribbons of egg pasta, typically narrower than tagliatelle; especially associated with central Italy.
• Fusilli — spiral- or corkscrew-shaped pasta.
• Garganelli — ridged tubes of egg pasta rolled diagonally from small squares, traditional in Emilia-Romagna.
• Gnocchi — small Italian dumplings, often made with potatoes and flour; alternatives use semolina, ricotta or other ingredients.
• Lasagne — sheets of pasta; lasagne al forno is a baked dish of layered pasta, sauce and other fillings.
• Malfatti — soft, irregular dumplings often made with ricotta, spinach and/or other greens; related to the family of gnudi.
• Orecchiette — small, ear-shaped pasta associated with Puglia, often made with durum-wheat semolina and water and served with cime di rapa.
• Orzo — barley; orzo is also used, especially in English-language menus, for small grain-shaped pasta called risoni in Italian.
• Pappardelle — broad, flat pasta traditionally associated with Tuscany
• Puttanesca — a pasta sauce typically made with tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic and often anchovies; chili may also be added.
• Ragù — a hearty sauce, usually meat-based, with significant regional variations; see alla bolognese.
• Ravioli — filled pasta parcels, usually sealed around a filling of cheese, vegetables or meat.
• Rotini — short spiral-shaped pasta, a term particularly familiar in North America; similar shapes in Italy are often sold as fusilli or eliche.
• Tacconi — fresh strip-shaped pasta from the Marche, particularly Fratte Rosa, traditionally made with wheat flour, fava-bean flour and eggs.
• Tagliatelle — long, flat ribbons of egg pasta typical of Emilia-Romagna, traditionally served with ragù.
• Testaroli — traditional Lunigiana batter-based pasta cooked in thin discs on a hot testo, cut into pieces and commonly served with pesto or other sauces; ancient origins are sometimes claimed but are not securely dated.
• Tortellini — small ring-shaped stuffed pasta from Emilia-Romagna, with fillings that commonly contain meat and cheese.
• Trenette — flat, narrow pasta strands associated with Liguria, similar to linguine.

Bread, Pizza, Soups & Savory Specialties

• Acquacotta — rustic Tuscan bread soup with vegetables and herbs, sometimes topped with a poached egg; recipes vary by locality.
• Ai Frutti di mare — ai frutti di mare means “with seafood,” commonly describing pasta or pizza topped with shellfish and other seafood.
• Bordatino — a thick Tuscan soup or porridge, especially associated with Livorno, traditionally made with maize flour, beans and vegetables; older variants may use fish stock.
• Bovoleto — a small land snail traditionally prepared in Veneto, often boiled and dressed with oil, garlic and parsley.
• Bozza pratese — a traditional unsalted sourdough bread from Prato in Tuscany.
• Bruschetta — toasted bread traditionally rubbed with garlic and seasoned with olive oil; toppings vary, such as tomatoes.
• Calzone — folded, filled pizza, strongly associated with Naples and southern Italy.
• Caprese Insalata — Caprese salad: sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil; see also insalata caprese.
• Capricciosa pizza — pizza typically topped with tomato, mozzarella, cooked ham, mushrooms, artichokes and often olives.
• Casatiello — a savory Neapolitan Easter bread, traditionally enriched with pork fat and cured meat, with whole eggs secured on top by dough crosses.
• Ciabatta — Italian wheat bread with an elongated, rather flat shape, an open crumb and crisp crust; olive oil is optional rather than essential.
• Ciambotta — a southern Italian vegetable stew that often includes peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant or courgettes, depending on region.
• Ciriola — a traditional Roman bread roll, elongated and swollen at the center, with a crusty exterior and soft interior.
• Coppia ferrarese — traditional twisted bread from Ferrara with four characteristic horn-shaped ends; the IGP version contains wheat flour, water, lard, olive oil, leavening, salt and malt.
• Crescentina — a regional Emilian bread term: around Bologna it often means fried dough similar to gnocco fritto, while in Modena it refers to the griddle-cooked bread also called tigella.
• Crocchè — southern Italian potato croquettes, particularly associated with Naples, commonly breaded and fried.
• Donzelle — small pieces of fried bread dough, a Tuscan specialty.
• Focaccia al rosmarino — flatbread baked with olive oil, rosemary, and salt.
• Frittata — Italian egg dish similar to an open-faced omelet, cooked in a pan or oven; it is usually not folded.
• Insalata caprese — salad of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, often dressed with olive oil.
• Lumache — snails, eaten in various Italian regional dishes; preparation varies.
• Mozzarella in carrozza — fried mozzarella sandwiched between slices of bread, coated in egg and typically breadcrumbs or flour.
• Pavese — zuppa alla pavese: a soup from Pavia made with broth, bread, egg, and grated cheese.
• Peperonata — a stew of sweet peppers, onions, and tomatoes
• Ribollita — traditional Tuscan vegetable and bean soup thickened with stale bread, commonly made with cavolo nero.

Meat, Poultry, Game & Cured Meats

• Abbacchio — very young lamb associated with Roman and Lazio cooking, traditionally milk-fed.
• Affettati — cold cuts, sliced meats
• Agnello — lamb
• Anatra col pien — Venetian stuffed duck, often filled with a mixture of meat, offal, herbs and other seasonings; recipes vary.
• Anatra muschiata — Muscovy duck, also called Barbary duck.
• Arrosticini — small skewers of sheep meat grilled over charcoal, especially associated with Abruzzo.
• Asino, asina — donkey; asino is male and asina female.
• Biroldo — traditional Tuscan pork blood sausage, particularly associated with Garfagnana, made with pork meat and blood and seasoned with spices; recipes differ locally.
• Braciola — chop or cutlet, commonly pork; in some southern Italian dishes, braciole are thin slices of meat rolled around a filling.
• Brasato — braised meat, commonly beef; brasato al Barolo is braised with Barolo red wine.
• Bresaola — salt-cured, air-dried beef, particularly associated with Valtellina in Lombardy; curing times vary.
• Bue — ox, especially a castrated male bovine; carne di bue means ox meat, not beef in general.
• Bufalo, bufala — water buffalo; bufala is the female, whose milk is used to make mozzarella di bufala.
• Cacciagione — game
• Capocollo — cured pork from the neck or upper shoulder, also called coppa in parts of Italy.
• Capra — goat
• Capriolo — roe deer; on a menu, roe-deer venison.
• Carne — meat; carne macinata is minced or ground meat.
• Carpaccio — originally thin slices of raw beef, named at Harry’s Bar in Venice; now also used for similarly presented fish or other meats.
• Carré — rack or loin of meat, commonly veal, pork or lamb, sometimes roasted whole.
• Cervo — stag, venison
• Cinghiale — wild boar
• Coda alla vaccinara — Oxtail stew typical of Roman cuisine.
• Coniglio — rabbit
• Cotechino Modena — Cotechino Modena IGP: cooked or raw pork sausage made with pork meat and rind, traditionally served hot, especially around New Year.
• Cotoletta — cutlet, typically of veal or pork; often breaded and fried, as in cotoletta alla milanese.
• Culatello — cured pork salume made from a boneless cut of the hind leg, especially associated with the Parma area.
• Dindo — turkey; a regional alternative to standard Italian tacchino.
• Equino — equine: horse, donkey, or mule; carne equina, horse meat
• Fagianello — young pheasant
• Fagiano — pheasant
• Fegato — liver; fegato alla veneziana is typically sautéed with onions.
• Figà (Venetian) — liver; a Venetian dialect term, distinct from the meaning of figa in standard Italian.
• Figà garbo e dolce (Venetian) — Venetian-style liver cooked sweet-and-sour with sugar and vinegar. Figà nel radeselo is liver wrapped in pork caul fat, often with sage, before cooking—not merely wrapped in sage leaves.
• Filetto — fillet or tenderloin, especially a tender cut of meat.
• Fiorentina — bistecca alla fiorentina: a thick, bone-in Florentine steak, usually grilled and served rare; traditionally associated with Chianina beef.
• Gallo — cock, rooster
• Granelli — testicles used as offal, such as those of calves or lambs; in other contexts, the word can mean small grains.
• Guanciale — Italian cured pork jowl, especially used in Roman pasta sauces.
• Lardo — salt-cured pork fat; Lardo di Colonnata IGP is a Tuscan specialty matured with herbs and spices.
• Lepre — hare
• Lombata — loin
• Maiale — pig or pork; maialino da latte means suckling pig.
• Manzo — beef
• Mestolone — northern shoveler, a wild duck with a broad, spatula-shaped bill; the word also means a large ladle.
• Mortadella — a cooked pork sausage associated with Bologna, containing visible cubes of pork fat; pepper and pistachios may be used.
• Oca — Goose
• Osso buco — cross-cut veal shank, usually braised with vegetables, wine and stock; ossobuco alla milanese is a classic.
• Pancetta — cured pork belly, usually seasoned with salt and spices.
• Pezzetti di cavallo — small pieces of horse meat simmered in tomato sauce, a specialty of parts of Puglia.
• Pollame — poultry
• Pollanca — a regional word for a young hen or young turkey, not exclusively turkey.
• Pollo — chicken; pollo alla diavola is typically split and cooked over a grill or in a pan with a spicy seasoning.
• Polpette, polpettine — meatballs or small patties; vegetarian versions may be made with vegetables or cheese, while polpettine are small ones.
• Polpettone — meatloaf, commonly baked or cooked in a covered pan.
• Porco — pig
• Prosciutto — ham; prosciutto crudo is air-dried cured ham, while prosciutto cotto is cooked ham.
• Rosticciana — roast or grilled pork ribs, a typical Tuscan preparation.
• Soppressa — a coarse-grained cured pork salami especially associated with Veneto; Sopressa Vicentina DOP is the protected Vicenza version.
• Speck — smoked cured ham, especially associated with Alto Adige/Südtirol
• Vitella, vitello — veal or young calf; vitello is the standard masculine noun for calf or veal.

Fish & Seafood

• Acciuga — anchovy (singular); acciughe is the plural.
• Acqua pazza — a method of cooking fish in a light broth, typically with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and sometimes white wine.
• Agghiotta di pesce spada — a Messina-area swordfish dish cooked in a savory sauce typically featuring tomatoes, olives and capers; versions may also include pine nuts or raisins.
• Alici — anchovies (plural), often used for fresh anchovies as well as preserved fish.
• Anguilla — eel
• Aragosta — spiny or rock lobster (langouste), which lacks the large claws of a true lobster.
• Aringa — herring
• Baccalà — salted and dried cod; in parts of Veneto and nearby areas, the same word is used for air-dried stockfish (stoccafisso).
• Baccalà mantecato — Venetian whipped stockfish prepared with olive oil to form a creamy spread, traditionally served on bread or polenta.
• Bertagnin — a Venetian regional name for salted cod, distinguished locally from baccalà, which often means stockfish.
• Branzino al sale — Sea bass baked in salt.
• Buridda — a Ligurian fish or seafood stew, with regional versions also found elsewhere on Italy’s coast.
• Cacciucco — a rich fish and seafood stew associated with the Tuscan coast, especially Livorno.
• Calamaretti — small squid; the plural of calamaretto.
• Capesante alla veneziana — Venetian-style scallops, often cooked with garlic, parsley, olive oil and lemon; some versions are gratinated.
• Cappalunga — razor clam, a long, narrow bivalve.
• Cappesante, Capasante — scallops; regional and spelling variants include capesante.
• Cappon magro — traditional Ligurian layered dish of fish, shellfish and vegetables, usually dressed with a green herb sauce.
• Carpione — an endangered endemic salmonid from Lake Garda (Salmo carpio); in carpione also describes a method of marinating previously cooked fish in vinegar and aromatics.
• Caviale — caviar
• Fragolino — red sea bream, or pagello fragolino (Pagellus erythrinus), a reddish Mediterranean food fish.
• Frutti di mare — seafood, especially shellfish and other marine delicacies, not just shellfish.
• Gambero — shrimp or prawn; gambero di fiume is a freshwater crayfish.
• Gattuccio — dogfish (small shark)
• Granchio — crab
• Lampreda — lamprey
• Maccarello — mackerel; also called sgombro.
• Mazzancolla — large Mediterranean shrimp
• Merluzzo — cod; depending on context it may mean fresh or frozen cod, as distinct from salt-cured baccalà.
• Moleche, moeche — Venetian lagoon crabs caught just after molting, when their shells are soft; commonly fried.
• Moscardino — a small octopus-like cephalopod, commonly eaten in Mediterranean seafood cooking.
• Peoci — mussels; a Venetian dialect term, equivalent to cozze in standard Italian.
• Pesce azzurro — a collective culinary term for oily fish such as sardines, anchovies and mackerel; it is not a precise biological category.
• Pesce serra — bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), a predatory sea fish; not mackerel.
• Pesce spada, pescespada — swordfish
• Polpo, polipo — octopus; polpo is the preferred culinary term, while polipo may also mean a polyp in scientific Italian.
• Razza — skate (ray)
• Sarda — sardine
• Scorfano — Mediterranean scorpion fish (rascasse)
• Seppia — cuttlefish; seppioline are small cuttlefish.
• Sogliola — sole
• Spigola — European sea bass, also called branzino in much of northern Italy.
• Storione — sturgeon
• Testoni — young eels, a regional name.
• Tonno — tuna
• Totano — a type of squid, distinct in zoological usage from calamaro.
• Triglia — red mullet; triglie is the plural.
• Trota — trout; trota iridea is rainbow trout, while trota salmonata describes pink-fleshed trout.
• Vongole — clams
• Vongole veraci — carpet-shell clams prized in Italian cooking, particularly in dishes such as spaghetti alle vongole.

Vegetables, Fruit, Legumes, Grains & Nuts

• Agrumi — citrus fruits
• Ananas — pineapple
• Anguria — watermelon
• Arancia — orange (the fruit)
• Armelin — apricot in Venetian and related regional dialects; standard Italian is albicocca.
• Asparagi — asparagus; Asparagi selvatici – wild asparagus
• Barbabietola — beets
• Bietola — Swiss chard
• Bosco — woodland or forest; frutti di bosco means mixed berries or forest fruits.
• Brustolini, Bruscolini — roasted, often salted pumpkin or squash seeds, traditionally eaten as a snack.
• Canarini — a traditional Venetian name for small, tender artichokes, sometimes eaten raw.
• Cannellini — small, pale white beans; do not confuse them with Cannellino di Frascati DOCG, a sweet white wine from Lazio.
• Carciofini — small artichokes or artichoke hearts, often marinated in olive oil.
• Cardi — cardoons
• Carote — carrots
• Castraure — the tender first buds removed from the Violetto di Sant’Erasmo artichoke plants in the Venetian lagoon, especially in spring.
• Cavoli, cavolini, cavoletti di Bruxelles — cavoli are cabbages; cavoletti di Bruxelles are Brussels sprouts.
• Ceci — chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• Cedro — citron
• Champignon — cultivated button mushroom
• Cicoria — chicory; the word covers several edible leafy forms. Cicoria di Bruxelles denotes Belgian endive or witloof chicory.
• Ciliegie — cherries (plural of ciliegia).
• Cipolla — onion
• Cocco, noce di cocco — coconut; noce di cocco is the full term.
• Fagiolo (pl. fagioli) — bean; plural fagioli.
• Farina — flour; farina gialla often refers to maize flour used for polenta.
• Finocchio — fennel; finocchio selvatico means wild fennel.
• Fragole — strawberries
• Fragoline di bosco — small wild strawberries, often served simply with sugar, lemon or cream; toppings vary.
• Funghi porcini — porcini or cep mushrooms (boletes).
• Grano — grain; wheat
• Granoturco — maize or corn, not necessarily sweetcorn.
• Lamponi — raspberries
• Lenticchie — lentils
• Limone — lemon
• Mais — corn, sweet corn; fiocchi di mais, cornflakes
• Mandorle — almonds; mandorla amara is a bitter almond.
• Maracuja — passion fruit
• Mela — apple
• Melagrana — pomegranate
• Melanzane — eggplant
• More — blackberries
• Noce di cocco — coconut
• Noci — walnuts; noce is singular. Noci can also mean nuts more generally.
• Pastinaca — parsnip
• Patanabò (regional) — Jerusalem artichoke (topinambur); patanabò is a Piedmontese dialect name, also encountered as ciapinabò or tupinabò.
• Pesca (pl. pesche) — peach; plural pesche.
• Pesca noce — nectarine
• Pinoli — pine nuts.
• Piselli — peas; piselli alla fiorentina are often cooked with onion and pancetta or prosciutto.
• Pomodoro — tomato; pomodori con il riso are baked tomatoes filled with rice, often served with potatoes in Roman cooking.
• Pompelmo — grapefruit.
• Porro — leek
• Prugna — plum; a dried plum is a prugna secca.
• Rabarbaro — rhubarb
• Scalogno (also scalogna, regional) — shallot; scalogna is an older or regional feminine form, while standard modern Italian is scalogno. Note that scalogna commonly means “bad luck” in colloquial Italian.
• Segale — rye
• Spinaci — (pl.) spinach
• Uva spina — gooseberry
• Uvetta — raisins or small dried grapes, often used in baked goods.
• Verza — Savoy cabbage
• Zucca — pumpkin or winter squash.
• Zucchine, zucchini — courgettes or zucchini; zucchine and zucchini are both used as Italian plural forms.

Herbs, Spices & Pantry Ingredients

• Aceto balsamico — balsamic vinegar; Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena and di Reggio Emilia are distinct DOP products. Read more about balsamic vinegar.
• Aglio — garlic; aglio e olio literally means “garlic and oil” and names a simple pasta dressing, sometimes with chili and parsley.
• Alloro — bay laurel; foglia d’alloro means bay leaf.
• Anice — anise
• Basilico — basil
• Cannella — cinnamon
• Capperi — capers
• Cerfoglio — chervil
• Diavolillo (regional) — hot chili pepper; a southern Italian dialect term equivalent to standard Italian peperoncino.
• Dragoncello — tarragon
• Ginepro — juniper
• Lauro — bay laurel, an alternative name for alloro.
• Menta — mint
• Miele — honey
• Noce moscata — nutmeg.
• Odori — aromatic vegetables and herbs used to flavor a dish, commonly celery, carrot, onion or parsley.
• Pepe — pepper; pepe nero is black pepper.
• Pepe verde — green peppercorns
• Peperoncino — chili pepper
• Persa — marjoram; a traditional Ligurian dialect word.
• Prezzemolo — parsley
• Rosmarino — rosemary
• Sale — salt
• Salvia — sage, the culinary herb.
• Spezie — spices
• Timo — thyme, the culinary herb.
• Vaniglia — vanilla
• Zafferano — saffron
• Zenzero — ginger
• Zucchero — sugar

Cheese & Dairy

• Asiago — cow’s-milk cheese protected as Asiago DOP, produced in designated parts of Veneto and Trentino; made in fresh and aged styles.
• Burro — butter; pasta al burro is pasta dressed with butter, sometimes with grated cheese.
• Cacio — cheese
• Fior di latte — fresh mozzarella-style stretched-curd cheese made from cow’s milk (unlike mozzarella di bufala).
• Formaggio — cheese
• Grana Padano — hard, long-aged cow’s-milk cheese from the Po Valley, protected as Grana Padano DOP.
• Pecorino — sheep’s-milk cheese, made in many regional styles. Pecorino Romano DOP is a firm cheese produced in Lazio, Sardinia and the province of Grosseto in Tuscany.
• Provola — a stretched-curd cheese, made from cow’s milk or buffalo’s milk depending on the regional style; sometimes smoked.
• Robiola — a family of soft cheeses, often creamy, made with cow, sheep, or goat milk or blends, depending on the variety.

Desserts & Sweets

• Biscotti — biscuits or cookies in Italian; outside Italy, the term often refers specifically to twice-baked cantucci-style biscuits.
• Brioche — a rich, soft sweet bread or pastry; in some Italian regions, especially at breakfast bars, brioche is used more broadly for croissant-like pastries.
• Canditi — candied fruit
• Chiacchiere — thin, crisp fried pastry strips dusted with icing sugar, traditionally eaten during Carnival; regional names vary.
• Colomba di Pasqua — traditional Easter cake
• Dobos — a Hungarian layered chocolate and caramel cake (Dobos torte) also encountered in Trieste and other former Habsburg areas.
• Latte fritto — fried custard dessert
• Panforte di Siena — dense spiced confection from Siena made with nuts, candied fruit, sugar or honey.
• Tiramisù — literally “pick me up”; a layered dessert of coffee-soaked savoiardi biscuits and mascarpone cream, usually finished with cocoa.
• Torrone — nougat candy made of honey, nuts, and egg whites
• Zabaglione (zabaione) — a light custard of egg yolks, sugar, and wine, traditionally Marsala; zabaione is a common alternative spelling.

Drinks, Coffee & Wine Terms

• Acqua — water
• Acqua minerale — mineral water
• Anisette — anise-flavored liqueur
• Aranciata — orange-flavored soft drink or orange soda.
• Bevande — beverages, drinks
• Bibita — beverage, drink
• Birra — beer
• Birra chiara — light-coloured beer, often a pale lager; chiara refers to color, not necessarily lower alcohol.
• Birra rossa, birra scura — amber/red beer (rossa) or dark beer (scura); these are not identical beer colors.
• Bollicine — literally “little bubbles”; informally used for sparkling wines.
• Botte — barrel
• Caffè — coffee; ordered without qualification in an Italian bar, it generally means an espresso.
• Calice — wineglass
• Camomilla — chamomile; the word can also refer to chamomile herbal tea.
• Digestivo — an after-dinner drink, often an amaro or spirit, traditionally taken after a meal.
• Gassato, gasato — carbonated or fizzy; often used for water and soft drinks.
• Limoncello — lemon liqueur, once associated with seaside resorts and sun-kissed islands, now ubiquitous
• Negroni — an Italian cocktail conventionally made with equal parts gin, Campari and sweet red vermouth.
• Sambuca — Italian anise-flavored liqueur; served con la mosca, it contains coffee beans, traditionally three.
• Sfuso — sold loose or in bulk, not bottled or packaged; vino sfuso is bulk wine.
• Sgroppino — a Venetian-style after-dinner drink or palate cleanser, typically made with lemon sorbet and prosecco, sometimes with vodka.
• Sidro — cider
• Spina — tap; birra alla spina means draught beer.