Salt

As I mentioned in the preceding chapter, salt has been an important commodity in Italy for over 3,000 years. Until very recently it was produced and packaged by a government monopoly and was available only in tobacco shops. In the past decade, as people in North America have cut down on salt consumption, there has been a marked difference in the saltiness of Italian and American food. It is for this reason that most of the recipes in this book suggest that you add salt according to your own taste.