Onion, carrot and celery gently fried

What is a primo on an Italian menu?

The first course, often pasta or risotto

Stirring in butter and cheese to finish

What is cucina povera?

Peasant cooking that wastes nothing

Italian Culinary Terms Challenge – A 10-Question Trivia Quiz

Al dente literally means to the tooth, and the Italian culinary terms challenge decodes the vocabulary used in kitchens from Rome to Milan. Learn what soffritto, mantecatura, scarpetta, antipasto and aperitivo mean, and why Italian menus are divided into primi and secondi.

Start Italian Culinary Terms Challenge

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Al dente
What does al dente mean?
Soffritto
What is soffritto?
Scarpetta
What does fare la scarpetta mean?
Primo
What is a primo on an Italian menu?
Antipasto
What does antipasto mean?
Contorno
What is a contorno?
Aperitivo
What is aperitivo?
Mantecatura
What is mantecatura?
Cucina povera
What is cucina povera?
Digestivo
What is a digestivo?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What does al dente mean?
Answer: To the tooth
Pasta should have a slight bite.
Q2: What is soffritto?
Answer: Onion, carrot and celery gently fried
It is the base of many sauces.
Q3: What does fare la scarpetta mean?
Answer: Mopping up sauce with bread
It means little shoe.
Q4: What is a primo on an Italian menu?
Answer: The first course, often pasta or risotto
Secondo is the main course.
Q5: What does antipasto mean?
Answer: Before the meal
It is the starter.
Q6: What is a contorno?
Answer: A side dish
It comes with the secondo.
Q7: What is aperitivo?
Answer: A pre-dinner drink with snacks
Milan is famous for it.
Q8: What is mantecatura?
Answer: Stirring in butter and cheese to finish
It is key for risotto.
Q9: What is cucina povera?
Answer: Peasant cooking that wastes nothing
Many classics came from it.
Q10: What is a digestivo?
Answer: An after-meal drink like amaro
It is believed to aid digestion.

Italian Culinary Terms Challenge – Speak Like an Italian Cook

Italian kitchens have their own vocabulary, and learning it helps diners and cooks understand the structure and spirit of Italian meals. Many terms describe techniques, while others describe courses and rituals.

Al dente means pasta cooked to have a slight bite, soffritto is the gently fried base of onion, carrot and celery and mantecatura finishes risotto with butter and cheese. Fare la scarpetta means mopping up sauce with bread.

A traditional meal may include antipasto, a primo of pasta or risotto, a secondo of meat or fish with a contorno and dessert, followed by a digestivo. Aperitivo, especially in Milan, brings drinks and snacks before dinner.

What This Quiz Teaches

Home cooks and food lovers will enjoy these questions.

What al dente means
What soffritto is
How Italian menus are structured
What scarpetta means
What aperitivo is

Did You Know?

Q.b. on recipes means as much as needed.
Battuto is a raw chopped base.
Brodo means broth.
Dolce means dessert.
Spuntino means snack.