Calabria is a major producer of olive oil, accounting for about 25 percent of the nation's total. The extra virgin oils of Bruzio and Lamezia have been singled out for DOP status. Beyond its role in cooking, Calabria's olive oil is used for preserving vegetables, mushrooms and fish.
Alongside the familiar maccheroni and spaghetti, Calabrians make pasta called lágane (similar to fettuccine), ricci di donna (lady's curls), and capieddi 'e prieviti (priest's hairs). Some housewives still make pasta ru ferretto, rolling the dough around slender iron rods to form tubes.
Pork is the region's prevalent meat, preserved as ham, salame and sausages, including the type that includes bits of liver and lung and is known as 'ndugghia or 'nnuglia (probably from andouille, introduced by the occupying French). Four types of Calabrian salumi qualify for DOP: Capocollo (neck roll), Pancetta (pork belly), Salsiccia (sausage) and Soppressata (a type of salame). Lamb and goats are prized as sources of both meat and cheese. Cows grazed in the Sila range around Cosenza render fine Caciocavallo Silano DOP and butirro, with a core of butter.
The fishing fleet at Bagnara Calabra harpoons swordfish and tuna in Tyrrhenian waters. Anchovies and sardines are also prominent in Calabria, though every town has a recipe for dried cod, baccalà or pesce stocco, often cooked with potatoes, tomatoes and peppers.
Along with ample loaves of country bread, come an array of focaccia and pizza, whether in the Neapolitan style or in local versions: one with ricotta and prosciutto, another with pork crackling and raisins and another called pitta chicculiata.
The region is a major producer of citrus fruit, led by the IGP Clementine di Calabria. A regional glory is dried figs, either covered or stuffed with chocolate, which is also used to coat lemon and orange peels. Calabrians make a luscious array of pastries and sweets for the Christmas and Easter holidays, though some desserts are available year-round.
Reds dominate the region's ten DOC wines, led by Cirò, which traces its origins to Magna Græcia. It comes from the Gaglioppo grape, which is also the source of the pale but potent reds of Savuto, Pollino and Verbicaro. Dry whites, led by the crisply fruity Cirò Bianco, generally derive from the Greco grape, as do the exquisitely sweet Greco di Bianco and Greco di Gerace, though they are rarely found away from their sunny vineyards overlooking the Ionian Sea.
