There is an amazing variety of fresh and dried pasta shapes and sizes in Italy, referred to as formati (shapes and sizes). Their names have to do with their surface (smooth, rough, grooved), their size, expressed with a suffix, such as -one, -etto, -ino, etc, and/or what they resemble. Marika makes some sense of the vast assortment of pasta found in Italian supermarkets.

There are different kinds of flour used to make pasta. "Flour" is a generic term but it's not always accurate. Marika explains it all.

Marika divides the types of pasta into different categories and explains their characteristics, ranging from ingredients to shelf life, to cooking time, and consistency.

Who doesn't love pasta? Marika talks about this extremely popular Italian food: the history, where it's produced, and how to cook it.

One reason mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) is so delicious is because the animals are treated with utmost respect. They are milked when they are physiologically ready!

Donato Brenca has been making cheese for about 20 years, and although he strives to make better and better cheese, he sticks to the same method he has always employed.

To make pasta, only 2 ingredients are strictly necessary: semola (durum wheat flour) and water. But atmospheric conditions make all the difference.

Italy is known for its pasta. The Zampino family was able to give new life to an old flour mill from the sixteen hundreds and turn it into a productive plant where they produce pasta keeping to traditional methods.

How are the harvested truffles divided up? And besides being sold whole, how are they further processed? Paolo and Stefania tell us the story.

Truffle hunting is a peculiar activity, one that requires the collaboration of a dog. And you never want to let on how many truffles you find, even if you are friends with other truffle hunters.

This episode is about a specialty from Colonnata, a little village above Carrara, where marble is quarried. It's pork lard, which may not sound very appetizing but is beloved by Italians all over the peninsula. A little goes a long way, but savored with typical unsalted Tuscan bread, it is pretty special. And marble plays an important part.

This is the story of an Italian, who haveing been brought up on a dairy farm, travels the world, ending up in Australia, only to return to Italy with some new ideas about the cheese he wants to create.

The bread from Altamura (in Apulia) is very famous among Italian bread connoisseurs. Beppe di Gesù, our host in this segment, comes from a long line of bakers. Breadmaking is so special that it's called l'arte bianca (the white art), because of the color of the flour.

Federica demonstrates the final stages of making the Colomba. Once ready, she cuts it open to show us what it looks like on the inside, with its particular consistency.

Federica continues working on the dough, adding various ingredients, and making sure that the dough "meshes" without breaking apart. Finally she will shape the dough into the form of a dove.