Marika prepares the eggplant slices by baking them in the oven—a much lighter way of preparing the eggplant layers than the traditional frying method.

It's time to check the eggplant in the oven. And what about the slices that were a bit too sottili (thin)? Will they have burned? Note that English mostly uses eggplant as a collective noun (in the singular) but Italian, unless referring specifically to a single eggplant, uses the plural le melanzane when referring to eggplant in general, and to the slices themselves.

We've finally reached the last part of this recipe. Now you can make this dish yourself. Don't forget to pre-heat the oven to two hundred and twenty or two hundred and forty degrees (428-464°F). If you happen to have any leftover afterwards, you can safely freeze it. Buon appetito!

Here's a summer recipe that uses simple but good ingredients.

Marika finishes explaining how to make a delicious pasta salad, so you'll be ready to give it a try in your own kitchen. Buon appetito!

Franco Calafatti knows a great deal about spices but he also loves to experiment. The star of this segment is cinnamon.

This fascinating segment is all about salt: Our spice journey takes us to Sicily, where much of Italy's salt is harvested. Franco talks about how salt is life, salt is gold.

Franco shows us some infused salts that we would never think of off hand. His descriptions are colorful and make us want to try out these delicacies.

Franco is crazy about spices. He draws us into his world, the world of the 7 (not just 5) senses. In his stream of consciousness style, he prepares us for traveling the four corners of the earth to discover all the tastes and fragrances awaiting us.

From the heart of Tuscany, famous for its olive oil, Tuscans Lisetta and Alessio talk about how olive oil is made.

Lisetta and Alessio show us how they like to taste their new, freshly pressed olive oil. Since oil can be used uncooked to dress salads, or used as cooking oil, they call the uncooked oil olio crudo (raw oil).

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.

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.

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.

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.