Times may change but over half of all Italians still break bread together on long, big Sunday lunches.

Though brunch has made headway in Italy recently, especially in cities and among young people, 52% of the 1,834 families polled by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Academy of Italian Cuisine) still follow the Sunday lunch tradition.

The menu? Usually cold cuts and crostini for starters, then pasta and roast meat plus fruit, dessert and coffee.

“In an age where all food is the same and people cook less, Sunday lunch is a bulwark against fast-food and ready-made meals,” said Accademia president Giovanni Ballarini. “It’s an important ritual to keep families together.”

This prodigal spread is still usually prepared by women, though two out of 10 men claim they “lend a hand” for Sunday cooking. Younger generations, say the study, aren’t interested in cooking, but are happy to sit down and eat with the extended family.

Photo courtesy Dpf at Flickr

Italian researchers nosing around have discovered traces of DNA from Chinese truffles mingled with prestigious, costly local black truffles.

The trouble with truffle intermingling? Scientists say it is one reason, along with environmental changes, that the prized tuber has become even more scarce in recent seasons.

Truffle cousins from Asia sprung up in European markets in the 1990s. Among them is the Tuber indicum from China, a close relation of the Italian black truffle, Tuber melanosporum. The two mushrooms share genes and have a similar structure and shape. Truffle conossieurs, willing to pay between €200 and 600 per kilogram (USD$130–$380 per pound) for this black gold, say the Asian variety lacks the taste and fragrance of Italian truffles.

During an inspection of a black truffle farm near Turin, where a dozen years ago T. melanosporum truffles were planted, researchers of the Institute for Plant Protection (IPP) of the National Science Council identified DNA of T. indicum in the soil and roots.
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