MILAN – Summer 2015 is bringing with it beautiful days all over Italy and the best way to tackle the torrid heat these days is to follow a correct diet, drinking a lot of water. Food blogger Sara Milletti agrees and in addition to presenting her blog Appetite Comes With Reading, she gives some tips for tackling the summer heat and at the same time points out the limits of the Italian people.

Appetite comes with reading. How did your blog begin and what does it talk about?

My blog began, by chance, 6 years ago. When I encountered the first food blogs on the web it was a period when I didn't eat much, I had begun to live alone and I was often on the hunt for new recipes. After browsing the web for months I decided to begin my own blog, considering my passion for cuisine, and initially it was a diary with recipes. As the years passed it evolved a bit and now my web space talks about food 360° even telling about travel experiences (my second passion) to discover the territory and the cuisine.

In your opinion how much and in what way can this information enrich the food culture of people?

Information is essential, but I think that we are a lazy population and we don't read enough. Although there are countless cuisine magazines and books, very few pay homage and are capable of perpetuating the food culture and the heritage of food. In any case I admit that we consumers, gourmets, are finally becoming more aware and we do our best: we study the labels, we seek out information on the production process and we pay more attention to what we are putting into our bodies. The transparency of large and small companies is also significant, as they open the doors of their establishments. When I have the chance to cross those thresholds I listen carefully to what, how and why they do things and I love sharing what I see in order to inform our end consumers.

Summer is in full swing by now: what are your culinary tips to tackle it? 

Summer is in full swing and it is particularly torrid. Obviously on my table, vegetables, salads and cold dishes (including fish-based dishes) are welcome and I go crazy for gazpacho (not just tomato). It is always tasty and refreshing (but also full of sugars) to have milkshakes, smoothies, ice creams and fruit juices. And when I go out I always have a bottle of natural water with me.

You are also interested in travel and nature: do you think that in Italy we are really aware of the beauty of our countryside? And how much effort do we put into protecting it?

Italy is a beautiful country, especially because it is so diverse. I have travelled a lot around Italy and I can say that I know it quite well. Nevertheless, more and more often I find that in speaking with friends and acquaintances who travel around Europe or overseas, they have never discovered Italy. I don't know if the fault (if we can call it fault) lies in the individual traveller not wanting to admit it or if these people truly do not find anything interesting about our country. It is true that the mentality of protecting and promoting our countryside changes from the north to the south and that the potential of the territory is not always exploited by regions, tourism offices and agencies, but the undisputed beauty of Italy continues to attract tourists from all over the world and being conscious travellers also means doing what is best for our own country. And in our small way to protect the beauty of the countryside we can be conscious consumers, selecting products that come from farms which practice sustainable farming without stressing the soil due to mass farming operations. 

by editorial staff