In eight out of ten cases (82%) the Italian dinner menu includes lentils.
This is what emerges from the Coldiretti/Ixè analysis on New Year's Eve by Italians who put sparkling wine on the podium of the most popular products with 84% and third cotechino or zampone (69%).
"The production of lentils in Italy - underlines Coldiretti - is about 4.3 million kilos and particularly sought after are those Castelluccio di Norcia Igp, whose production was severely affected by the earthquake but also those included in the list of traditional specialties national ones such as lentils from S.Stefano di Sessano (Abruzzo), from Valle Agricola (Campania), from Onano, Rascino and Ventotene (Lazio), from Molise (Molise), from Villalba and Ustica (Sicily) or from Umbria such as those from Colfiorito".
"The winning combination - continues Coldiretti - is with 6 million kilos of cotechino and zampone consumed right at the end of the year with a large part of the national production which is certified as Cotechino and Zampone di Modena Igp,
Not just lentils, among the 'lucky' dishes.
At the end of the year, Coldiretti continues, there are also grapes.
And the pomegranates are also a good omen, a symbol of shelter and protection.
