Trentino-Alto Adige

Trentino-Alto Adige cuisine

The cuisine of Trentino-Alto Adige comes from a mix of local traditions and regional foods that has been heavily influenced over the centuries by its neighbor to the north, Austria, as well as the neighboring regions of Veneto and Lombardy. Trentino-Alto Adige, also referred to as Trentino-South Tyrol or Sudtirol, is an 100% mountainous region in northern Italy set high in the Alps, including the spectacular Dolomites. These striking mountains form a beautiful backdrop to flowing rivers and verdant valleys. The region attracts visitors from all over the world for hiking and biking and other outdoor activities in the summer or skiing in the winter, while offering incredible hospitality and delicious food and wine.

South Tyrol local foods

Given its terrain and climate, the region isn’t suitable for many types of agriculture, so it has specialized in specific areas such as growing apples and grapes. Also very important to the local cuisine are the high-mountain pastures for cows, goats and sheep for the production of tasty milk, butter, cheese and yogurt.

Interestingly, because the area lacks plains for growing wheat, its typical dishes did not originally include pasta which is a mainstay in most other Italian regions. The introduction of wheat pasta to the local cuisine occurred only after World War II, instead most meals started with a minestrone or stew until recently.

The history of Trentino-Alto Adige and its dishes

Trentino-Alto Adige was once part of Austria, and a fairly high percentage of its inhabitants, even today, speak South Tyrolean German as their first language instead of Italian. The names of many of the typical dishes come straight from the German language. A good example is krapfen, which is a filled donut, or bretzel, which is a soft pretzel or apple strudel.

Other typical dishes from the region include canederli dumplings, Trentino goulash stew, strangolapreti gnocchi-like pasta, zelten cake, kaiserschmarrn sweet pancake-like treat and schwarz plententorte buckwheat cake.

The main cities in this region are Trento and Bolzano, and there are endless charming villages and unique towns each with their own versions of these delicious dishes. Learn the Trentino-Alto Adige recipes so you can recreate the meals from mountain taverns or city restaurants.

Marende charcuterie and cheese brettl boards

One dish that needs no cooking time, just a little time to shop and prep, is the local charcuterie and cheese board, called a brettl. The board is served as a mid-afternoon snack, locally called marende, filled with regional cold cuts like speck, kaminwurzen dried sausage, and plenty of delicious mountain cheeses, such as stelvio.

Trentino-Alto Adige wine and beer

The region also offers fantastic white wines, producing Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio grapes as well as local red varieties such as Lagrein, Teroldego and Marzemino. The region is also known for its beer and, while industrially-produced beer became much more prominent after WWII, the last decade has seen the resurgence of beer made following local traditional recipes and using pure mountain water and locally produced hops.

Trentino-Alto Adige cuisine

The cuisine of Trentino-Alto Adige comes from a mix of local traditions and regional foods that has been heavily influenced over the centuries by its neighbor to the north, Austria, as well as the neighboring regions of Veneto and Lombardy. Trentino-Alto Adige, also referred to as Trentino-South Tyrol or Sudtirol, is an 100% mountainous region in northern Italy set high in the Alps, including the spectacular Dolomites. These striking mountains form a beautiful backdrop to flowing rivers and verdant valleys. The region attracts visitors from all over the world for hiking and biking and other outdoor activities in the summer or skiing in the winter, while offering incredible hospitality and delicious food and wine.

South Tyrol local foods

Given its terrain and climate, the region isn’t suitable for many types of agriculture, so it has specialized in specific areas such as growing apples and grapes. Also very important to the local cuisine are the high-mountain pastures for cows, goats and sheep for the production of tasty milk, butter, cheese and yogurt.

Interestingly, because the area lacks plains for growing wheat, its typical dishes did not originally include pasta which is a mainstay in most other Italian regions. The introduction of wheat pasta to the local cuisine occurred only after World War II, instead most meals started with a minestrone or stew until recently.

The history of Trentino-Alto Adige and its dishes

Trentino-Alto Adige was once part of Austria, and a fairly high percentage of its inhabitants, even today, speak South Tyrolean German as their first language instead of Italian. The names of many of the typical dishes come straight from the German language. A good example is krapfen, which is a filled donut, or bretzel, which is a soft pretzel or apple strudel.

Other typical dishes from the region include canederli dumplings, Trentino goulash stew, strangolapreti gnocchi-like pasta, zelten cake, kaiserschmarrn sweet pancake-like treat and schwarz plententorte buckwheat cake.

The main cities in this region are Trento and Bolzano, and there are endless charming villages and unique towns each with their own versions of these delicious dishes. Learn the Trentino-Alto Adige recipes so you can recreate the meals from mountain taverns or city restaurants.

Marende charcuterie and cheese brettl boards

One dish that needs no cooking time, just a little time to shop and prep, is the local charcuterie and cheese board, called a brettl. The board is served as a mid-afternoon snack, locally called marende, filled with regional cold cuts like speck, kaminwurzen dried sausage, and plenty of delicious mountain cheeses, such as stelvio.

Trentino-Alto Adige wine and beer

The region also offers fantastic white wines, producing Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio grapes as well as local red varieties such as Lagrein, Teroldego and Marzemino. The region is also known for its beer and, while industrially-produced beer became much more prominent after WWII, the last decade has seen the resurgence of beer made following local traditional recipes and using pure mountain water and locally produced hops.