(Finance) – The Italians they will spend 2.2 billion on New Year’s Eve dinner that is, 250 million more than last year, and 50 million more than the pre-pandemic New Year’s Eve. They will be 5 out of 10 Italians waiting at home, their own or those of friends and relatives, the stroke of midnight to toast the new year, while 3 out of 10 will toast to 2023 while traveling between mountain resorts, spas or cities of art, 2 out of 10 will instead spend the evening in restaurants or sales with organized dinners. This is what emerges from a survey conducted by Confcooperative study centreaccording to which, however, the increased spending compared to last year is not determined by a greater propensity to spend but by inflation which erodes the purchasing power of families.
The dinners will enhance the Made in Italy agri-food excellence. Italian bubbles confirm themselves as the inevitable superstars of dinner parties with around 55 million corks ready to pop from bottles of Made in Italy sparkling wine and prosecco. Sold out for the Castelluccio di Norcia lentil. For the New Year’s Eve menu, clams and seafood, decimated by the blue crab, for the first courses (125 million euros); fish for second courses (330 million euros); meat, cured meats and eggs (360 million euros); wines, sparkling wines and proseccos (405 million euros); fruit, vegetables and greens (295 million euros). Pasta, bread, flour and oil (225 million euros). There will be a platter of fresh and mature Italian cheeses (130 million). The rich dessert cart (380 million euros) will close.
And if Italians agree on what to bring to the table, there are different schools of thought in cooking. Among the over 50s, traditional or family recipes win. Blogs and apps are very popular among younger people to search for an effective recipe: shrimp crêpes, octopus on cheese fondue, raw fish with avocado, turbot in a cocoa crust; shrimp and pesto risotto; fish fillets with liquorice. Bubbles won’t taste the same for everyone. There will be a toast from the bitter cup for the people who have slipped into poverty, an army of poor people who see their ranks swollen: there are over 10 million people between absolute and relative poverty.
(Photo: dolgachov | 123RF)