Italian All-in-One For Dummies (19 page)

Marco:
Sai com'e' Lella; per lei l'orologio è soltanto un accessorio-moda.

sah
-ee koh-
meh
lehl
-lah; pehr ley loh-roh-
loh
-joh
eh
sohl-
tahn
-toh oohn ahch-chehs-
soh
-ryoh-
moh
-dah.

You know how Lella is; watches are only a fashion accessory for her.

Alex:
Ma avevamo appuntamento alle 4! Che ore sono adesso?

mah ah-veh-
vah
-moh ahp-poohn-tah-
mehn
-toh
ahl
-leh
kwaht
-troh! keh
oh
-reh
soh
-noh ah-
dehs
-soh
?

But we were supposed to meet at 4! What time is it now?

Marco:
Le 4 o le 5, che cambia? Comunque sono le 4:35.

leh
kwaht
-troh oh leh
cheen
-kweh, keh
kahm
-byah? koh-
moohn
-kweh
soh
-noh leh
kwaht
-troh eh trehn-tah-
cheen
-kweh.

4 or 5, what does it matter? If you really want to know, it's 4:35.

Alex:
Tu sarai anche abituato ai suoi ritardi, ma io no. Adesso la chiamo.

tooh sah-
rah
-ee
ahn
-keh ah-bee-
twah
-toh ay swohy ree-
tahr
-dee, mah
ee
-oh noh. ah-
dehs
-soh lah
kyah
-moh.

You might be used to her tardiness, but I'm not. I'm going to call her.

Marco:
Aspetta, ha appena mandato un messaggio . . . dice “ci vediamo direttamente in gelateria prima della chiusura. Poi vi spiego — Lella.”

ah-
speht
-tah, ah ahp-
peh
-nah mahn-
dah
-toh oohn mehs-
sahj
-joh . . .
dee
-cheh “chee veh-
dyah
-moh dee-reht-tah-
mehn
-teh een geh-lah-teh-
ryah
pree
-mah
dehl
-lah kyooh-
sooh
-rah. pohy vee
spyeh
-goh —
lehl
-lah.”

Wait, she just sent a message . . . it says, “I'll meet you directly at the ice-cream parlor before it closes. I'll explain later — Lella.”

Alex:
Prima della chiusura? Cioè alle 19:30! Che facciamo per tre ore?

pree
-mah
dehl
-lah kyooh-
sooh
-rah? choh-
eh
ahl
-leh dee-chahn-
noh
-veh eh
trehn
-tah! keh fahch-
chah
-moh pehr treh
oh
-reh?

Before it closes? That's at 7:30 p.m.! What are we going to do for three hours?

Marco:
Io una idea ce l'avrei: mangiamo gelato!

ee
-oh ooh-nee-
deh
-ah cheh lah-
vreh
-ee: mahn-
jah
-moh jeh-
lah
-toh!

I have an idea: Let's eat some ice cream!

Alex:
Quanto gelato si potrà mangiare in 180 minuti? Boh, lo sapremo presto. Mi piace; ci sto!

kwahn
-toh jeh-
lah
-toh see poh-
trah
mahn-
jah
-reh een
chen
-toht-
tahn
-tah mee-
nooh
-tee? boh, loh sah-
preh
-moh
preh
-stoh. mee
pyah
-cheh; chee stoh!

How much ice cream can we eat in 180 minutes? Well, we'll find it out soon. I like it; I'm in!

 

Familiarizing Yourself with the Metric System

If you're like most Americans, the metric system quite simply defeats you. The decimal system is practically hard-wired into U.S. residents. It's used almost exclusively, outside of scientific fields. So what do you really need to know about the metric system? The temperature would be nice. So would knowing how much of something to buy in the food market or at the gas station. If you're cooking, being able to convert oven temperatures may be useful. Likewise, knowing how to figure out the body's temperature is helpful.

Converting the temperature to/from Celsius

To convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade, or Celsius, degrees, and Celsius to Fahrenheit, the following formula will suffice:

So, for example, say you want to figure out how many Celsius degrees 100 degrees Fahrenheit is. Just plug the numbers into the formula to find the answer:

Then to convert Celsius degrees to Fahrenheit, you use this formula:

Using the result of the earlier example, you can convert the Celsius degrees back to Fahrenheit like this:

This conversion works for oven temperatures (it's probably useful to know that the ever popular 350-degree Fahrenheit is about 180 degrees Celsius), for body temperatures (an Italian thermometer is normal when it reads 37 degrees Celsius), and for discussing the weather (38 degrees Celsius is
hot;
–20 degrees Celsius is way too cold to be out and walking about).

Measuring in metric units

A dual scale (in grams and ounces) and dual measuring cups are invaluable as you try to cook with metric measures. As for weights and measures, a
kilogram
is about 2.2 pounds.

When you go to the market, you'll want to be familiar with these metric conversions:

If you're buying meats, fish, or cheeses and want about a pound, a
mezzo chilo
(
mehdz
-dzoh
kee
-loh) (
half kilo
) should be about right. Loaves of bread tend to weigh about the same, a
mezzo chilo.

Vegetables are a little harder to measure, so you may want to use the old standbys:
una manciata
(
ooh
-nah mahn-
chah
-tah) (
a handful
),
due manciate
(dweh mahn-
chah
-teh) (
two handfuls
),
un ciuffo
(oohn
choohf
-foh) (
a tuft
),
due ciuffi
(dweh
choohf
-fee) (
two tufts
),
un cespo
(oohn
cheh
-spoh) (
a head
),
due cespi
(dweh
cheh
-spee) (
two heads
),
un mazzo
(oohn
mahts
-tsoh) (
a bunch
),
due mazzi
(dweh
mahts
-tsee) (
two bunches
). Use
ciuffo/ciuffi
for herbs, like parsley and basil, and
cespo/cespi
for heads of lettuce and other green-leaf vegetables. Remember that you're not the one picking out the vegetables and fruits; that is, you're not handling them — that's the greengrocer's job. You simply
do not touch
the fruit and vegetables on offer.

For cold cuts, knowing that
un etto
(oohn
eht
-toh) equals 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, should be sufficient information. If you're especially hungry,
due etti di prosciutto crudo
(dweh
eht
-tee dee proh-
shooht
-toh
crooh
-doh) (
200 grams,
or
7 ounces, of prosciutto
) is about right.