For New Year's Eve dinner at home, the cost is 94 euros per family

An average of 94 euros will be spent per family on New Year's Eve dinner, a 14% increase over last year. This is according to a Coldiretti/Ixe' survey ahead of New Year's Eve, which predicts that more than seven in ten Italians (71%) will celebrate New Year's Eve dinner at home, either at home or at relatives and friends' homes. The rest will dine at restaurants, trattorias, pizzerias, pubs, and agritourism establishments, for an average of nine people per table. Sparkling wine, Coldiretti emphasizes, remains the must-have product for nine out of ten Italians (91%), but it is surprisingly closely followed by lentils, which appear on 82% of menus, perhaps also because they are believed to bring good luck according to ancient beliefs. Among the best-known are those from Castelluccio di Norcia PGI, but also those included in the list of traditional national specialties, such as lentils from S. Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo), Valle Agricola (Campania), Onano, Rascino, and Ventotene (Lazio), Molisane (Molise), Altamura (Puglia), Villalba, Leonforte, Ustica, and Pantelleria (Sicily), or Umbrian ones, such as those from Colfiorito. The interest in lentils is accompanied by the resurgence of cotechino and zampone, which are present on 67% of tables. Coldiretti emphasizes that approximately 6 million kilos of cotechino and zampone were served, with a clear preference for the former. During the end-of-year holidays, Coldiretti specifies, approximately 90 percent of the total national production disappears from the tables. Most of it is certified as Cotechino and Zampone di Modena PGI, recognizable by the distinctive logo of yellow and blue concentric circles with European Union stars. However, there is also a significant demand for artisanal cotechino and zampone, perhaps purchased directly from farmers, on the farm, at markets, or at Campagna Amica shops, where the meat content is 9% Italian. Domestic fish is also prominent on holiday tables, including anchovies, clams, sole, red mullet, and cuttlefish. Coldiretti concludes that 66% of Italians have tasted salmon imported from abroad, just 13% have allowed themselves oysters, and 15% have tried caviar, often domestically produced and also exported.