Editing Taranto (section)

=== Mussels of Taranto ===
[[File:Cozza tarantina.jpg|thumb|Tarantinian mussels cooked in a pan]]
A very important ingredient of the cuisine of Taranto is [[mussel]]s. They are grown in the Big Sea and, above all, in the Little Sea (see [[#Big Sea and Little Sea|above]]). They have been inserted in the list of Traditional Food Products by the Italian [[Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (Italy)|Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies]]. The peculiar flavour of Tarantine mussels is given by the special conditions of salinity of the Little Sea which is crossed by the ''citri'', submarine freshwater springs which manage to oxygenate the water, helping the development of the [[plankton]] and by the freshwater come from the Galeso river. The piles for the mussels were anciently made with wood from [[La Sila|Sila Mountains]] in [[Calabria]]. During the Ancient Greek and Roman times, several authors<ref>{{Cite book |title=Naturalis Historia, XXXII, XII.. |last=Plinius the Elder}}</ref> described the richness and the goodness of the mussels of Taranto. After the tests about the pollution that is present in the first side of the Little Sea, the legal production of mussels has been moved to the second side. The tests and the classifications of the water are made by producers giving the possibility to certify the safety of the product.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/bari/cronaca/16_aprile_22/emiliano-le-cozze-taranto-sono-piu-buone-mondo-c0558616-08a3-11e6-a5f4-16f1996f8d54.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202124131/https://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/bari/cronaca/16_aprile_22/emiliano-le-cozze-taranto-sono-piu-buone-mondo-c0558616-08a3-11e6-a5f4-16f1996f8d54.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 December 2020 |title=Emiliano: "Le cozze di Taranto sono le più buone al mondo" |last=Redazione online |work=Corriere della Sera |access-date=31 July 2018 |language=it-IT}}</ref> Some of the most traditional dishes of Taranto are mussels ''alla puppitegna'' (with [[garlic]], extra-virgin olive oil and [[parsley]]) or the ''[[impepata]]'' ("full of pepper" in Italian) or [[spaghetti]] with mussels, or [[Tubettini]] with mussels.