Calitrian cuisine is renowned in the area for being very tasty and rather spicy. Typical hand-made pasta dishes include cingul', the local dish par excellence. This is short, twirly pasta boiled and then served with a thick, tasty tomato sauce; other varieties of pasta with the same sauce include lahan' and aurecchi' r' preut'- (priest’s ears in the local dialect); another must are cannazze', served with delicious hot tomato sauce and pecorino cheese; and sciliend' (a special vermicelli-like pasta) with a condiment of garlic-fried oil and hot chili pepper.

Meat-based delicacies include m'gliatiegghij' a local favourite made up of tasty roulades of kid or lamb casings garnished with cheese, offal, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and sliced sausage; sfritta, or chopped pork meat sautéed with hot peppers; also sammuchij', a local pudding made of pork blood seasoned with minced lard, little segments of orange peel, rice, raisins, cinnamon, pork casings, walnuts, salt and chili pepper powder.

A traditional fish-based delicacy is stockfish a la ualanegna, the favourite of plowmen in the past (ualan' means plowman), in which stockfish is boiled and flavoured with garlic, herbs and chili peppers. Meals, food and eating in Italy:

You may think that Italian meals are excessively large with infinite courses, but more than a means for sustenance they are viewed as a social event. The portions are much smaller than those served in northern European countries, and being generally based on vegetables and fruits and home-made pastas, they generally are healthier than their cross-culture substitutes. In addition, the secret when preparing an Italian meal is to select the freshest of local ingredients, so what you eat will change from month to month.