The truth on Italian Food

Like few other cultures in the world, Italy is synonymous with food. People from all over the world love and romanticize it. Is there anything like Dean Martin’s “That’s amore” playing softly in the background as the steaming plate of Spaghetti and meatballs are placed in front of you.

It is all divine…but is this really Italian?

One of the many reasons I love being Italian is that we have one of the best cuisines in the world, having produced many beloved dishes like pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, and gelato.

When I think of the Italian experience, I think of Sunday afternoon “pranzo.” That's a late lunch for non-Italians. My family would return from church around noon and as soon as I opened the door, the aroma met me in the foyer and we had a brief moment. I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent of tomato sauce that was simmering on the stove top. Mom had always started the “sugo” (sauce) before we left the house. Americans call tomato sauce gravy, but that is another story.

I always took a few slow paces toward the kitchen so I could carefully take in the sweet scent of tomato and basil. Inevitably, I would rip a piece of Italian bread and dipped it in the sauce and put the doused chuck of bread in my mouth. Ahhhh! The garlic was just right. The anticipation for lunch with the family with four loud conversations going on simultaneously and a glass of homemade wine was gut wrenching, but in a good way.

That is me. Born in Canada by Italian parents. As I have gotten older, I have been learning more and more about what it is to be Italian. I have discovered a few truths that have shocked me. Now, yes Colonel Nathan R. Jessup, I can handle the truth. Can you?

Italian food has captivated tastebuds around the globe for centuries and it is all so simple. Get some pasta, get some olive oil, get some garlic, maybe a tomato or a slice of bacon. And “Ecco” (Italian for ‘voila’) you have a party on a plate. And it is all so easy to cook and eat.

There is one thing that I find absolutely fascinating about our food and that is this; it seems like we have eaten Italian food all of our lives but many have never been to Italy! So how can we call ourselves genuine Italian food lovers if we have never been to the country that produced one of the most popular and influential cuisines in the world? I am not speaking about me of course. As I mentioned, I have lived it and breathed it my entire life. And yes, I have been to the mother land.

I am here to spill the Italian lupini, that's a popular bean in Italy, and educate you in that the “Italian Food” you love so much may not exactly be…Italian.

To begin this epiphany, let us begin with the appetizer and soup course. I want to tell you that the next time you go to an Italian wedding, that the soup that they serve you, also known simply as Italian wedding soup, does not actually exist in Italy! Some stories say that this dish was served at wedding receptions so that when the night would come, the newlywed couple would have enough “energy” for the “after party.” I guess this was before Viagra? Pass me the soup!

It is hard to say exactly where this dish came from, some suggest Spain who brought it into Naples but it is likely that it arose from a melding of Italian and American cuisine. For those of you who have never heard of the dish before, it consists of a stock, mini–meat balls and vegetables. Although it is a tasty soup, if you were to ask for the dish on Italian soil, you would probably be met by a confused…or insulted waiter.

Another interesting thing you will discover in this Italian Food awakening is that although it feels like garlic bread is a staple in many Italian restaurants around the world, you would be hard pressed to find it in Italy. As far as bread is concerned, it is usually served plain and certainly is not drenched in garlic butter. When it comes to seasoning and flavour in authentic Italian cuisine, less is more. Italians count on the marriage of fresh, flavourful ingredients to make their dishes.

Continuing on the bread theme, it is not an appetizer! If you ever enter an Italian restaurant and your friendly waiter hands you a basket of bread.

WAIT!

Put the bread down. In Italy the bread is used to “mop up” extra sauce left on the plate after eating. If you want to go for an authentic Italian experience, save your bread and savour the sauce with it. This is known in Italy as “Fare la scarpetta” which means “make the little shoe,” and refers to the piece of bread used to mop up the last of the sauce on your plate.

There is another so-called appetizer that is actually not one. Salad. Believe it or not, Italians will eat their salads after the meal as the roughage aids in digestion. While on the topic of salad, I would also like to note that salad “dressing” is a very simple affair in Italy; extra virgin olive oil and vinegar is all you need.

Onto the “primo piatto” or the first. My taste buds are dancing with anticipation as it is none other than the infamous Spaghetti and meatballs.

This is NOT an Italian dish!

Arguably this is one of the most famous “Italian” dishes in the world and I am sure most of you reading will have had spaghetti and meatballs at least once in your life. Unfortunately, it is not an authentic Italian. In fact, you will likely not find very many pasta dishes topped with meat, this is usually reserved for dishes cooked in the oven (called “al forno”). While we are on the subject of meat and pasta, chicken is something you will never see atop pasta in Italy, and it is not a very popular meat in general. If you happen to find an establishment serving this in Italy, it is probably to satisfy the palate of the American tourist.

Well, surely Fettucine Alfredo is Italian.

No!

The only ‘Italy’ you will find this creamy, cheesy pasta dish is in Little Italy…pick your city (New York, Chicago or Toronto). Alfredo sauce is made from cream and Parmesan cheese, but the cream is rarely used in authentic pasta dishes. there are plenty of pasta sauces that are similarly based on the combination of butter and Parmigiano.

While we are on the topic of Starchy foods, authentic Italian pizza is simpler than you think. In Italy, the only pizza you will find is thin crust. In fact, you may need a fork and knife to eat your pizza pie! The thicker variety with spongy crust is something that was invented outside of Italy. Chicago is notorious for their thick “Chicago style” pizza. It is basically a loaf of bread with sauce and toppings. UGH!

Speaking of toppings, they are also usually much simpler than what we are used to with the most popular being a simple Margherita style.

This type of pizza is worth more exploration. It is a typical Neapolitan pizza, made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, salt and extra-virgin olive oil. In June 1889 the pizzaiolo (pizza maker) Raffaele Esposito, Pizzeria Brandi's chef, invented a dish called "Pizza Margherita" in honor of the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, and the Italian unification. The toppings are tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green) and in case you did not get it, the ingredients were inspired by the colors of the national flag of Italy.

This pizza is taken so seriously that Neapolitan pizza has a Denomination of Control (DOC) status granted by the Italian Standardization Body administered by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (AVPN). Say that quickly five times!

A DOC designation is available to pizzerias that meet strict requirements in following Neopolitan traditions in the art of pizza making. I would recommend to go ahead and make a Margherita yourself, you will not get arrested…but know it will not be authenticated by the DOC.

Let us move onto the very heated debate of the Hawaiian pizza, a pizza with ham and pineapple as toppings. Pineapple on pizza is perhaps one of the greatest controversies to rock the world of Food and pizza. This argument has been actively destroying families and friendships for a very long time. While a small minority enjoy this interesting combination of flavors, many despise it.

Some say that Pineapple pizza is not actually from Hawaii. It is from Canada. In other words, pineapple pizza is full of lies. Others will bluntly put it like this: Pineapple pizza is a disgrace to humanity. The bottom line is that you will not find this in Italy.

You may be thinking that peperoni pizza is surely in Italy. Right? First a fun fact; the word “peperoni” with one P means ‘bell pepper’ in Italian. So, don not be surprised if you order a “pepperoni pizza” and are met with something all the more vegetarian than you’re used to. Legend has it that when Italians immigrated to America, the word "pepperoni" got lost in translation and started meaning "meat" instead of "veggies." If you want meat on your pizza in Italy, you will only find pizzas with thinly sliced prosciutto or leaner Tuscan sausage.

It is time for the “secondo piatto” or second course where meat or fish is served. You wipe the tear of joy from your eye as it is Chicken Parmesan, the hero of all comfort food. But you might not take comfort in the fact that this dish is in no way Italian. Are you crying in sorrow now? I know, I know, who can you trust these days? The closest thing to chicken Parmesan in Italy is baked eggplant with Parmesan cheese. Doused with cheese and breadcrumbs, and dumped on pasta, this Italian/American chicken dish does not make the list of best healthy chicken recipes.

It seems like we consume 18 dinner courses before we finally get to the coffee. Italians do not drink coffee the way you think they do. The uprising of coffee shops with fancy Italian sounding coffees, served to you by Baristas has led the people astray. In Italy, milk laden coffee is something reserved for breakfast time, you will never see an Italian ask for a Cappuccino or Latte after 11 am. If you do that, you are instantly recognized as a tourist. A coffee post meal will simply be an espresso, usually at the bar while the crema is still fresh.

The last point on this journey is more an Italian etiquette than the food. One does not simply walk whilst eating. In Italy, walking while eating is considered disrespectful. Someone spent time and effort creating food for you to eat and enjoy which you cannot do if you are worrying about where you need to be next. This ties in well with the overall mentality towards food in Italy, it is important to slow down, laugh with friends and family, eat well and relax.

Truth or no truth, that is what it is all about.

Viva Italian…or Italian-ish Food!