Mamma Mia Italiana!

Shanna Bayless

Section 4

Every country has a food staple that is known all over the world. Germany has its beer and schnitzel, Japan has its sake and sushi and United States has its Coca-Cola and hamburgers. None of these compare to how far people will go to get authentic Italian wine and pasta. Italian food became popular in the northern states around 1980’s when Americans started experimenting with new dishes. Italian cuisine though has been around since before the rise of Rome.

In the expansion of Rome their main diet consisted of grains, wild herbs, honey, cheese, vegetables, and a small quantity of meat which were mainly used for agriculture and were only sacrificed and consumed only on religious feats or celebrations such as weddings and births (Parasecoli 7). Italy started to become very friendly with trading the Mediterranean which influenced their daily diet. Foods such as cherries, peaches, fowls, peacocks and spices from far east not only created a connection with other countries but added more variety to their dishes. Dinner became the main meal of the day and lunch was often made from bread and cold cuts left over from dinner the night before. This is still the way it is done today. Breakfast consists of cappuccino and a brioche pastry either with fruit filling or plain. To this day Italians still get most of their food from street markets and meat (butcher) markets.

When people think of Italian food they mainly think of Olive Garden or pizza and lasagna which is far from Italian cuisine. Yes, they are known for their pizza but you would be hard-pressed to find an authentic Italian pizza in the states. The look of, taste, texture, ingredients are far from what we expect a pizza to be in the states. Also in most restaurants they do not serve lasagna and it’s quite hard to find. Pasta on the other hand can be quite similar depending on what village you go to. The different small towns and provinces can be very proud and sometimes even hostel towards their specific dishes. For example Modena is known for their Balsamic Vinegar and Sicily is known for their blood oranges. There are also certain dishes known to be found in

only certain towns.

Another famous staple of Italian cuisine is wine or vino and cheese or formaggio. Wine in Italy is usually found best from family vine owners and the older the better, with the exception of most lambrusco wines which are sparkling wines or summer wines which only need age for about a year. What goes best with wine? Cheese of course! Most cheese that we use in the states comes from Italy such as parmesan, asiago and mozzarella. True Italian parmesan is usually found in large wheels that age for about 12 months.

Italian celebrations are truly spectacular. For weddings and baptisms you can expect up to an eight course dinner! For Christmas and New Years the usually have large gatherings

of friends or family. The cakes can be bought at a store or made in the home. There can be up to five of these traditional cakes at an event or given as gifts. Ice cream is also part of a big celebratory event. Though yet again it’s nothing like the ice cream in America. In Italy it’s called gelato and is less milk based and for most, more fruit based.

Italian food is so popular but oddly enough it is nothing like we think it is. Nonetheless its culture has rippled into ours giving us another subculture to add to our pot. Their culture has relatively stayed the same throughout history and does not look like its showing any divergence.

Early Roman Diet consisted of grains, wild herbs,honey, cheese, vegetables and small servings of meat.

Mediterranean influences from trading from surrounding countries brought even more variety to diet which included cherries, peaches, fowl, peacocks and spices.

Sample breakfast, lunch and supper:

Breakfast-cappuccino and a fruit filled pastry

Lunch-bread and cold cuts

Dinner-appetizer, pasta, meat dish, salad and either cheese platter or dessert, usually served with wine

American versus Italian:

In the early 1980's Americans started experimenting with other cultural food, especially Italian.

Fabrication of Italian foods that are not found in Italy:

-Olive Garden

-Deep dish pizzas

-Lasagna

-Spaghetti with meatballs

Authentic Italian Pizza:

Italian pizza is nothing like any Pizza Hut, Dominoes, or Tony's New York Pizza can offer.

It is found very thin with olive oil and garlic or can be made with a variety of toppings.

Wine and Cheese:

Wine and cheese are famous staples in Italian Cuisine. Wine is usually best from family wine owners and the older the wine the better with the exception of Lambrusco wine which is a sparkling summer wine which only need to age for one year.

Many types of cheeses come from Italy such as parmesan, asiago and maz

zarella and are usually named for the town or region that it originated. True parmesan is found as large wheels and aged for 12 months!

Celebrations:

For weddings and baptisms, there could be as much as an eight course dinner! Traditional holiday cake might be like this:

Works Cited

Parasecoli, Fabio. Food Culture in Italy. 2004. Greenwood Press, Connecticut