Italian food is very popular around the world, but there are many misconceptions. photo by Ben Scherer
Italian is a well known cuisine, as many people worldwide know some type of dish from Italy.
Italian food is considerably more than just pizza and pasta. In fact, the cuisine is very diverse and complex. The food’s variation is seen in the many different cheeses from various regions not limited to Italy. There are also many different pasta shapes which enhance the pasta dishes. As a person who loves to cook Italian food, it is one of my favorite cuisines. Aside from this, Italian food has many misconceptions.
One misconception is that spaghetti and meatballs are not technically Italian. For context, this dish was developed by Italian immigrants in New York; thus, the dish originated from the United States. A similar authentic Italian dish is Bolognese.
There is a misconception that cream is what gives Carbonara a creamy texture. What actually gives Carbonara a creamy texture is the emulsion caused by the melting of egg and Pecorino Romano cheese, mixed with the warmth from the pasta noodles.
Bolognese is made with tagliatelle or pappardelle, and not with spaghetti. Italians typically use fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle in their Bolognese due to how the sauce sticks to flat noodles than to the circular noodles.
Some people may believe that pasta shapes don’t matter because pasta is pasta. So the reason why pasta shape matters is because of their ability to hold sauces. For example, carbonara is made with longer noodles because of the thicker carbonara sauce. Another example of why pasta shape matters is seen in penne alla vodka. Penne is used in this dish because of how it is able to hold the sauce in the holes of the pasta. These examples help prove how the shape of pastas affect the type of sauces used with the pastas.
Many people also believe there is little difference between fresh and dry pasta. This is false because fresh pasta absorbs sauce better than dry pasta. From experience, the times I used fresh pasta in Bolognese, the dish turned out significantly better when I used dry pasta. When incorporating dried noodles, the pasta tastes like the sauce just stuck to the pasta instead of the noodles absorbing the sauce.
It is expected that some may believe that cream can not go into any pasta dishes because of how cream is “cheating” when it comes to making pasta dishes like Carbonara. This is false because cream is used in both Penne alla Vodka and Tortellini alla Panna. However, having cream is not common for Italian dishes. The reason why cream is not often used in Italian dishes is because it is a cheat code to give pasta a creamy texture as the way that Italian pasta gets their creamy texture is through techniques of melting cheese with the warmth of the pasta.
The misconception that Italian food has a very sophisticated cuisine because of its techniques to make dishes. Not quite. This is because a lot of Italian dishes use simplicity in their recipes, as seen by the four roman pastas: Cacio e Pepe (three ingredients), Pasta alla Gricia (four ingredients), Carbonara (five ingredients), and Amatriciana (seven ingredients). These are four very delicious pastas that are remarkably easy to make. Besides Amatriciana, all of the dishes rely on their sauces being made from a culmination of a hard cheese – like Parmesan and Pecorino – with the hot pasta water, plus the noodles. It is hard to get the technique for some of the dishes, but when learned, it becomes easy to cook.
A few may believe that pineapple on pizza in Italy is illegal because of its weird flavor combination. However, this combination is not criminal, but you will most likely get judged for eating pineapple on pizza. This is because pizza has been in Italy since 18th-century Naples, and pineapple has never been on a pizza but an American adaptation. My take on pineapple on pizza is I personally agree that pineapple does not go on pizza not because the fruit integration is savory and sweet, but because pineapple is acidic. This fruit is vastly acidic and sour, while tomato sauce is also sour and acidic, proving how the two tastes do not mix.
These are the main misconceptions I hear from people discussing Italian food. However, I am still learning about Italian cuisine as I cook more Italian food. I want to continue learning even more about Italian cuisine and become even more knowledgeable about Italian food.
