Italian food is famous for its flavor and character. There really is nothing like genuine Italian food, and it’s no coincidence that many Italians loathe the imitation “Italian” food, which actually is inferior product. If you eat Italian food anywhere in the world, from Rome to Sydney bars, you’ll find some strong opinions about anything claiming to be Italian food.
Bucatini Salsiccia and Tomato
The difference between Italian food and fakes
The real difference between Italian food and artificial pretenders is actually chemical. However good flavor enhancers like monosodium glutamate and others may be, they can’t duplicate the physics of fresh food. Nor can microwaves duplicate the effect of a wood fired pizza or a good Bolognese sauce.
Italian food is extremely popular, and that’s entirely because of its tastes and textures. Mozzarella cheese, for example, has a unique combination of taste and texture. Combined with fresh ingredients, and put on to a wood fired pizza, almost the entire composition of the pizza is going to be different from any artificially produced version of these flavors.
There are other differences, too. Real Italian food is also regional food. The cuisine in Naples, Rome and Florence is quite different in many ways, using traditional techniques and ingredients. Like French food, these regional differences add up to big differences. “Italian” food, strictly speaking, is really multiple types of food with local variations.
These differences are also impossible to duplicate on an industrial scale. It wouldn’t be cost-effective for a big company like McCains, for example, to produce regional recipes. The global market wouldn’t recognize the differences, and the Italian food aficionados outside Italy would be a very small part of the overall market. As a matter of fact, where regional food is duplicated outside Italy, restaurants usually charge a lot for it, and the cheapest, most basic foods become gourmet dishes, usually much to the disgust of the local Italians.
Character and generic foods
The market’s generic “Italian” food really does leave a lot to be desired to those who know what the real food tastes like. “Gelato”, for example, in its Italian form, is delicious, with many different flavors and it’s all food. The market version is basically a combination of water, flavor, and some raw materials, most of which have nothing in common with the originals. “Chalk and cheese” barely describes the difference.
Character and style are big issues with Italian food, and it’s really quite odd that the market hasn’t picked up on the differences. Real Italian food comes as a revelation to people that have grown up thinking spaghetti grows in cans. They can barely believe that the real Italian version is actual spaghetti, and that what they’ve been eating for years is essentially flavoured noodles with tomato sauce. Macaroni is another case in point. Real Italian macaroni is made with durum wheat, not cardboard, and the texture and nutritional content is entirely different. There’s no comparison between fake and real macaroni.
The solution is simple enough- Get real Italian chefs involved in the production of manufactured Italian food. Stop using processed food, and use the real, natural ingredients. It’d save a fortune, and after all, the best way to preserve an authentic culture is to stick to authentic traditions.
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