What Italian Food Is Most Misrepresented Abroad?
- Thread starter Onionman
- Start date
Well... if it's not pizza... My guess is it's everything else 
Joke aside, I think most of Italy's cuisine made history and has spread all over the world. But... you know... misinterpretation is easy to "achieve", when you're not in the original country.
Pasta, for instance, although not originating from Italy (but probably from Asia, I'm not really sure..), is now a world wide dish. Italians cook it better than anyone, of course, but whenever someone thinks of pasta, I'm sure they think of Italy
However... I definitely recall my friend's reaction when I told her how my family used to cook pasta with sugar, minced whole nuts and sour cream 
Misinterpretation? You bet!
Joke aside, I think most of Italy's cuisine made history and has spread all over the world. But... you know... misinterpretation is easy to "achieve", when you're not in the original country.
Pasta, for instance, although not originating from Italy (but probably from Asia, I'm not really sure..), is now a world wide dish. Italians cook it better than anyone, of course, but whenever someone thinks of pasta, I'm sure they think of Italy
However... I definitely recall my friend's reaction when I told her how my family used to cook pasta with sugar, minced whole nuts and sour cream Misinterpretation? You bet!
My guess is it's probably not ready-made meals that people order in families or in groups, as the price of food is usually cheaper when tourists eat at places farther away from tourist "zones". And chefs like to shop for themselves or have fresh produce delivered to them that are difficult to look for, also for kind of the same reasons: availability and quality control.
Olive oils produced in different regions in Italy have different qualities, but they are available all year round, so their prices must be fixed. However, on the rare occasions when Italian olive oils aren't available, what can we do? We just get the olive oil from Spain to cook grandma's spaghetti, right? Maybe you can get frozen ready-made bolognaise pasta at Tesco for US$3.11 or less than that, if you're not a chef.
So, you know who else might also be curious about these things ? Those who work at the pricing department. They call them the pricing analysts and they analyze the prices of products, including food commodities.
Olive oils produced in different regions in Italy have different qualities, but they are available all year round, so their prices must be fixed. However, on the rare occasions when Italian olive oils aren't available, what can we do? We just get the olive oil from Spain to cook grandma's spaghetti, right? Maybe you can get frozen ready-made bolognaise pasta at Tesco for US$3.11 or less than that, if you're not a chef.
So, you know who else might also be curious about these things ? Those who work at the pricing department. They call them the pricing analysts and they analyze the prices of products, including food commodities.
Last edited:
Misrepresented abroad? Well. There has been some issues raised by the lasagna sandwich sold in the UK (but it is so easy to find issues with UK food that it's really not even funny anymore) and you could find a picture here: https://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/lasagna-sandwich.jpg
I agree that pasta is seen as an Italian specialty. At least, when you go to Italian restaurants, the menu is many times divided between Pizza & Pasta, which is a bit sad because a foodie would love to eat other Italian dishes sometimes! Osso Bucco being an old favorite. And just as true is the fact that, at least where I come from, every family has its own spaghetti sauce recipe and Italy has not much to do with it anymore. Which ain't bad.
I guess what is the most misrepresented abroad would be macaronis. Mac&Cheese and everything, because it contains pasta, do have some Italian tone. However, even if they call it 'macaroni', it really does not make it more Italian. You won't find this kind of pasta on the grocery shelves of the peninsula!
I agree that pasta is seen as an Italian specialty. At least, when you go to Italian restaurants, the menu is many times divided between Pizza & Pasta, which is a bit sad because a foodie would love to eat other Italian dishes sometimes! Osso Bucco being an old favorite. And just as true is the fact that, at least where I come from, every family has its own spaghetti sauce recipe and Italy has not much to do with it anymore. Which ain't bad.
I guess what is the most misrepresented abroad would be macaronis. Mac&Cheese and everything, because it contains pasta, do have some Italian tone. However, even if they call it 'macaroni', it really does not make it more Italian. You won't find this kind of pasta on the grocery shelves of the peninsula!
I really couldn't imagine trying out that lasagna sandwich. It just doesn't feel right. Hopefully, it's just the filling and not the pasta as well. And as for mac and cheese, I've never really liked the idea. It feels like a fairly weak form of flattery.
I've never seen macaroni and cheese in Italy, I always considered it an American dish and one that was at school dinner (in the UK) as pasta baked with a cheese sauce. Saying that I do like it, but these days there are healthy versions and I have never seen it on an Italian menu. Perhaps some places put it on for tourists in the hope they are familiar with the dish and will eat there?
I'm actually guilty as charged. I once made grilled cheese sandwiches and stuffed in some bolognese sauce that I had left over, to try it out. This was long before I ever heard of the UK version. To be fair, it was not this bad (I like to eat buttered bread to my spaghetti alla bolognese, a family tradition). But not really something I would ever imagine looking forward to eat, or try to share with people!
And yeah, I think mac'n'cheese is a staple of American food. I remember visiting Seattle and I think one place advertised itself as the first or the best mac'n'cheese!
I have never thought of Mac and Cheese as Italian. It is always defined as an All American dish in the states. However, I suppose anything with cheese, sauce, and pasta is derived from Italian food. I think Americans tend to take Pasta and turn it into some unique casseroles that are no longer Italian.
My bad Though I did mention it because, in one of my courses about French language, the teacher talked about how so many things get deformed when transferred to other cultures. She talked about pizza and how our version of pizza had nothing to do with Italian pizza -- which, I think she exaggerated, because if it had *nothing* to do with each other, then if I ordered a pizza in Italy the product put in front of me should be a confusing surprise. Much like ordering "pepperoni" in Italy! You expect salami, and you get bell peppers instead! (According to me, that's a better trade-off!)
But then she went on talking about 'macaronis' (elbow pasta) and how it was named this way, Italian like, when it did not exist in Italy. Italian-sounding anything probably makes a product sell better!
Though I did mention it because, in one of my courses about French language, the teacher talked about how so many things get deformed when transferred to other cultures. She talked about pizza and how our version of pizza had nothing to do with Italian pizza -- which, I think she exaggerated, because if it had *nothing* to do with each other, then if I ordered a pizza in Italy the product put in front of me should be a confusing surprise. Much like ordering "pepperoni" in Italy! You expect salami, and you get bell peppers instead! (According to me, that's a better trade-off!)But then she went on talking about 'macaronis' (elbow pasta) and how it was named this way, Italian like, when it did not exist in Italy. Italian-sounding anything probably makes a product sell better!
You expect certain foodstuffs to be corrupted by other nations, and can forgive pizza, pasta or the gloop that they call ice cream (it's no gelato). But there has to be something said for the oily, gelatinous rubbish that gets served in a lot of English supermarkets that calls itself "salami". It's even worse when I see the label "German salami" on the package as well.
I agree most everything is misrepresented. Everything is prepackaged and loaded with preservatives. Nothing is made from scratch anymore. Its all about what we can get or make in a hurry. I love the authentic flavors and the passion that is within the person that takes their time to cook italian food.
I think a lot of the times an Italian staple gets adulterated to cater to local tastes. Sometimes it seems to work, sometimes it's pretty surprising/shocking. And I guess the more that meals are made in prepackaged formats, the more you can expect the original essence to disappear.
I wouldn't say things misrepresent the Italian food (except those places that claim "Authentic Italian", what the heck does that even mean, I'm Italian but never set foot in Italy, I could make Authentic Italian Chicken with Cashews if I wanted) and that most places just add their own little twist to the food to make it their own. Pizza is very different in America then what it is in Italy and is the most common example of misrepresentation, but I feel like we aren't TRYING to copy the Italian Pizza, we are trying to make our own Pizzas.
Very true. I know whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant, it is so far away from what I had in China (HK/Taiwan mainly)! Or what my Chinese family cooks! It most of the time has too much grease, too much sugar, too much caramelized sauce, too much tasteless frozen/boiled meat...!
The saddest part though is that, most of the times, the restaurant owners really are Chinese and should know better. But it looks like, compared to Italians, Chinese folks have no problem adapting to the countries they are in and selling the foods Western people want (packed of grease and sugars!) to make money. They certainly do not have this much puritanism as dear old Italians have about their food! (Che sfortuna)
Oh my gosh, the lasagna sandwich is simply shocking! I wonder how would Italians react to this, because from what I heard, Italians are "at war" with the UK because some bars over there have "the nerve" to serve prosecco on tap I can only imagine what they would say when seeing a lasagna sandwich! ahahah!!
I also would like to add another something to the list of misinterpreted foods from Italy.
I guess everyone knows about Pizza Hut. And their cheese filled crust, right? Or, crust filled with other foods: mini burgers, sausages and so on. Uhm... that is definitely an American thing Italian pizza has a thin, crunchy crust (most of the time), it's not filled with all sort of stuff.
Also, since we're on the subject, Italian pizza is usually topped with only a few ingredients. If you want to add some more stuff on it, you have to specifically ask. In other countries, you can order pizza with such a variety of "odd" toppings! I remember visiting Hungary one and had a pizza in a small town, I ordered the vegetarian type and almost fainted when I saw how many ingredients they added on top of it! It was a mountain of vegetables, on a pizza crust! Definitely not Italian style 
I can only imagine what they would say when seeing a lasagna sandwich! ahahah!! I also would like to add another something to the list of misinterpreted foods from Italy.
I guess everyone knows about Pizza Hut. And their cheese filled crust, right? Or, crust filled with other foods: mini burgers, sausages and so on. Uhm... that is definitely an American thing
Italian pizza has a thin, crunchy crust (most of the time), it's not filled with all sort of stuff. Also, since we're on the subject, Italian pizza is usually topped with only a few ingredients. If you want to add some more stuff on it, you have to specifically ask. In other countries, you can order pizza with such a variety of "odd" toppings! I remember visiting Hungary one and had a pizza in a small town, I ordered the vegetarian type and almost fainted when I saw how many ingredients they added on top of it!
It was a mountain of vegetables, on a pizza crust! Definitely not Italian style
To be honest, I've had many pizzas in Rome that were stacked up proper (alla taglia) or that had many toppings on it -- but the funny thing that changes is that in Italy, it's a few toppings here, a few there, and basically it still ends up being a pretty empty pizza. No wonder people can eat one for themselves!
I'm going to have to admit I do like the American style of pizza with a stuffed crust and some garlic bread! The traditional thin pizza is great and is healthier as the deep pan tends to be greasier, but holds more toppings and is more filling. In many countries pizza is a huge business so they have to look at ways to make it more exciting. I wish more would do a wholemeal crust as that would be healthier.