What Italian Food Is Most Misrepresented Abroad?

[Regina Juno]

Greeks might have something to say about the origin of Pizza.

The common belief is that Italians invented pizza, which is somewhat true but its origin goes back to ancient times in the Middle East. Babylonians, Israelites, Egyptians, Armenians, Greeks and Romans, and other ancient cultures ate flat bread cooked in mud ovens. So, it is Italian in the sense Romans ate this bread, but belongs to many other cultures as well. The common belief is that Italians invented pizza, but its origin goes back to ancient times in the Middle East. Babylonians, Israelites, Egyptians, Armenians, Greeks and Romans, and other ancient cultures ate flat, unleavened bread cooked in mud ovens. However, the true concept of bread with toppings may come from Greeks. The ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. The Romans developed placenta cake, a sheet of dough topped with cheese and honey and flavored with bay leaves. The modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy in the 18th or early 19th century.

 

[Onionman]

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)

A lot of it seems to be about adapting to the tastes of the target market. I remember in Hong Kong there was a takeaway outfit that advertised "European-style Chinese food", explicitly targeting westerners I'm assuming. It felt very odd.

 

[dez97]

Pizza is one for sure, and In all honesty I guess I could say that Pasta has taken on a life of its own too, in a different sense. it has crossed over many places, and each place continues to do something different all while trying to duplicate the great dishes.

 

[Rosie]

^ I think it's rather difficult to duplicate dishes, no matter where they're from, originally.
Take Chinese food. I know people who have travelled to Asia and have had real Chinese food. It's nothing like the food they prepare in Europe, for us.. European people

Same thing with Italian dishes. You can cook pasta in hundreds of different ways. It will never taste like the real thing. Same goes for pizza.
By the way, I remember a few years ago, I used to buy lasagna from one of the supermarkets in my home town. I liked it, I thought it was good (they said it was Italian lasagna, with Italian ingredients, blah blah blah... the labels are always misleading ) but then I had real lasagna. It's like a totally different food! So, adding lasagna to the list of misinterpreted foods!

 

[KimmyMarkks]

Although it isn't a dish I would say gelato. If anyone has been to Italy I'm sure you remember the taste of gelato. I've tried so many different places they have Italian gelato in the US and none of them taste the same.
Someone else also mentioned Mac and Cheese. I a not sure if this is Italian (other then the pasta aspect of it). I've never seen it on an Italian menu in the US or Italy, more like American restaurants.

 

[notyourcommodity]

This thread made me think of this article that I read a couple months back

What do real Italians think about New York's Italian food?

The first thing I thought of (which is mentioned in the article, too!) is Alfredo pasta served with chicken that is pretty popular in the States. Even things like spaghetti and meatballs isn't done in Italy from what I've experienced, but it is so popular here as Italian cuisine!

 

[Karen Gordon]

I know something like pizza has taken on a life of its own abroad, as you'll get some many crazy derivations of the dish.

But what other dishes do people eat outside of Italy that are so far from how they were originally created in Italy?

I suppose most of what we eat here in the United States that passes as ethnic food is not very close to what was originally made as those meals. It is simply one of the things that we enjoy...and may not be right whether it is Italian food or something else.

 

[notyourcommodity]

I suppose most of what we eat here in the United States that passes as ethnic food is not very close to what was originally made as those meals. It is simply one of the things that we enjoy...and may not be right whether it is Italian food or something else.

Yup, like Tex Mex! I loooove Tex Mex, but I remember when I visited Mexico I thought that real Mexican food was just going to be like Tex Mex...and that was a bit of a wake up call for me when it wasn't like that at all!

Both are tasty, don't get me wrong - just very different!

 

[OhioTom76]

I've heard that in Italy, they don't typically serve the meats in a meat sauce along with the pasta - instead, they serve the pasta and meat as separate courses. So you would get the pasta dressed in some of the sauce first, then a platter would be brought out with the meats in their sauce served separately. I've also heard that in some regions, the salad is served towards the end of the meal rather than before as is typically the case in many US restaurants. I think it had something to do with aiding digestion, by following up some richer stuff with some roughage toward the end.

Another thing I hear quite often is that many places outside of Italy, such as in the US, tend to dress their pasta with far too much sauce. I've heard in Italy the pasta is generally more lightly dressed in sauce.

 

[dStMars]

I think that Lasagna is also one of those dishes that people have taken and run with. We now have such variations as philly steak and cheese lasagna, all manners of vegan renditions of the dish and even desserts that attempt the same stuffed and layered style. Lasagna is wonderful, I'm just unsure of what the exact procedures and ingredients of making a truly traditional Italian lasagna are.