In survey results that are likely to surprise, well, no one, 73% or approximately three out of four Italians indicated that they have come across faux Made in Italy specialty products or traditional recipes botched beyond repair when traveling abroad.
Conducted by Coldiretti — Italy’s primary organization representing farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs — the
survey was launched for the 7th annual Week of Italian Cuisine Around the World, which began on November 14 and continues through November 20. A non-specified number of Italians weighed in on “food fails” they've spotted around the world, ranging from t
he Belgian habit of using cream instead of pecorino cheese in carbonara, to
the German propensity to cook a Milanese veal cutlet with seed oil instead of olive oil, to the particularly polemical
Dutch tiramisu made without —wait for it — mascarpone. Che orrore (the horror)!
Coldiretti’s report also cited the traditional recipe for Genoese pesto as one of the most routinely obliterated around the world, pointing to pistachios and walnuts used in place of the customary
pinoli (pine nuts) and to “common" cheeses standing in for
parmigiano reggiano and
pecorino romano.
Italy’s dedication to preserving the integrity of its food traditions is well-documented, and the line between “creative reinterpretation” and full-on “corruption” is a hotly contested one. Ettore Prandini, President of Coldiretti, is concerned about the number of misconceptions circulating. “It is significant and worrying that one of the most widespread “Italian” dishes is
spaghetti alla bolognese, which is all the rage in England,” Prandini said, “but which does not exist in the national tradition, except on tourist trap menus.”
