Difference between italian food in Italy and "italian" food in your country?

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conley39

Italian dishes prepared outside Italy are often adapted for the local taste. In the US, there are often extra ingredients added to dishes. Even when the same recipes are used, the flavors will be different because the ingredients aren't quite the same. Either the varieties of tomatos, etc are different or there will be a variation because the growing conditions are different. Consequently, the distinct flavors tend to be sharper and stand out more here in Italy

Pizza rarely has the number of toppings here as in the US and when they do, the toppings are often separated. A typical "four seasons" pizza here will have something representing spring, summer, ... but not all mixed together - each one will be on a quarter of the pizza. One of the biggest differences is a pepperoni pizza. People from the US are often surprised that there is no meat, but in Italian, you're asking for a pizza with "big peppers (bell peppers) when you intended to get salame piccante.

Spicy dishes tend to be hotter in the US than here in Italy.

Italian food is more likely to have a face - whole fish, porchetta, shrimp, etc. In the US, you can find similar things but much less frequently. The origin is more likely to be disguised. That is, shells, bones, heads, etc are usually removed.

There are food products here in Italy that are typically much less likely to be considered food in the US - horse and donkey, for example.

Genius Cook

Many have answered well. I regard the biggest difference in : 1. How the food is served, 2. The size of portions and 3. The freshness.

1.Italians will not mass all the food you intend to eat on one plate. It means more dishes to clean(!) but it gives you the chance to enjoy one food at a time. It also gives you more time at the table together – and this is part of eating “Italian”, sharing time at the table together.
2.Portions are tame in Italy compared to the US. I’ve often heard say – “Oh, you’ve got to go to that new “trattoria” at the mall, the portions are really big”. Taste of the food is more important than portions size in Italy. I don’t mean to say that you will get avant garde minimalist food portions... I do mean that at the end of the meal in Italy you’ll feel satisfied. You’ll be able to make it all the way to the coffee with out having to undo your belts. Where in the US big portions are often misunderstood as being great – in Italy, if you know you want a bigger (“abbondante”) portion you can have it if you request it.
3.You will always get served food stuffs that are season in Italy. More pork (meat) is on the menu during the fall when it’s trationally time to slaughter. Cabbage is at its best after the 1st frost... and everyone knows that. Citrus fruits are available year round but Italians know that best come during the colder months and from Sicily and not from Spain during the summer. Grapes from South America! Yes, you buy grapes out of season in Italy but they are not Italian fare. You like mushrooms? You can have these too year round – September & October you can get them fresh and can tell... the rest of the year you pull them out of the freezer.

Mari76

Well, Pizza hut and Dominoes is no where near the real pizza you find in Italy. Italian pizza is thin-crust (although I have found medium-crust in some cities but most of the time it's thin crust) and it's baked in a wood-stove. The toppings are different. They don't use pineapple on their pizzas.

They don't put garlic in everything. You won't find garlic bread.

They have no idea of what and who Alfredo is.

They eat spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs, but they do NOT eat spaghetti with meatballs.

Etc. Etc.

Viky 桂皮

There's no italian food abroad Italy. The world doesn't know about all the variety we got here. Pizza and pasta are called pizza and pasta in all the world, but the only thing they got in common is the name. I think that every typie of food, from chinese to mexican, is totally different abroad. You have to go to the country to taste it.

Perla

They put WAY too much garlic on their "Italian" food in the states. Plus, the pizza here is GROSS. I grew up in Italy and got spoiled. I can't even touch the pizza here. I hear they have good Italian food in the north (in the states) though, so i don't want to speak for the entire country. I miss panna (i can't find it here to cook with)!!!

bg b

a difference between original and carbon copy.

Alleus

I'm italian and I never eat food abroad...
i think italian food is the best in the word!!!!!!

penso che il cibo italiano sia il migliore del mondo...

Pimboli

Well it's different, both are good but there's nothing like the original stuff and just to let you know fettuccine Alfredo is an American dish, you will NOT find it in Italy.

ontheroadagainwithoutyou

There is no comparison.
Nothing tastes like the food you get in Italy! Delicioso!!!!

DTott

When I was in Italy I found the food to be a lot fresher and there was a lot more health consciousness. A lot of cooking with fresh ingredients, lots of olive oil (which is healthy). The pizza was great, thin crust, not mainly bread with a bit of cheese and toppings like here in North America..

andrew s

I can assure you that Italian food found outside Italy is just not italian food. I run a slow food website in Italy and have spent a lot of time in the USA and UK and can assure you that even the top Italian restaurants in those countries are seldom as good as even the simplest farmhouse restaurant in Italy.

The thing that makes Italian food in Italy so special is not just the recipes - that is the easy part. The ingredients used, the way they are grown and the way they are prepared makes all the difference.

Just a simple thing like fresh Buffalo Mozzarella made by hand ,not by machine, tastes completely different to anything outside of Italy.

Joe bronx

I am a Italian in Brooklyn NY, I am as close to Italy as i can get and that goes for the food too. The women in my family still make homemade sauce that goes back to the old country.

Plons

It depends. Pizza Hut is the worst kind of pizza, thick crusted and greasy, as opposed to real italian pizza. Also, pepperoni in English (a type of ham) refers to something different from pepperoni in Italian (what the english call "pepper") so it is "different" from the ones in Italy.

Otherwise, pasta is the same, even if I think in Italy, pasta tastes different in every region :P

Pasquale natalizio

abroad taste as crap

iTaLiAnA

beh the food is 1000 times better here in Italy :P

Katherine D

the pizza is thick crusted some resturants have stove ovens but only special ones
the pasta sauces are thicker and not as simple as italian ones
the bruschetta for "authentic resturants" is always made wrong.
plus ther is alot more stuff that people add to it to "make it better" wen it makes it nowhere near italian

Morgan J

I remember pizza and ice cream being different. The pizza was basically bread with a smudge of tomato and seasonings. The ice cream was more like the "Italian Ice" anyone in the US can buy at their local store.
The pasta dishes in Italy had a lot less sauce than we use on pasta dishes in the US.

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