An Italian academic who called famous carbonara American who claims good parmesan now only found in… Wisconsin.

IN his Financial Times interview, Alberto Grandiprofessor of culinary history at the University of Parma, also said that tiramisu and panettone were discovered relatively recently and that most Italians pizza was unheard of before the 1950s.

“Italian cuisine is actually more American than Italian.“, among other things, Grandi said in an interview.

Grandi is known for making bold statements about Italian cuisine, but his recent comments have been deemed bordering on blasphemy as Coldiretti, Italy’s largest farmers’ union, said Grandi overdid it at a time when the Italian government is promoting the famous Italian cuisine as a candidate for intangible cultural heritage. UNESCO heritage.

Strong criticism

It was an “unrealistic attack” on the symbolism represented by Italian cuisine, “just in time for the nomination for intangible heritage,” the Italian association said in a statement, among other things.

“On the basis of these creative reproductions (s. Alberto Grandi) questions the most deeply rooted national culinary traditions,” it notes.

“Basically, he claims that the Americans invented carbonara, and panettone and tiramisu are modern commercial products. Above all, however, he goes so far as to make assumptions about Parmesan and what is produced in Wisconsin, USA – the home of fake “Made in Italy” cheeses.

Grady also caused anger Matteo Salviniminister of infrastructure and leader of the far-right League, which has long used Italian cuisine as a symbol of national identity.

“Experts and the press are jealous of our taste and beauty,” Salvini wrote in a social media post.

“Pavlovian reactions without logic”

According to the FT, Grandi’s claims stem in part from the existing academic literature. Regarding carbonara, the Italian academic cites Luca Cesari, historian and author of A Brief History of Pasta, who claims that carbonara “was American dish, born in Italy“.

It is believed to be a pasta dish. first prepared in 1944 by an Italian chef for American soldiers in Riccione..

As for parmesan, a PDO product from the Emilia-Romagna region, it dates back to the 12th century and Grandi believes that Italian immigrants, probably from the Parma area, began brewing it in Wisconsin..

According to the Italian professor, “Wisconsin Parmesan was the exact modern equivalent” because, unlike their Parma counterparts, American cheesemakers never developed the recipe.

Speaking of pizza, Grandi said that before World War II, Italy’s iconic food could only be found in some cities in southern Italy. The first pizza-only restaurant opened in New York City in 1911.. “Pizza was as exotic to my father in the 1970s as sushi is to us today,” he added.

Responding to a flurry of criticism, he told La Repubblica today that Italian cuisine is “acquiring an identity beyond all logic” and that “Pavlov’s reaction to my comments makes no sense.”

“I don’t understand why so many people attack me. I am not questioning the quality of Italian food or products, I am simply reconstructing the history of these dishes with historically and philologically correct way“, write down.

Source: Guardian