Don’t Be Fooled By These Fake Italian Favorites
If you’re a fan of Italian cuisine or simply love hearty pasta dishes, it’s easy to fall for fake Italian flavors that don’t quite hit the mark. But why settle for imitation when you can indulge in authentic and...
Aliver
If you’re a fan of Italian cuisine or simply love hearty pasta dishes, it’s easy to fall for fake Italian flavors that don’t quite hit the mark. But why settle for imitation when you can indulge in authentic and delicious Italian cuisine? Don’t let yourself be fooled by imposters – it’s time to take a closer look at what counts as genuine Italian favorites. With the right ingredients, seasonings, and techniques, you can savor the true richness and depth of Italian cooking. So, let’s explore the world of genuine Italian dishes together and banish the fake stuff from our kitchens for good!
Fettuccine Alfredo
Image credit: Depositphotos.Starting strong, we put a lot of trust in fettuccine alfredo, thinking we’re getting authentic Italian, but this dish doesn’t exist in Italy. Kind of.
Fettuccine alfredo gets its name from its Roman inventor, who made the dish by excessively adding butter. However, the Alfredo sauce we eat didn’t exist in Italy then and still doesn’t.
The idea was picked up by foreign chefs, who created alfredo sauce. You’d find the same dish in Italy, but less creamier than here, and under the name fettuccine al burro.
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Chicken Parmigiana
Image credit: Canva Pro.Here’s a mind-blowing fact: chicken parmigiana doesn’t exist in Italy. Italy has many chicken dishes, but a bread-crumb-crusted filet isn’t on the menu. The closest thing to a chicken parmigiana in Italy is an eggplant parmigiana, which is purely vegetarian.
Chicken parm was created by Italian immigrants in the U.S. so that we can credit it to America more than Italy. However, some eateries in Italy have picked up the idea and are serving the dish, though we wonder how popular it is.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Image credit: Depositphotos.Widely believed to be Italian, spaghetti and meatballs don’t hail from Italy. Instead, the dish was coined by Italian immigrants in New York, so if we’re crediting anyone, it should be America.
That being said, there have been a few variations of the dish, but those were vegetarian. Authentic Italian spaghetti and meatballs are smaller and egg-based, and their sauce drastically differs from the American version.
Garlic Bread
Image credit: Canva Pro.Surprised to hear about this one, right? Because if there’s anything we thought was pure Italian, it’d have to be garlic bread.
The idea of garlic bread is credited to Provence, France, and the United States but their recipes differ from each other.
Italian cuisine is no stranger to garlic, so most Italian chefs don’t find it necessary to add garlic bread as a side to their food. If they have to serve bread, they don’t toast it in garlic.
Penne alla Vodka
Image credit: Depositphotos.Vodka and pasta go hand in hand, so this dish has become a favorite for many. But contrary to popular belief, penne alla vodka isn’t Italian.
The idea to add vodka to pasta originated in Italy, but it was used for a dish similar to all arrabbiata. However, chefs in the U.S. liked the idea of adding vodka to pasta, so they came up with penne alla vodka. Interestingly, this is also an unconfirmed theory, and it’s possible penne alla vodka was created by multiple people worldwide simultaneously.
Pepperoni Pizza
Pizza originates from Italy, but only a few non-Italians know authentic Italian pizza uses an exclusive choice of toppings. Authentic Italian pizza mainly uses vegetables and fungi like mushrooms and rarely goes for a meat-based topping. Some meat-based Italian pizzas exist, but they don’t use pepperoni.
The idea to use pepperoni comes from the United States, where chefs experimented with local meat, poultry, and even fish (sardines).
Chicken Piccata
Image credit: Canva Pro.Chicken piccata is an Americanized Italian dish. Piccata is widely served in Italy but uses veal as its core ingredient. Other variations of authentic Italian piccata use swordfish, so they’re drastically different from the U.S. version.
American chefs transformed this Italian dish by substituting chicken as the main ingredient and butterfly frying it in a crispy batter. They even pair it with pasta or rice, but Italian piccata is served independently.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Image credit: My Pure Plants.Spaghetti bolognese is a fusion dish; its origins are unclear, but it’s suggested that Italian immigrants in the U.S. may have created the dish.
Bolognese sauce (ragu) hails from Italy, but instead of being served over spaghetti, it is paired with tagliatelle (tagliatelle al ragu). The decision to use bolognese sauce over spaghetti was made sometime in the early 1900s, though we don’t really know how it came to be.
Breaded Mozzarella Sticks
Image credit: Canva Pro.It’s unclear why people assume breaded mozzarella sticks come from Italy since most Italians readily denounce it.
Fried mozzarella sticks were first served in eateries in France as early as the late 1300s. Some believe it was the brainbaby of Italian-Americans, but there’s not much footing to it. So, it is unclear how the dish made its way to the United States, but by the 1970s, it was a popular choice in eateries.
Italian Salad Dressing
Image credit: Canva Pro.Isn’t it weird that a dish with Italian in its name doesn’t belong to the Italians?
Italian salad dressing is a tangy vinaigrette commonly served with salads and sandwiches and used as a marinade. It is suggested that the recipe comes from Italian immigrants living in the United States, but it might have been one of the few foods invented from scratch and not molded from an existing recipe.
In Italy, salads are typically tossed in a creamier sauce or a balsamic vinegar-based dressing. So, despite the name, Italian salad dressing belongs to the U.S.
Pastrami
Image credit: Canva Pro.The delicious flat meat is credited to the Italians, who don’t even know it exists. Pastrami originates in Romania, where beef brisket was flattened to be served in a jerky-like way. The food was shared by multiple countries, including Turkey, which coined the name.
It only appeared in the U.S. in the 19th century, when Jewish Roman immigrants began feasting on it. The name was changed to match the U.S. taste, and the food hasn’t looked back.
Chicken pizza/pasta
Image credit: Canva Pro.If there’s anything the Italians hate, it’s adding chicken to classic foods. Pasta and pizza in Italy majorly rely on vegetables, so the concept of adding poultry doesn’t exist there.
Even meat-based variations like pizza capricciosa use ham, and pasta variations use vegetables. It’s time we stopped calling chicken pizza or pasta authentic Italian.
Pizza rolls
Image credit: Canva Pro.We should assume that any variation of pizza that isn’t thin-crust or vegetarian isn’t Italian. Italians don’t like experimenting with the classics, so assuming pizza rolls are authentic Italian is wrong.
Pizza rolls originated in America and were created by an American food entrepreneur. The dish is quite popular in the U.S., but people living in Italy have yet to learn about its existence.
Caesar Salad
Image credit: Canva Pro.Many believe caesar salad is a popular food in Italy, but it was created by an Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini, who served this light food in the restaurant chains that operated in the U.S. and Mexico.
In Italy, there’s no such thing as a Caesar salad. Some modern eateries in the country have introduced the salad to attract foreigners and tourists, but most serve balsamic salads.
Chicken Marsala
Image credit: Canva Pro.We’ve learned many foods were created by Italian immigrants in the U.S., but chicken marsala turns the table. The delicious dish is said to have been created by English settlers in Sicily, where marsala wine is prevalent.
Technically, we could call it Italian since it was created in Italy. Still, it’s more accurate to call it Italian-American to honor the people who made the recipe.
Rainbow Cookies
Image credit: Canva Pro.Rainbow cookies are commonly available in Italy but are Italian-American in origin.
There’s a theory the dessert was inspired by the Italian gelato di campagna, which uses colored layers. Still, many Italian food historians have confirmed Italy has nothing to do with rainbow cookies.
Well, whoever created them, we should be delighted they did.
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