Italians Eating Less Pasta?
Oh no! Italians are eating less pasta - 23% less to be precise. And they're eating more "foreign" dishes too. What's the world coming to?
So has consumption really fallen off so radically, or has it perhaps returned to a rate more consistent with the growing prosperity since 1945? I think we have here a good example of how numbers or statistics can mislead.
Either way, to understand Italian cooking you've got to go way beyond what or how much Italians eat. If you've spent any time in Italy eating their incredible cuisine, you know that the ingredients and the preparation make all the difference. Taking pasta as an example, you simply can't compare a dish prepared here in the U.S., no matter how well prepared, to any pasta dish eaten in Italy. The pasta itself - the wheat they use, the freshness of the product, never mind the exquisite preparation - simply stand out time and again. Not only the taste of the food, but your body's response to it immediately convince you that you're in another- and better - world, at least as far as food is concerned.
So the story of reduced pasta consumption really isn't much of story, as far as I can tell. Whether Italians are or aren't eating more or less pasta, their cuisine, I suspect (and hope) remains pristine in its quality, freshness and preparation. If that ever changes, you've got a real story.
For decades pasta was synonymous with Italians' exemplary way of life. "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti," actress Sophia Loren famously responded when asked how she maintained her trim figure.It seems (according to the author) Italians think that pasta puts on the pounds and so are now cutting down on their consumption. Of course, while pasta has always been a staple of Italian cuisine, its consumption soared after World War II, when meat and fish were so dear in the poor post-war years.
So has consumption really fallen off so radically, or has it perhaps returned to a rate more consistent with the growing prosperity since 1945? I think we have here a good example of how numbers or statistics can mislead.
Either way, to understand Italian cooking you've got to go way beyond what or how much Italians eat. If you've spent any time in Italy eating their incredible cuisine, you know that the ingredients and the preparation make all the difference. Taking pasta as an example, you simply can't compare a dish prepared here in the U.S., no matter how well prepared, to any pasta dish eaten in Italy. The pasta itself - the wheat they use, the freshness of the product, never mind the exquisite preparation - simply stand out time and again. Not only the taste of the food, but your body's response to it immediately convince you that you're in another- and better - world, at least as far as food is concerned.
So the story of reduced pasta consumption really isn't much of story, as far as I can tell. Whether Italians are or aren't eating more or less pasta, their cuisine, I suspect (and hope) remains pristine in its quality, freshness and preparation. If that ever changes, you've got a real story.
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