Creators of the DOI (D
enominazione di origine inventata) podcast on Italian cuisine, it is a great book to demystify the 'invented' history of Italian cuisine. Italians are protecting their cuisine, based on ancestral recipes and defend it against copycats or Italian sounding. The reality is that many of these recipes are very recent or even were created (rediscovered) by Italian Immigrants in the US. Neapolitan pizza was originally horrible ( and was reinvented by American Italians), most Italians never ate pasta before the 60's, tomato paste for the Pasta al sugo was created by the American canning industry. Mostly , Italians were too poor to cook varied dishes until the economic Boom in the 60s. Italian cuisine is an invention, or at least a constant reinventing and it is this creativity that should be celebrated according to the authors. Very well-documented book written by food historians. It reminds you that Italy was a frighteningly poor country until very recently. My only remark is that all societies were unequal and poor. In no country, including France, peasants ( the majority for many centuries) didn't eat what rich people ate. The food history and culture in general ( painting, literature) were developed by and for the Happy Few. Democratization only took place in the 20th century. What remains a mystery to me is how Italians managed to develop such fantastic cuisine and great products in such a short period when they could afford ingredients beyond polenta and vegetables. Germans, Swedes or English never managed to do it.
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