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Week 10 [16.12 - 22.12.2019] - So, you think you like Italian cuisine?


When you ask someone ”what is your favourite cuisine?” there is a big chance that the answer will be „Italian”. Let’s face it, there is always at least one pizzeria in every town. I can’t think about one person who said to me that they don’t like pizza. But is it authentic Italian dishes that many people point out as their favourite comfort food?

I remember when my friend and I went to a small Italian restaurant. He wasn’t really happy about our order. He said he prefers versions of those dishes he has eaten in other places. Why were they worse in his opinion? The taste of wine in lasagna was too strong and the dough of a pizza was too thin. Both were not cheesy enough. Most people are familiar with a thick, greasy dough with lots of cheese, sliced in eight pieces. They also share it with others. Italian-American food, also known in many European countries is just different from that what can be found in Italy. If you tell Italian grandma that you add heavy cream to spaghetti alla carbonara or put ketchup on a pizza, it could cause a small heart attack. A regular Italian doesn’t know what fettuccine Alfredo is, a dish so popular in the United States, because of the chain of restaurants called ”Olive Garden”. Spaghetti with meatballs may be found in Italy but only in restaurants targeted at tourists. 


Example of American style pizza


Fettuccine Alfredo


Italians are proud of their food and traditional (sometimes a few hundred old) recipes. They believe that the base of every dish is a good quality product, of course, Italian product. Which is so different from American love for quantity expressed in massive portions. Another rule is simplicity. Cheese and pepper mixed with pasta can make a delicious meal. I found those specific rules so interesting. For instance, the meat sauce can only be served with thicker pasta like tagliatelle or gnocchi because these are more able to hold the chunky sauce. That’s the reason why you won’t find ”spaghetti bolognese” in Italy. It is also important to add that typical Italian food is much healthier than American versions drenched in cheese and sauce. 


Tagliatelle

Gnocchi with truffle


I encourage you to find a small restaurant owned by real Italian to learn a bit about its culture. However what can I say, I am looking forward to a bit too greasy pizza from "Pizza Hut" shared on Saturday evening with my friends.

Questions:
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?

Comments

Dawid Piotrak said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I don't know, amazing taste ? I don't really see any more reasons as why someone could love some cuisine besides the taste.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
My favorite dish is Pizza ;) and yes I believe it's Italian.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
I prefer Italian cuisine because American is known of deep-frying everything and using way too much oil and other bad ingredients.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
It depends on what is currently available in the fridge :)
While ordering some pizzas from Domino's I've noticed that BBQ sauce is really great.
s15385 said…
1. Well, I can say why I love Italian food. Personally I love all kinds of pasta that Italians make and how they can prepare tomato sauces to the dishes. Moreover everyone loves pizza, espiecially the Italian one. Let anyone who hasn't eaten the real one regret it.

2. My favourite Italian dish is lasagne. I can eat it all the time and I can make a really good one. Moreover I love shrimps made in butter with some pasta.

3. It's obvious choice for me - Italian cuisine. Occasionally I eat American-Italian cuisine but if I have a choice, I prefer to eat Italian one.

4. I put usually garlic sauce but it depends on pizza and from where I order it.
In my opinion, a lot of food from Italy entered the mainstream. Spagetthi, pizza and other dishes are very well liked and appreciated by people for their simplicity and taste :)
I usually eat pizza from Italian cuisine, but I like Hawaiian pizza from Canada, not Italy.
I prefer American-Italian cuisine, because apart from pizza I also like fast food sometimes.
I eat pizza without sauce, because sauces kill the taste. When the pizza end is left, then I eat it with the sauce. I usually use tomato or garlic sauce.
I think it’s simplicity of the food. I once ate real Italian pizza and spaghetti and they taste nothing like for example in Warsaw. I can’t remember what was it like but I won’t forget that I’ve never eaten something as good as it. I feel my favorite Italian dish is a pizza. I like a lot of cheese in pizza but I don’t like adding any extra ketchup or any other sauce) I don’t know a lot of about American cuisine as well as Italian but one thing I can tell – I like everything that tastes good.
PIOTR PAWLAK said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I think it is all about taste and simplicity. Italian food is not difficult to do but it taste awesome and everyone can make Italian dish at home.
2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
For me it is of course pizza, especially with mozzarella di buffala. When I was in Naples in high school for about half year, I ate so much pizza with this specific mozzarella and I miss it a lot today. It was the best pizza I have ever had.
3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
As I metioned in point 2, I love Italian cusine because I spend a lot of my time in Naples in Italy. It was great experience and I fall in love with this cuisine.
4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
No, never Sometinmes maybe olive oil but very rarely.
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I think this is a very popular cuisine. Restaurants with Italian dishes can be found literally at every step, probably every person is able to say at least one dish. Italian dishes are quite easy to prepare, they are tasty and mostly based on pasta, which fits in many places.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
Well, I think I like pizza and spaghetti the most and yes, they are really Italian. I can eat these dishes all the time. There are countless variances and additions that can enrich these two dishes, so that each time they can taste completely different and evoke new sensations. In addition, each place where we can find these dishes creates them in its own way, which is why we have countless inspirations and flavors. I also like to make them myself at home, which is why I eat them quite often.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
I always try to stick to the originality and the real look of Italian cuisine. I don't like the interference of American ways or additions to this kitchen, because I have been disappointed with them many times. American-Italian cuisine is known for the enormity of additions and ingredients to each dish, known for its size and fat content. I prefer traditionality.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
In most cases, yes, but it depends on the type of pizza. It often happens that with additional sauces we kill the real taste of pizza and it becomes generally worse. Sometimes, however, the pizza is too dry or lacks a bit of a proper addition to the full flavor, then I use sauces.
Maciej Sadoś said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
The reason couldn't be any simpler - the food is just tasty. Like other said it is also simple and easy to make if you cook yourself. You have many different combinations of pasta with different sauces or a lot of various pizzas. Everyone can find something sufficient.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
My favourite Italian dish is definitely a lasagna. I don't know if these I eat are really pure italian but I ate lasagna once in Italy and it tasted similarly. In fact I've never gained any deep information about this dish, I just eat it :-)

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
I like the lightness the pure Italian cuisine has but I also enjoy a variety of ingredients in American-Italian one. It's hard to choose one of this, but in fact if I eat something Italian I more often eat American-Italian. Maybe because it's more popular.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
Yes, I eat pizza with sauces, especially garlic and tomato ones. But it's only an addition, I don't like to eat sauce with pizza like my girlfriend for example 😅
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I think many people love Italian cuisine because it is simple, fast and very filling.

2. What is your favorite italian dish and is it really Italian?
Nothing special. Pizza is my favorite Italian dish. I love thin with tomato sauce, Parma ham, cherry tomatoes and rocket salad. Yes, I definitely think it's typical Italian pizza.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
I like both. I think they both have something inside.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
No, I don't like ketchup. I thought it was very artificial and I really don't know what they are doing it with. Sometimes I add lupo sauce.
Maciej P s16488 said…
I don't really know why people love italian food. Maybe from historical point of view Italy was culturaly much more developed than other countries which lead to developing better cousine? What i mean is that they didn't really struggle with famine, they had distant lands under their control, so they could find more informations, food sources and new ideas for their culinary development? Maybe because their food is based on carbohydrates but unlike similar countries it isn't about potatoes, rice and groats?
I love food but on the other hand i don't really mind where is it from, neither if it is healthy or not. I love pizza but i also love classic italian pizza. I've eaten carbonara with oil instead of creme. I've eaten calzone and for once i eaten it with raw egg. I have no idea what is my favourite dish, i think it depends on the day.
I don't know. I love american pizza but i also love pasta as well. I guess i just enjoy them both. I don't put ketchup on pizza but once i've heard wise words about whisky: how should you drink it? with coke, pure, on ice? You should drink it the way you enjoy and same goes for pizza - if you like ketchup on your pizza then put it on!
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?

I think that Italian cuisine has a unique taste that suits the tastes of many people. A long tradition can contribute to this.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?

Pizza, of course. However, I eat more often in the American style, but I also appreciate traditional Italian pizza.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?

If I were to consider the taste itself, I would definitely bet on Italian cuisine. However, as I mentioned, due to the availability, I more often reach for American-Italian dishes.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?

Yes, I use pizza sauce. It's usually regular ketchup or garlic sauce.
1. It's filled with carbohydrates all over the place so it's natural that people like eating anything that's a plain energy delivered in easy form.
2. As i'm not really a fan of carbs it won't be any pasta not pizza. I would say that my favorite is fresh pesto.
3. I do not prefer any of them, for me it's really the same and tastes similar.
4. When I have pizza I tend to sauce it up as normally pizzas tastes plain and simillar. And that way it's possible to change that taste a little bit.
Angelika Dutt said…
In my opinion, Italian cuisine is simply delicious, I can't imagine how you could not like it. This is due to the fact that it is a perfect combination of poppies, different kinds of cheese with vegetables and spices. This kitchen is also very varied and consists of many variations of the same dishes, which makes it possible to match it to any taste.

My favourite Italian dish is definitely pizza, with prosciutto, rocket, cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. This is a typical Italian dish because for me, the thinner the pizza, the tastier it is. Additionally, I prefer pizzas with less cheese. I don't like the American pizza on a very thick dough, which they sell, for example, in the "Pizza Hut".

As I said, I don't like American cuisine, I don't think it has anything to do with tasty cuisine. It's fat and for people who have no sense of taste.

I don't like pizza sauces, I don't know how people can eat pizza with ketchup or mayonnaise. In my opinion, the only "sauce" for pizza could be olive oil.
Kuba Berliński said…

1. It is tasty and is made of products, which are available in every region of the world. For example pizza. Every cousine uses flour, cheese and kind of anything you like on it.

2. I enjoy pizzas and pastas in almost any variation. I think that italian cousine is right now just by its name. It is so popular around the world that almost every restaurant adjusted those dishes to their preferences.

3. I guess it doesn't really matter. If it is good, then it is good and it doesn't matter whether its italian or american-italian. It also depends on what a fancy that day.

4. I usually do. I know it is not a italian way, but I live in Poland not Italy and I'm allowed to do anything I want to my pizza.
Mykyta Smirnov said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I think because most dishes are not so hard to cook, and you get amazing tastes.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
I do not have any favourites among italian food. Lasagne, pizza, all kinds of italian seafood dishes are great for me.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
Depends on a mood. Actually both are great, but american one is not so healthy.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
I like garlic sause with pizza, ketchup is not my favourite one.
1. Italian food, at least the most popular dishes are rather easy to make. Ingredients that are needed are available in most of the shops so you don't have to spend tons of time on searching for them.

2. It's risotto. Risotto is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and parmesan cheese. While at the beginning the recipe might seem to be complicated after a couple of tries it's actually very easy to make!

3. It really depends on a mood and situation. The American oriented food is better for a party, it's having much more fat, so it's better for drinking alcohol, etc. While Italian food is better for a meal with family or someone close.

4. Ketchup on pizza is a huge no, sometimes I prefer to put garlic sauce or (please don't throw rocks at me) mayonnaise.
Olga Przytula said…


1. Probably it’s caused by the amazing and varied flavors that Italian cuisine has to offer, as well as mix of different colors and textures. In my opinion, Italian cuisine is not only delicious and appetizing looking but also has this positive vibe to it.

2. I don’t think I have any “favorite”, I am a big fan of all sorts of thinly rolled pizzas, pastas like gnocchi or tagliatelle and of course tiramisu. I know that there are often different kinds of “Frankenstein dishes” like pizza with ketchup or (as mentioned in the article) heavy creamed spaghetti à la carbonara. But I’m not a fan of them. Mainly because I see them as too heavy and unhealthy types of dishes. I rather eat something, that would create a feast for my taste buds.

3. Definitely Italian one. It’s lighter, their dishes have better sense of taste and are often created with high quality products. American-Italian cuisine is for me too dull and heavy on the stomach.

4. What?! NO. Only Olive Oil! (When we are talking about true, italian pizza)
Kacper Gąsior said…
1. It's a hard question. As you said - everyone loves pizza or pasta, but I'm sure that it's not only about this. Italian cuisine uses ingredients that everyone likes - vegetables, meat, pasta or spices. These are things that won't make anybody don't want to try a dish. Maybe that's one of the factors that contribute to Italian cuisine's popularity.

2. I think definitely pizza, but not "Pizza hut version". I prefer thin pizza dough, fresh ingredients and taste of good tomatoes over thick one with tons of awful sauces.

3. I think I prefer Italian version - it's lighter, consists of a larger variety of dishes and great ingredients instead of enormous amounts of fat and sauces.

4. I don't like sauces. The only think I use with pizza is olive oil.
1. I have never thought about it, but it seems to me that it has to do with the fact that Italian dishes look beautiful, smell and are easy to do. In addition, Polish latitude encourages Italian cuisine - Italian dishes are filling and greasy.

2. I just returned from the Italian mountains and my new favorite delicacy has become calimero. This is Italian coffee combined with alcohol - bombardino. It really is a future thing.

3. I prefer Italian cuisine because I love Italian pasta. In addition, I think that Italian dishes are characterized by simplicity, amazing smell. Frankly, I think American-Italian cuisine has too many additions and is not very healthy.

4. There is no such culture at all in Italy. The only thing you can add to your pizza is olive oil. I try to never add any additional sauce or ketchup, because I think it spoils the original taste.
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
Well it tastes good. I don’t know any other reason

2. What is your favourite Italian dish and is it Italian?
If I have to say then its spaghetti, lasagne and pizza. I make them myself, so they are rather Italian-like.
3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
Well if I must specify then probably what I thought was Italian was American-Italian so I must say that I probably like American-Italian cuisine why you ask because they taste good.
4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
If this is pizza that I like I don’t put ketchup or other sauces, well if I must be honest, I sometimes use sauces on the edges of pizza dough because it's too dry
Olha Romaniuk said…
1. I think the reason is that Italian cuisine uses those ingredients that even a child will love. Italian dishes are tasty, nourishing and "understandable."
2. My favorite dish is not exactly Italian. It's dumplings. But in turn, I really like pasta with parmesan, pizza, American fast food or my mother's homemade borscht with garlic pampouches. In fact, I really like to eat delicious food. *writing while eating*
3. Italian. Because it feels like it's done to the soul.
4. Ketchup-- definitely not. I like garlic or sour cream sauce. There's too much garlic in my life... But I can be sure that I'm not a vampire ;)
Bartosz Waś said…
1. I think so many people like Italian food because it's very tasty and not too exotic. The ingredients are simple and that is why even people with not too sophisticated taste can find a lot of things they may like. It is also usually easy to prepare , really popular and easily accessible in any bigger city.

2. My favourite dish is Naples-style pizza (there are a few places in Warsaw that serve that) and original spaghetti carbonara with Pecorino Romano cheese.

3. I prefer Italian cuisine because it presents a bigger variety of dishes and pays bigger attention to quality of ingredients. American-Italian kitchen in Poland is usually represented by fast-food restaurants so it is usually not that tasty.

5. I don't use ketchup and any sauces. I think if pizza is good then it is enough.
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I think almost everyone loves Italian food, because of its diversity and loads of flavour, without it being too mild or too spicy. It’s also not too fatty and it contains ingredients, which most people already like.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
It’s very hard for me to pick just one dish, that’s why I’d have to go with pizza margherita. I love its simplicity and taste. The story behind it is quite interesting, because the colours of this pizza, which are red (the tomato sauce), green (basil) and white (mozzarella) symbolize the colours of the flag of Italy. It was made to honour the Queen Margherita di Savoy. So I guess it’s pretty Italian.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
American-Italian cuisine is more popular outside of Italy and that’s why I eat it more often. But I really love going to Italy and eating in small local restaurants to taste the ‘real’ Italian food. It’s always interesting to see and taste the differences between them. That’s why I can’t choose a favourite.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
I usually add garlic sauce to my pizza when they goes well together. Sometimes I don’t put anything additional to it, just the basic sauce that it comes with.
1. In my opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food is pizza and pasta. It is these dishes that people like very much and hence they think that they like Italian cuisine. Pizza and pasta are very good and are popular dishes, so no wonder.

2. Personally, I really like pizza (but American) and pasta, spaghetti and bolognese, or penne.

3. I prefer American-Italian because it is more spicy and a bit fatter. American pizza - that's what I love!

4. I don't like ketchup, but I like my own tomato or garlic sauce. It's much tastier.
Yurii Gevtsi said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I don’t know, probably because it is tasty and popular, personally I love all the food if it's tasty, and I absolutely don't care if it’s Italian or Chinese.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
When I was in Italy, I really liked their pizza, and I tried it a lot. I tried pizza in many different forms and with different ingredients and of course with different varieties of homemade wine and craft beer.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
As I said, I don’t care what kind of food it is, the main thing is that it would be tasty.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
I cook pizza almost every week, and I put ketchup there and everything that I find in the fridge, and of course I put something meat there.
Piotr Bednarek said…
1. I think that people all around the world love Italian cousine because of taste, fresh ingriediens. Moreover, in my opinion Italian treat cooking as hobby and they put their heart and soul into it.

2. My favourite Italian dish is pizza, I could say that I can eat it all the time. I'm sure that this meal come from Italy, because first modern pizza was developed in Naples.

3. I prefer Italian cousine, because of fresh ingriediens, taste and quality of meals.

4. It's depend on the type of pizza, becuase if it is home-made pizza I always put garlic sauce on it, but if I eat pizza in restaurat I put oliva oil on it.
Szymon Kluczek said…
1. I think that the main reason why people love Italian cuisine is because it is very diverse, everyone can find something for themselves, Italian cuisine offers many types of pasta with various additions, many types of pizzas, what's more their food is simply tasty. I really don't know anyone who doesn't like Italian cuisine.

2. My favorite Italian dish is pizza, to be honest I eat Hawaiian pizza more often, which is a Kanadian variation of this dish, but I also love real Italian pizza.

3. I prefer Italian cuisine, which is definitely lighter and contains less fat. During my stay in the United States I had the opportunity to try American-style pizza and to be honest I didn't like it, it had too much cheese that I don't like in excess.
What's more it was very fatty which made it not very pleasant to eat.

4. I'm not a big fan of ketchup, so I don't really use it for my pizza, but I really like all kinds of spicy sauces that I often add to my pizza, if my pizza contains quite a lot of meat, I like to use a bbq sauce that enhances the taste.
1. It's just tasty and simple. When made from fresh ingredients it will always be delicious. There are few people who don't like pizza or pasta. Sometimes they don’t like it because they don’t know the original Italian recipe and taste.

2. It is not an easy choice but I think it is Neapolitan pizza. It's certainly an Italian dish.

3. It all depends on what I feel like. If I had to eat it every day, it would definitely be Italian cuisine. From time to time I like to eat something more American.

4. If we are talking about real Italian cuisine then definitely not. An Italian seeing ketchup on pizza could get a heart attack. But if we talk about Italian-American cuisine, it wouldn't be anything strange there.
I am also a fan of Domino's BBQ sauce :) That's true that American people deep-fry everything they can, which is very unhealthy.
I have noticed that not so many people eat Italian pasta, pizza is way more popular, so I'm glad that you enjoy a good pasta.
That's right that Italian cuisine is very popular, many people consider themselves as a Italian food lovers. I rarely eat the end of a pizza and when I do, that means I am very hungry
Adding huge amount of cheese to a pizza is another American thing to do, although I also enjoy some extra cheese on my pizza.
Italian food is not difficult to do, but it is difficult to master. Everyone at home can make some Italian meals, although I think that making a true Italian meal is quite a challenge. Adding olive oil to a fine pizza can really enhance the taste.
I also cook many Italian pasta based dishes at home. Do you also make pizza at home? If so, do you take care of the dough, or rather buy it pre-prepared?
I have seen some people dipping their pizza in sauce, which makes me sick :). I also prefer Italian cuisine, although I don't mind eating American-Italian dishes
I have never heard of the lupo sauce, I'm definitely going to look around for it next time I'm in a market.
I think that Italian food got famous because of the simplicity and easily accessible ingredients. I agree with the whisky quote, do whatever you like if you enjoy it.
Italian cuisine uses spices and ingredients common for everyone, so it makes sense that it suits tastes of many people
I like to prepare pasta with green pesto, so I appreciate your good taste :)
I agree that the thinnier the pizza, the tastier it is. I feel sick when I see pizza with a really thick dough.
I think that interesting, that many restaurants treat Italian cuisine as a blueprint and adjust it for their own dishes and recipes
I don't personally like seafood, but that's great that you enjoy those dishes
I'm glad that you mentioned risotto, as It it also one of my favorite meals. In fact, that's the meal I prepare most often at home. I happened to put mayonnaise on my pizza a couple of times, so that's fine ;)
I find it sad that putting a jug of olive oil on a table is not yet a standard in Poland when it comes to restaurants that claim they're Italian. Every good Italian restaurant have it, so that's a way to recognize a good place to eat your food.
Maciej Szczypek said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I think that the popularity of the true, authentic Italian food lays in the quality of the ingredients and simplicity of the recipes. Also, the Italian cuisine is really abundant in diverse types of dishes from different regions that even the really picky eaters will find something to their liking.

2. What is your favourite italian dish and is it really Italian?
My favorite Italian dish is generally pasta. I like the authentic, Roman version of the carbonara pasta made traditionally with eggs, pork cheek and pecorino cheese, no cream or garlic added. My girlfriend lives in Rome and told me how it really should be made.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
It depends on the occasion. When I want something cheesy, greasy and heavy e.g. for a movie night then I would go fo the American-Italian style pizza with garlic sauce but when I go out to a restaurant I enjoy a good, simple pizza margherita.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
If I order a pizza delivery then I usually take it with a side of garlic sauce and another extra spicy sauce. I rather do not put ketchup on a pizza.
1. I think it's because Italian food is pretty simple. It doesn't have overcomplicated recipes, ingredients and preparation. Besides that, it's tasty

2. My favourite Italian dish is pizza, and i ate real italian pizza. It is so different from "american" variant.

3. To be honest, I prefer American-Italian. Mostly because i like to have a bite into some more cheesy and thinner dough. That's just what I grew up with when I was eating pizza hut or anything

4. No, I don't put any sauces on my pizza, in my opinion it ruins my flavours on my pizza.
s15052 said…
1. Maybe because it's soo simple and easy for everyone to make Italian dishes. Also there are a lot of Italian restaurants.
2. I really like Spaghetti bolognese. I can make it but its takes a lot of time (around 6 hours).
3. To be honest - I like both of them. Sometimes I want to eat fat dough american pan pizza, and sometimes I prefer traditional, simple margarita. There is nothing wrong with Italian-American cuisine, but it would be good if the person who visits such restaurants can distinguish them.
4. It depends, if I'm on the party or at home I don't really care about it. But when I order traditional Italian pizza I usually eat it without a sauce. I really like to use tomato sauce (not ketchup) for bread edges of pizza.
As I said in some of the previous comments, Italian cuisine use ingredients common for everyone, so that's definitely a factor that contributes to its' popularity
Calimero sounds very interesting, I'll try to find some cafe in Warsaw that serves it, so that I can taste it.
Bartosz Warda said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?


Italian cuisine is excellent, it is associated with sun holidays and is very simple. An Italian dish can be made in a few moments and is simply delicious.

2. What is your favourite Italian dish and is it really Italian?

For sure spaghetti Bolognese, I love it. The second Italian dish would be pizza, which can be created in various ways. The best ones can be found in good restaurants in Italy. The base is a delicious and thin crust with the additives, which can be composed in so many different ways.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?

I prefer Italian cuisine, American is very difficult to digest and contains a lot of fat. Sometimes I like to go to a good restaurant for an original American hamburger but I prefer doing the burger on my own in my kitchen.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?

It all depends on how the pizza is made. The original one contains a delicious sauce and very good cheese. If those conditions are satisfied, then no ketchup is needed.
Using sauce only for the edges of the pizza is quite a common practice I think. Also people like to dip those in sauces and eat like some kind of sticks
Italians also have their way of serving dumplings, so I recommend to give it a try ;)
I also love Naples-style pizza, baking it in a wood fire oven gives it a completely different taste than any other pizza
That's really interesting, I had no clue that margherita pizza have such a story behind it, amazing! I agree that small, local restaurants are the best to experience the Italian way of serving food.
1. I think many people love Italian food just because it's delicious. Most Italian dishes are easy to cook yourself. Besides, you need familiar products for this.

2. I would say that my favorite Italian dish is spaghetti bolognese. But after reading this article, I don't even know what to say :D

3. I like both. Unfortunately, I haven't been to Italian restaurants to taste real Italian food. But I cooked some Italian dishes myself, and I know it's delicious. According to the original Italian recipes, you can cook not only delicious but also healthy food. But we are more used to the more common American-Italian cuisine.

4. Yes, I add different sauces to the pizza. I like bacon pizza with barbecue sauce.
Speaking of wine, Italian cuisine is very rich in it, also wine in Italy is one of the best in the whole world.
Some top notch chefs don't even consider a pineapple pizza a pizza, for example Gordon Ramsay shivers when he sees a Hawaiian pizza, which is quite interesting, because this kind of pizza is very popular around the world.
That's true, Italians are very, very sensitive when it comes to putting sauces on pizza, so heart attack is a possible thing :)
I like Italian cuisine because it's fast and doesn't take to much effort to make something OK, 6 hours is really a lot of time, I wouldn't be ready for such dedication
I'm sorry for ruining your point of view about spaghetti bolognese :( Bacon pizza with BBQ sauce - that's really, really American pizza :)
Kristina Moroz said…
If you're talking about popular pasta which is sold everywhere or pizza. I think it's a popularisation of Italian culture and pretty narrow with using only few dishes. There are a lot of fascinating options. I really enjoy all variations of seafood preparing from lightly salted anchovies with olive oil, garlic and fresh lemon juice to backed fish in the oven. And this variety of recipes including eggplants..
I obviously prefer Italian cuisine more then American-Italian. But sometimes I just want pizza in American style with garlic sauce on top of it.
Marta Matysik said…
1. I don’t know why people like so much Italian food. Maybe it is because it is quite simple (you can do it on your own at home) or you can eat pizza or other pasta everywhere and this food is I think the most popular food in Europ.

2. I like pizza (but I like the most this Italian version) and pasta e.g. with spinach. When I was in Italy, I looked how they are cooking ,so I don’t use too much sauce on spaghetti.

3. I prefer Italian food, but there are some good Italian-American restaurants in Warsaw, so I can eat here or here.

4. I’ve never used ketchup, but sometimes I eat a souse to the pizza.
Mykola Suprun said…
1) It is, generally, extremely easy and often very fast to prepare, yet very tasty — the best of the two worlds I would say. So much so, I feel it would be much more fitting to ask about why wouldn't somebody like Italian food?
2)I love pizza... with pineapples on it. I suppose it still qualifies as a somewhat Italian dish.
3)Always been a fan of American food, my gastroenterologist, though, is much less enthusiastic about it. But life is such, the things you tend to enjoy, often make it shorter.
4)The garlic sauce is my favorite one. Not sure if it because it matches pizza very well, or just because I really love garlic sauce, but it works for me the best.
1. Italian food is very good because it is rich in flavors and quite diverse. Personally, I like these flavors very much, and pasta the most.

2. Of course, like everyone, I really like pizza, but my favorite Italian dish is spaghetti bolognese and from what I think is really Italian.

3. To be honest I didn't think about it. In general, I like many dishes, including Italian and Polish and American cuisine. I like taste new dishes and learning new flavors.

4. I like ketchup but I don't use it for pizza. I prefer garlic sauce.
1. In my opinion, the reason why so many people love Italian cuisine is the richness of flavors and the variety of ingredients.
2. Spaghetti carbonara is definitely my favorite Italian dish.
3. Definitely Italian.
4. Here differently, the basis for me is tomato sauce.
1. It's delicious. Pasta, pizza - dishes for every occasion. Italian cuisine allows you to prepare a meal for any occasion - party, family dinner or any important event
2. Every pizza and every pasta. I just love Italian cuisine!
3. It does not matter for me. Each of them I would like to eat every day. However, I probably wouldn't be the thinnest person in the world :D
4. Depends. Sometimes the pizza is too good to use sauces
Jakub Kisiała said…
Italian food is usually fresh and very light, maybe that's why. My favorite dishes are mussels, shrimp and pizza. Of course the original Italian and not American fakes. I usually eat pizza with oil.
Adam Tokarczyk said…
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
1. I think, that Italian cuisine, owes its popularity to three things. It's easy and fast to do, and moreover it still tastes pretty good. At least some of their food vacations :)
2. My favorite Italian dish and by the way one of my favorite dishes overall is lasagne. Yes it is really Italian. At least I always though so.
3. I'm not too acquainted with American-Italian cuisine. I have never been to neither US or Italy though, and while it comes to Italian restaurants owned by Italians, then I must say... if I had a choice I'd probably never visit them, because I always leave disappointed. But from your short description, I'd say Italian. I was never a quantity type of person. Also on a side note pizza on a thick crust is a sin.
4. I always thought, that ketchup on a polish pizza is just a joke. Overall if I made pizza myself, then I just make tomato sauce for it. Anywhere else I tend to use garlic sauce or olive, because restaurant chains usually lack in taste.
1. What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?

In my opinion, it is because it very tastes and quick in preparing as well as a big amount of big restaurants(like "Pizza HUT", etc).

2. What is your favourite Italian dish and is it Italian?

I like spaghetti bolognese and lasagna. I can say, that they are my favourite ones. After reading this article I am not sure about spaghetti, but I hope that lasagna is a really Italian dish.

3. Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?

To be honest, the American-Italian cuisine. It is because I haven't tried the real Italian one and I used to the American variation of it. While I was reading the article I was thinking, how it is even possible and it was very strange for me.

4. Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?

No, I don't like pizza with ketchup. Sometimes, I am using tomato sauce but no more.
1. It is simple yet tasty. It is also quite diversified, and probably that is why so many people enjoy it.
2. I can't really tell what is my favourite. I love pizza and lasagna, but probably my favourite would be any pasta with carbonara sauce.
3. I prefer Italian cuisine, thick crust in American pizzas isn't really my thing.
4. Usually not, I think it would hide the whole taste of pizza.
s15740 said…
1) What is in your opinion the reason why so many people love Italian food?
I think, because of its simplicity in cooking, also it is very taste. And of course, there are no chemical elements, I mean, there is only natural chemistry, and it is awesome that receipts have hundreds of years.
2) What is your favorite Italian dish and is it really Italian?
I like ravioli and, for sure, it is Italian cuisine. There are a lot of cuisines where this dish is cooking in some another way or with another fillings, but vegetables and spinach are used only in ravioli.
3) Do you prefer Italian or American-Italian cuisine? Why?
Italian, without any doubt. Just call me American food heater.
4) Do you put on your pizza ketchup or other sauces?
To be honest, I don’t like any sauces that are made not in my kitchen… but if some dish needs a sauce cause of receipt, I agree with this (I believe that the cook knows better), but I will not spoil the dish and its taste with some ketchup…

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