意式美食--美国与意大利的正统之争

Imagine this scenario: You are in a well-decorated restaurant. The air is

thick with the smell of Italian spices and red sauce, and as you enter

heaped plates of spaghetti and garlic bread are placed on red and white

checkered-clothed tables. The dishes are Italian-American spaghetti and

meatballs,accompanied by a bottle of Chianti.

It may be a scene in an American movie, and has been identified by

many Chinese people as the classic meal of Italy; however, it is rather an

Italian-American style than a traditional Italian dishes. Italians and

Americans are discovering food on the opposite side of the ocean, and the dual label of “Italian” for both cuisines has much to do with strong Italian

identification and pride in American immigrants from Italy, and a manifestation of that pride in a passion for food. There are two main differences between these two cuisines.

Red sauce is the star in Italian-American homes and restaurants. Many

Americans nostalgically recount Sundays at an Italian grandmother’s

house, making red meat sauce to be served at a family dinner. In contrast,

red sauces are not as common in Italy, and as opposed to its sauce,Italian pasta is the star of a pasta dish in Italy.

Italy tends to follow the traditional order of antipasto, primo, secondo,

contorno, frutta/dolce, caffe.However, Americans have modified

this prolonged meal to often become a piatto unico, or a dish containing

all food groups (meat, starch,vegetables). This could be because of American “efficiency” (getting all nutrients in one plate is quicker), or perhaps due to influence of other immigrant groups changing the way of eating.