Food: didn't know Italians were so picky about their carbonara!

[OldHvyMec]

I was taught you have the right amount of sauce if the last bit of bread will clean your plate. No lickin' the plate either. LOL

I just made fresh pasta that will last a week or so. I bought the machine 20+ years ago. Nothing better than fresh milled
flour with fresh herbs out of a winter window ledge.

I can walk through our neighborhood, get fresh rosemary, bay leaves, mint, peppercorns, oregano and great greenhouse
roma tomatoes if one neighbor has them. The vines are only removed if they get some type of blight (slow growing)
The plant last 3-5 years. She adds light all solar powered for winter grows now. Great peppers too, some of those are
the same age. 3-5 years. No music though.


Regards

 

[Count Arthur]

Living in the UK I gather you're worried you're going to turn into a Scotsman?

Just imagine if we allowed them all to hatch.

 

[cavedriver]

View attachment 340704

ooh, just look at that still liquid yolk. My younger self would have wretched but as my taste buds have "mellowed" I now see that as near perfection. Of course the reality of raw eggs being edible plays such a big role in carbonara. Even though I ate plenty of cookie dough as a kid I was still afraid I'd end up in the hospital the first time I made carbonara. Tens of batches later I have yet to have any problems.

Also, for Americans it's surprising to learn that Europeans also store and sell raw eggs at room temperature and that its only after you put them in the refrigerator that you have to keep them there?

 

[Count Arthur]

Also, for Americans it's surprising to learn that Europeans also store and sell raw eggs at room temperature and that its only after you put them in the refrigerator that you have to keep them there?

I've never kept them in the refrigerator, and I've eaten plenty of them raw, and soft boiled over the years. So far, so good.

 

[Digby]

Also, for Americans it's surprising to learn that Europeans also store and sell raw eggs at room temperature and that its only after you put them in the refrigerator that you have to keep them there?

In America they clean the eggs which removes a protective coating so they have to go in the fridge, in Europe they don't so are fine left on the counter.

 

[Digby]

In other countries they exaggerate the quantity of sauce and you can't taste the pasta... you need the right balance.

I typically use dried pasta and I'm not sure it has much taste other than somewhat salty from the cooking water.

 

[recycle]

The biggest insult to Italian culture is Olive Garden
Second place, tied, are New York Pizza / Chicago pizza.
Third place: American wine
All of this should be reported to the United Nations as crimes against humanity.

Note: the only place in the world to eat real Carbonara is Rome, Italy (avoid anywhere else)

 

[Keith_W]

I typically use dried pasta and I'm not sure it has much taste other than somewhat salty from the cooking water.

May I ask what brand of pasta you are using?

 

[Esprit]

I typically use dried pasta and I'm not sure it has much taste other than somewhat salty from the cooking water.

Pasta and its taste change based on the flours used, the flour mixtures used, the dies used, the water and air of the place where it is produced.
Then there is the pasta to which the eggs are added.
You can feel the taste of pasta even more with simple recipes such as oil, tomato sauce or simply butter and sage.

 

[Digby]

May I ask what brand of pasta you are using?

Napolina

 

[Digby]

Pasta and its taste change based on the flours used, the flour mixtures used, the dies used, the water and air of the place where it is produced.
Then there is the pasta to which the eggs are added.
You can feel the taste of pasta even more with simple recipes such as oil, tomato sauce or simply butter and sage.

It doesn't surprise me that Italians think everyone else is doing their food wrong, because you'd struggle to get the variety/quality of pasta outside of large cities in other countries, which is probably part of why the dishes are different from in the country itself.

 

[Count Arthur]

I think we can all appreciate fine Italian food.

 

[Keith_W]

Napolina

Hmm, may I suggest you try an Italian pasta? Try to hunt down Rustichella d'Abruzzo, Martelli, and Monograno Felicetti ... these are my go-to pastas. I always have Rustichella and Martelli in stock in my pantry.

Unfortunately I can't easily find Monograno Felicetti easily in Australia, it has to be a special order. Monograno ("Single Grain") are part of a new wave of pasta manufacturers that use single origin grains, and sometimes heritage grains to make pasta. They taste different to each other, some are nutty, some are bready, etc. They may also have vastly different textures, even if they are extruded from the same die and are of the same shape. I think it was "Kamut" grain that I tried once, and they recommended a simple butter and sage preparation. I could definitely taste the nuttiness and some kind of floral fragrance, but it also had a grainy texture that I wasn't sure if it was interesting or unpleasant. I went with both - interesting if served in a small portion, unpleasant if I had to eat a bowl of it.

There is a huge variety of pastas in my local independent supermarket (Leo's for Melburnians) and local Italian grocer. I was taught by an Italian how to shop for pasta in Australia - look for a pale colour (indicating prolonged low heat drying, darker pastas are dried under high heat which toasts the pasta making it darker yellow). Look for a rough grainy surface indicating bronze dye extrusion. If you have a choice between shorter and longer cooking time, go for the one with longer cooking time because it is likely to have better texture. Avoid all mass manufactured Australian made dried pastas, the "artisan" small batch ones might be OK. Avoid Barilla (he said that they sold their soul). And lastly, he made me realize that many Australian companies actually import pasta from Italy and rebrand it locally and I can save a lot of money by choosing those pastas.

 

[Esprit]

It doesn't surprise me that Italians think everyone else is doing their food wrong

There are no fewer than 300 types of pasta in Italy.

All different formats to be used based on the recipe and seasoning.

Not just one format, type of pasta, type of processing to use in all recipes.

Happy New Year.

 

[Digby]

There are no fewer than 300 types of pasta in Italy.

Is it scandalous to say i prefer risotto?

 

[Esprit]

Avoid Barilla (he said that they sold their soul). And

There are more or less large industrial producers and artisanal producers (fewer employees and fewer products...) and then there are fresh pasta producers in every city but among the industrial producers Barilla manages to produce excellent pasta (according to the tests of the associations of consumers):

I migliori spaghetti d'Italia? La classifica

Le associazioni dei consumatori Altroconsumo e Salvagente hanno messo alla prova la pasta più amata degli italiani (ovvero i migliori spaghetti). Risultati

www.lacucinaitaliana.it

 

[Esprit]

Is it scandalous to say i prefer risotto?

Over 130 different types of rice are grown in Italy.
Each with its specific characteristics.
Every recipe requires its own rice, when obviously possible.

Speaking of risotto and not rice you are spoiled for choice:

E adesso, tutti insieme, cento risotti. La più grande antologia italiana mai pubblicata sul web. Alè - Luciano Pignataro Wine Blog

di Marco Galetti La deriva Nordista di Pignataro e i 100 risotti del Galetti non sarebbe un titolo ad effetto, ma l’effetto di una collaborazione dove la. E adesso, tutti insieme, cento risotti. La più grande antologia italiana mai pubblicata sul web. Alè

www.lucianopignataro.it

Italy is a nation where the contamination of different cuisines, due to the various peoples who have lived there, to the various peoples who have invaded it, to the various peoples who have had commercial relationships over the centuries, has "created" a cuisine certainly not monotonous or based solely on certain foods (meat rather than fish to simplify as much as possible...)
For this reason the cuisine is rich and varied.
No Italian can say he has "tasted" all the dishes of Italian cuisine.

 

[Digby]

Over 130 different types of rice are grown in Italy.
Each with its specific characteristics.
Every recipe requires its own rice, when obviously possible.

Speaking of risotto and not rice you are spoiled for choice:

Sold! Will you be available as gourmet advisor on my next trip to Italy?

 

[Esprit]

I'll lend you my nephew.
He works, together with many other chefs, here:

 

[recycle]

There are more or less large industrial producers and artisanal producers (fewer employees and fewer products...) and then there are fresh pasta producers in every city but among the industrial producers Barilla manages to produce excellent pasta (according to the tests of the associations of consumers):

I migliori spaghetti d'Italia? La classifica

Le associazioni dei consumatori Altroconsumo e Salvagente hanno messo alla prova la pasta più amata degli italiani (ovvero i migliori spaghetti). Risultati

www.lacucinaitaliana.it

Barilla's production is not the same all over the world: pasta made in Italy is good, unfortunately pasta made abroad has worse quality wheat than Italy