Why is Italian food so good

[hipslikecinderella]

It seems to be so far above most of the rest of europe.
I know pizza, pasta and ice cream became so popular in western culture partly due to Italian immigrants to the us, but other nations went there and their food didn't really hit the big time in the same way.

There's always one isn't there? ME! 😂

Sorry but I cant eat Italian food at all. Can't stomach pasta, pizza, garlic, Parmesan, things coated in olive oil etc. etc. etc. ☹️

Do like Italian ice cream, tiramisu and Pinot Grigio though if that counts in my favour.

The Italians are food purists. They won't accept changes or cheap alternatives to their main dishes.
They have festivals devoted to food, they talk about it all the time.
It spread world wide as it was an easy way for Italians immigrants to make money.
They also had major food shortages after WW 2 which affected the current older generation who passed on their food obsession to the younger generation.

I lived in Italy for a few months, admittedly a long time ago. Main plates in good quality restaurants were mostly very plain meat and veg. Nice meat and veg but still very plain. And they bring the meat and veg out at different times and you eat them as they arrive, one thing at a time.

Obviously the pasta and icecream and pizza was great.

Carbs and cheese. Perfect combination. That’s why.

It's simple. I think that's why it works. Italian food is always better with fresh ingredients, but always easily available (basil, a good passata, etc)

My Italian aunt is a great cook because she doesn't overcomplicate things.

I also lived in Italy when I was 18 and I found the food to be quite repetitive, it’s the same pool of ingredients and after a while it got a bit boring, although I could never get bored of the gelato

There's a wonderful series of short videos on YouTube called something like Italian Grannies make Pasta. All about 10 minutes long and show tiny old women cooking pasta from scratch, with a sauce, then presenting it to their family. Wonderful.
The film maker realized that they are the last generation to make pasta from scratch every day, and started filming to commemorate that.

Now I want to go to Italy on holiday again.

If I could only choose one cuisine it would be Italian. So varied regionally.

Going against the grain to say either Spanish or Eastern Mediterranean for me if talking European. Overall I much prefer Vietnamese or Korean.

Why do people use AIBU for non AIBU questions?

I love Spanish and eastern Mediterranean too!

Food in Catalonia is amazing.

Italian food is divine but it's not a patch on really good Japanese food which is far more than just sushi and noodles (though noodles probably feature as heavily in Japanese food as pasta does in Italian)

I have never been to Italy to be fair so perhaps I’ve never eaten proper Italian food but I generally find it a bit “meh”
We have 2 very well know Italian restaurants near us run by several generations of Italian families and people travel some distance to visit
We’ve been quite a few times as DH likes them and so do the dc and while I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad meal I’ve never had a great one there either

We went to Puglia a few years ago and my mouth still salivates at how amazing the food was. In proper Italian restaurants where Italians ate - nothing touristy. The anti pasti was a meal in itself and even a simple pizza was just so much better than any pizza I’d ever eaten before or since.

I dream of eating that kind of food again - hope it’s not too long before I go back

@ComeOnGordon that's where we are from you are right it is absolutely the best food!
I agree with what others have said simple fresh Ingredients that have been grown in sunshine which I think makes everything taste so much better.

As I child I used to make myself sick eating figs,peaches, prickly pears and grapes when I used to go to my grandmothers in Italy.

Eating Italian food by the sea, in Italy is as good as it gets. We go to a small island called Grado which is close to Venice and the fish and shellfish is amazing.
The fruit and vegetables are much better quality than in the UK because a lot are grown there and eaten in season instead of being grown in Colombia or Egypt out of season, picked before being ripe and air freighted.
It makes you realise how bland stuff tastes in UK supermarkets.
In Italy the tomatoes taste amazing. In the UK, they taste of nothing.
Fresh quality ingredients cooked simply = Italian cooking.
I love French food too but if I can only have one type forever I would go for Italian

Fried courgette flowers stuffed with cheese -yum.

I find pasta and pizza fairly uninteresting to be honest.

I would much rather pick from a selection of tapas.

@troppibambini I completely agree about the simple ingredients. I’m not sure what it was called but our favourite pizza just had fresh tomato, mozzarella, feta, & rocket. We’ve made it at so many times at home.

Not for me - I eat the occasional pizza but otherwise only eat English food. I really dislike pasta so that knocks out quite a lot of Italian dishes.

I can't get excited about pasta unfortunately and would never choose an Italian restaurant over any other if we go out.

HOWEVER I have never been to Italy and imagine eating the food there is in no way comparable to what in could buy in my northern city.

Perfect balance of salty and sweet, fresh and fried, carby and veggy, beautiful meats and fish. Garlic, salt and oil is the basis of most recipes.. Hard to go wrong!

If you think italian food is bland you are eating the wrong stuff from the wrong places. Lots of food you see here, called italian, really isn't italian. It's a bit like saying that British cuisine is just fish and chips and some Yorkshire pudding. You find a lot of stuff if you search. Have antipasti and a fish main instead of pasta and you might be surprised.

I find Italian food to very regional, people cook from scratch with fresh ingredients. They also usually eat a lot of small plates with daily vegetables and salads and only a small plate of pasta. They don't eat vast portions like you get in the UK.

I can't get excited about pasta - or pizza, come to that. Would much rather have potatoes, in all their different versions, or rice. I'd rather use my flour to make pies, quiches or dumplings than pasta.