Well no wonder Harper is an upstanding young man he has a great dad!! Thank you for being such a great source of information!! And also love your passion in cooking Italian!!
Great blog. Well put. I know all too well what you mean by the Americanization of Italian food. When I lived in Denver for 23 years, we had an "Italian" restaurant near me with a slogan under its name on the facade: "IF YOU DON'T LIKE GARLIC, GO HOME!" I went once. My breath smelled like garlic for two days. When I covered Major League Baseball for The Denver Post, San Francisco's stadium was famous for its garlic fries. My girlfriend tried them one night. She slept on the couch. I've lived in Rome now for 12 years and I ALWAYS cook garlic in olive oil first before I cook anything else. A bulb of garlic will last a month. I do disagree with your statement that groceries are more expensive here. They are MUCH cheaper, particularly in the public markets where they're priced for average Italians, not rich, health-conscious Americans, however few there are.
Max, my grandmother came over from Italy in the late 1800s not because of poverty (although many others did) but because of the cholera epidemic ravaging Southern Italy at that time. Her family were pretty well off comparatively speaking but cholera took her older sister and others in that family. She told me once that the only thing that protects you from that and other diseases was garlic, in copious amounts in food and worn around the neck to protect you. As a child I hated that and my Dad said we did not have to do that. But I believe this is why Italian-Americans use LOTS of garlic. Greetings from Washington, Maine, Dave Martucci.
Ciao Dave, so nice to hear from you! What a great story! My partner here is South American, and we recently hosted some of her relatives from Colombia. They eat garlic raw like no tomorrow, for health. They also believe in native herbal healing, which they got from the indigenous people there.
As an Italian From Canada. Growing up here there was a biased opinion of Italians with garlic. It’s like we bathed in garlic! None can be so false. I think Greeks eat more garlic than us! Honestly my mom rarely used garlic!!! 🧄. Now my question about the farming in Italy. Who are helping Italy with their farms.
Thanks for your comment. Did you mean to ask if the government is helping small farms? Or did you mean who are the workers on the small farms? I know many local farmers, mostly from buying at their stands at the local Rome farmer's market which is called Campagna Amica (Country Friend). There is a trade organization called Coldiretti, but I'm not familiar with what they do beyond promoting local farmers at the markets. As for the workers, they are mostly immigrants from South Asia and Africa. Some of them will become farm managers, even owners. Their children will become doctors, lawyers and Substack writers. I am the American grandchild of dirt-poor European farm immigrants.
I just wondered if Italian people still run their farms or if their children decided to take over. In Canada seasonal workers are brought in from Mexico. I guess the younger generation do not want to take over their parents farms.
Well no wonder Harper is an upstanding young man he has a great dad!! Thank you for being such a great source of information!! And also love your passion in cooking Italian!!
Great blog. Well put. I know all too well what you mean by the Americanization of Italian food. When I lived in Denver for 23 years, we had an "Italian" restaurant near me with a slogan under its name on the facade: "IF YOU DON'T LIKE GARLIC, GO HOME!" I went once. My breath smelled like garlic for two days. When I covered Major League Baseball for The Denver Post, San Francisco's stadium was famous for its garlic fries. My girlfriend tried them one night. She slept on the couch. I've lived in Rome now for 12 years and I ALWAYS cook garlic in olive oil first before I cook anything else. A bulb of garlic will last a month. I do disagree with your statement that groceries are more expensive here. They are MUCH cheaper, particularly in the public markets where they're priced for average Italians, not rich, health-conscious Americans, however few there are.
Thanks for the Denver story John! I think a lot of more artisanal groceries cost more here, but you’re right not everything.
"....a lot of garlic eaters..." -- Lionel Barrymore, dismissively, in "It's A Wonderful Life"
Nice!
Max, my grandmother came over from Italy in the late 1800s not because of poverty (although many others did) but because of the cholera epidemic ravaging Southern Italy at that time. Her family were pretty well off comparatively speaking but cholera took her older sister and others in that family. She told me once that the only thing that protects you from that and other diseases was garlic, in copious amounts in food and worn around the neck to protect you. As a child I hated that and my Dad said we did not have to do that. But I believe this is why Italian-Americans use LOTS of garlic. Greetings from Washington, Maine, Dave Martucci.
Ciao Dave, so nice to hear from you! What a great story! My partner here is South American, and we recently hosted some of her relatives from Colombia. They eat garlic raw like no tomorrow, for health. They also believe in native herbal healing, which they got from the indigenous people there.
As an Italian From Canada. Growing up here there was a biased opinion of Italians with garlic. It’s like we bathed in garlic! None can be so false. I think Greeks eat more garlic than us! Honestly my mom rarely used garlic!!! 🧄. Now my question about the farming in Italy. Who are helping Italy with their farms.
Thanks for your comment. Did you mean to ask if the government is helping small farms? Or did you mean who are the workers on the small farms? I know many local farmers, mostly from buying at their stands at the local Rome farmer's market which is called Campagna Amica (Country Friend). There is a trade organization called Coldiretti, but I'm not familiar with what they do beyond promoting local farmers at the markets. As for the workers, they are mostly immigrants from South Asia and Africa. Some of them will become farm managers, even owners. Their children will become doctors, lawyers and Substack writers. I am the American grandchild of dirt-poor European farm immigrants.
I just wondered if Italian people still run their farms or if their children decided to take over. In Canada seasonal workers are brought in from Mexico. I guess the younger generation do not want to take over their parents farms.
It’s a mix of family managed and also immigrant laborers. There is also a lot more mechanized farming today. Pretty much in the US.
Watching Eva cook for years has influenced my cooking. I almost never use garlic and when I do, it's just a whisper of flavor not a bulldozer. 🌞
Yes, there is something romantic about a whisper!