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‘Fake’ carbonara sauce causes outrage in Italy (edition.cnn.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/world@quokk.au
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Rome — Italians have very strict rules when it comes to making carbonara. The classic combination of Italian pasta, pork and cheese are mixed with egg yolks and pepper preferably just moments before serving to create the perfect dish.

Which is why, when jars of a pale creamy sauce labeled “carbonara” but made in Belgium using non-typical ingredients appeared in a store at the European Parliament — an institution Italy often calls on to protect its traditional foods from imitation — there was outrage.

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[–] 19 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Good to know italy has solved literally all the important problems.

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  • [–] 26 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Have you tried real carbonara? It's not the same as this ready made goop.

    Just to clarify: selling this fake carbonara is fine, I'm even sure it tastes fine. But calling it carbonara (without weasel-words like carbonara-style or some such) absolutely is a problem.

    In my country (which is not Italy) the popular variant is making it with whipped cream, which again, tastes fine, but it's not carbonara, but many restaurants have the fake carbonara on their menu labeled as normal carbonara, which totally sucks. And shit like these glasses with fake carbonara just makes this worse.

    Labeling for food is protected in Europe for this exact reason. It's done for lots of food from parmesan to champagne.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago* (4 children)

    But calling it carbonara (without weasel-words like carbonara-style or some such) absolutely is a problem.

    No way, that's just a Euro thing they force on the rest of us. People should be free to call their food whatever they want without some big rich country telling them what to do.

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  • [–] 18 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 child)

    People should know what they are buying and consuming without having to submit it to a laboratory first. That's why naming things right is important.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Does Europe not mandate the inclusion of ingredients on packaging?

    No wonder you get so easily confused about what is what and have to ban calling non-dairy milks milk to appease your corporate overlords.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Even Wikipedia lists pancetta as an acceptable variant for carbonara.

    If the definition is so important to Italy, they shouldn't be complaining to a supermarket, but should ensure the naming is protected, which unlike champagne or parmesan, does not seem to be the case for carbonara (probably because it's a style of dish and doesn't reference a place of origin).

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    I was expecting it to be with cream or garlic, but it’s pancetta vs guanciale.

    First off, I’m a vegan with a genetic pork intolerance, so I really know nothing about the nuances of preserved pork cuts, but I have to imagine that a jarred carbonara made with guanciale would be worse than a freshly made pancetta “carbonara-style” sauce.

    Or are they really so far away from each other?

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    Italy is literally run by the mafia. silly little diversions are the only things that keep people happy and distracted.

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