New Regional Italian Cooking? Not!
Saturday March 28, 2009
Yet another food product with a pseudo-Italian name. This time it's Tuscani Pasta—which has absolutely nothing to do with the Italian region of Tuscany (in Italian Toscana) except that it's a homophone (and the name of the Hyundai Tiburon in the South Korean market).
Most certainly the blatantly misspelled take-out pasta has never appeared in a legitimate restaurant in Tuscany, Italy (there is no regional Italian cuisine by the name la cucina tuscani), nor has it been prepared in any Italian kitchen: bacon mac 'n cheese?! Meaty marinara baked Tuscani pasta in a box? Mi fanno schifo!
Comments
i wonder if the misspelling is deliberate, indicating that they know it’s not “for real”. but, sit back, all of you italians & bask in your glory, we are the most imitated country, culture, cuisine on earth. we [our ancestors] invented cucina alta…before the french w/ their haute cuisine. the renaissance began in our beloved italy. our art was/is imitated, our architecture was/is imitated….anything else i’ve forgotten? we are the best…they all want to be like us. so, in re this new “pseudo italian dish”, i say, imitation is the purest form of flattery! love, marianna. welcome rebuttal.
Of course the misspelling is deliberate – either that, or the brand marketing “geniuses” failed Italian 101. Many English speakers have no experience with the Italian language, though, so it seems correct to those who don’t know the difference.
The food is absolutely horrid, though, so if that’s flattery, don’t bother imitating. None of this fake, putrid pseudo-Italian food has anything to do with the original. It only serves to misrepresent authentic regional Italian cooking and makes a mockery of Italian culinary tradition.
yo, hold on, i didn’t say that they succeeded in their imitations, i merely indicated that they want to be like us, ergo, the ersatz italian food. they strive to be like us, & yes, they miss the mark. the fact remains, our home country is the most copied on the planet. the world is full of “italian wanna-bes”. love, M
Who is “they” and who is “us”? Are you a native Italian presently living in Italy?
“they” are the ones who imitate us.
i carry an italian bloodline. though i was born out of italy, i feel an affinity to my ancestral home, & have inherited many traits associated w/ the italian culture. love, M
But again, who is “us”? Third-generation Italian Americans who have never visited Italy and don’t speak a word of standard Italian? Lots of people don’t have a clue what authentic Italian culture is – it’s only what the media have represented to Americans as “Italian.”
>we are the most imitated country, culture, cuisine on earth.
>we are the best
>…they all want to be like us
Are you ironic, right?
I am Italian, born, grown up, still living here, among “us”. Italy is at a stage of his history in which there isn’t much to be proud of. It is very unlikely that the whole world wants to be like us, nor “we are the best”. With all due respect, it seems like people of Italian heritage tend to show their patriotic pride too much enthusiastically. Very often I hear things like “Hey! I’m 100% Italian!”, “Okay, I eat hamburgers but I’m just ‘more Italian’ than you!”. My question then is usually “who cares?”. I will not challenge anyone to an “Italianess” duel. Our art and style were imitated just because Romans and their civilitation were born before others. In their turn, they imitated Greeks (well, really copied them) because Greeks went before Romans. And so on. You can copy or imitate only things existing before you. But, really, I don’t think that Americans “imitate” Italians. Their pseudo-Italian dishes, although pretentiously named, accord to Americans’ tastes.
maelstrom74–a very good articulation. How does the saying go (excuse me if I butcher it) imitation is the highest form of flattery?
You are right, the Romans “copied” the Greeks.
marianna–I am an Italian wannabe. From my limited experience, I love the Italian culture. The food, the art, and of course le macchine (sp?). That said, I have no Italian blood, yet I can appreciate Italy and all the wonderful (and not so wonderful)things she has to offer.
I saw this in my email inbox and just had to respond. I’ve driven my wife, friends, and family crazy by going on a rant everytime I hear the commercial for this horribly mis-named product. On top of that, it sounds pretty gross. AND….there’s NOTHING Tuscan about this dish.
Thanks for bringing this to light!
And then, there’s The Olive Garden resaurant chain. A disservice to Italian cuisine if there ever was one.
I too was disgusted by the “tuscani” ads. But I think people here are missing the(unintentional) irony of them. They purport to sell something that’s “authentically” Italian; the entire emphasis of the ads is on the supposed authenticity of the pasta. Yet “tuscani” is of course totally ersatz, from the name to the product itself. The ads capitalize on the widespread love of Italian food in America and the increased demand for “real” Italian food, but what people get is Pizza Hut munnezza (to use Neapolitan slang)marketed with a phony Italian name.
I have to agree with you guys. We as Italians do feel a certain pride. And what the American chains have done to the true Italian cuisine is appalling. Marianne has made some wonderful points. We should be proud of who we are, it was not always like this. We italians were looked down upon for many many years. Just ask your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. Gangster-mentality. Anyhow, “they” can say , do whatever- but doesn’t change the fact that Italian cuisine is probably the most sought after. Viva l’italia !!!
What is Italian food? There is as far as I know no definition. It certainly isn’t the over use of tomato as the French are accused of too much cream and butter. It is all a great deal of BS. Define your terms first if you can. Then set up a cogent arguement to amplify your point. The arguement that Greeks did it first is true as many of the southern part of Italy are in fact Greek along with Persian, North African, Lebanese, Egyptian, Jewish Etc. A kind of me3lting pot of its day. I did forget to mention Nubians.
>What is Italian food?
The one eaten in Italy, in the first place. There is plenty of Italian typical recipes.
Italian food? Spaghetti and meat balls, Pasta all over the place, Risotto. Polenta. Where is what you claim to be Italian Food and what is it. Just because it is cooked on a piece of land called Italy by the Greeks doesn’t make it Italian. Your answer is rather simplistic.
It’s obvious that Rasna has issues with “Italians and our food”. It is a fact that over the years Italy was conquered by various groups of people. But Italy has sinced unified and whatever was left by these conquering people is now Italian. Try and get over this.
There is nothing to get over. I repeat there is no such thing as Italian food it is all regional. By constantly not defining food you continue the myth that Americans always repeat spaghetti and meat balls and red sauce.
On another note I e-mailed Italian Garden Restaurants and asked is they are gtinding up Toscani to make the meat sauce in their version of lasagna
So that you can consider my comments in the appropriate perspective (whatever you think that should be), I’m third-generation, mezzo Italiano and proud of my Italian heritage.
The relationship between Italians and their food is complex. It’s not just about recipes and taste. It’s about family and friends and celebrations. The food in the South of Italy is different than the food in the North. Hell, the food in the next town is different. Italian food was the food mamma (nonna, zia) made at home before the immigrant left her and Italy to come to America. And no matter where the immigrant was from, the food changed when he/she and it got here. The ingredients were different. It became Italian-American food. The problem is that virtually all of what’s being touted as authentic Italian food in the U.S. wouldn’t be familiar to an Italian anywhere in Italy. Lot’s of tomato sauce (or gravy, if you prefer), garlic, olive oil, and (usually) gooey cheese doesn’t make a dish “Italian.” It may please American tastes, but it might not be pleasing to an Italian and certainly wouldn’t be considered “Italian food” in Italy. And, yes, in some respects, presenting this “stuff” as Italian food is culturally insulting.
There. I said it and I’m glad.
@Rasna: You are totally wrong. “Italian food” is a label that can be applied to all those dishes, typical of our country. Most regional dishes have become national ones in a very far past. You can find a “pasta alla carbonara” wherever you go in Italy, as well as a “pasta all’amatriciana”, “ravioli in brodo”, “spezzatino” and million others.
For “rasna” … this will be it for me. You are correct on regional cooking. But what are we to do in America, “Oh let’s go for some Lazio cuisine” or maybe- I’m in the mood for Molise food tonight … or maybe “let’s go to Brooklyn for Umbrian cooking – no wait- I’m in the mood for “Emilia Romangna” food…. Get my drift ? No matter how you break it down- It’s Italian ! “There. I said it and I’m glad.
well, so much for splitting hairs. it IS all italian food, some is authentic & some can be considered “ersatz” w/ a little italian flavor. most national cuisines ARE a combination of various styles, flavors, methods etc, depending upon the regions from which they originate & what foodstuffs are available & what type of fuel that can be procured etc. yes, americans are foolish to think that italian food consists solely of tomato, garlic, pasta, olive oil & romano/parma cheese. but, that IS definitely 1 form of italian cuisine. my mother {born in naples} & father {born in bari} prepared many “italian dishes” that average americans would not consider to be authentic italian cuisine. this is too long & probably boring, too. are you all in a catatonic state from reading it yet? amore, marianna
OMG, LIKE OMG I KNOWWW!!! i once saw a commercial for this crap where some guys went to an american family’s home and let them sample some of that tescalani (or however the hell you spell it. it is not even an italian word. you can call it tescalani, tuscascani, whatever and americans won’t even tell those aren’t even italian words either, to americans as long as it has an ‘i’ at the end, it’s italian) anyway, they blindfolded the wife, shoved some tescalani in her mouth, too the blindfold off her, and the asked her, “what does it taste like to you?” and the lady said “it tastes like i’m in italy.” WTFFFFFFF???? OF COURSE she thinks it tastes italian!!! she’s american!!! she thinks it tastes italian when it isn’t at all!! what is an american going to know about REAL italian cooking??? i’m not chinese, so when i go to panda express, i’m going to assume that’s actual chinese food even though it probably isn’t.
ignorant american: “oh, uh, yeah i’m american. i love italy!!! yeah, i know italian! BUENES DIAS! (NOTE: in REAL italian: buon giorno) oh wait, isn’t that spanish? all well, spanish, italian….same language! and italians and mexicans are the same people! i love comeeda italiana! (note: in REAL italian: cibo italiano) whoooooops! spanish again??? oh well same language! italian and spanish must be the same language! here’s an example: italian…miei cugini, fratelli, e nonni stanno mangiando a tavolo! and in spanish…mis primos, hermanos, y abuelos estan comiendo a la mesa!!! stanno and estan are similar, that must mean that italian and spanish must be the same language! durr, i’m american! isn’t france and belgium the same country? isn’t japan part of china??? you know, cause chinese and japanese people have stretched out eyes??? i’m american! i’m going to eat some italian food now! yeah, pasta with ketchup! very italian! mucho italiano! (in REAL italian: MOLTO italiano”
gino mericci – you sound as if you are biased and bigoted. if you are in the US and that is your take on Americans in general, you ought to take a step up and try to associate with better people.
ive been to italy and a few other countries and trust me, when you get off the tourist trails, and see the common citizen, you understand how similar people are in all western countries.
as far as the thread goes, well, i cook for myself. im a first generation italian-american and cant wait until i am able to have a living situation where i can make my own pasta and not care about the mess! the tuscanini stuff is a nice indulgence during football season, but no one i know calls it “italian” food. instead, its called “fast food”.
if pizza hut had to make it authentic, they wouldnt be in business. lighten up, folks.