As John Mariani observes in his book How Italian Food Conquered the World, Italian food is the most popular in the world, but with popularity comes commerce, and with commerce comes ubiquity, and with ubiquity, very often, comes mediocrity. Brilliant marketing and mass production has led to almost all Italian ingredients, including such staples as olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cheese, cured meats, tinned tomatoes and, indeed, pasta, being available on the shelves of retailers large and small the world over to such an extent that otherwise discerning consumers no longer know what is good and bad because they have never tasted the good.
Is there such a thing as Italian Cuisine ?
Is there such a thing as Italian Cuisine ?
Is there such a thing as Italian Cuisine ?
As John Mariani observes in his book How Italian Food Conquered the World, Italian food is the most popular in the world, but with popularity comes commerce, and with commerce comes ubiquity, and with ubiquity, very often, comes mediocrity. Brilliant marketing and mass production has led to almost all Italian ingredients, including such staples as olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cheese, cured meats, tinned tomatoes and, indeed, pasta, being available on the shelves of retailers large and small the world over to such an extent that otherwise discerning consumers no longer know what is good and bad because they have never tasted the good.