Italian-American cuisine

Italian-American cuisine (more simply known as "Italian food" in the United States) is the cuisine of Italian-American immigrants and their descendents, who have modified Italian cuisine under the influence of American culture and immigration patterns of Italians to the United States. As immigrants from different regions of Italy settled in different regions of the United States and became “Italian-Americans,” they brought with them diverse traditions of foods and recipes that were particularly identified with their regional origins in Italy and yet infused with the characteristics of their new home locale in America. Many of these foods and recipes developed into new favorites for town peoples and then later for Americans nationwide; as, for example, the muffuletta sandwich from New Orleans, Louisiana or the "toasted ravioli" (actually breaded and deep-fried) from St. Louis, Missouri. A measure of the widespread popularity of Italian-American cuisine in the United States is this: In the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota, demographically dominated by Scandinavian- and German-Americans, the City Pages newspaper identified Italian-American food as the most widespread culinary style in the region, with examples ranging from the ubiquitous spaghetti dinner to fashionable restaurants. Prominent American chefs and cooks working in the Italian-American style include: Sal Scognamillo, Michael Chiarello, Frank Pellegrino, Laurie Thomas, Rocco DiSpirito, and others. In addition, many other chefs such as Rachael Ray incorporate substantial amounts of Italian influence in their cooking.

Traditional influences and contemporary trends in Italian-American food

Italian-American food is based heavily (though not exclusively) on the traditional food of southern Italian immigrants, most of whom arrived in the United States from the late 19th and early 20th century. During this great wave of immigration into the United States, many of the peoples came particularly from the areas of Naples and Sicily and moved to large American cities, such as New York City and Boston. For many Italian-Americans, who identify their food with their locale and the home areas of their ancestors, the food is based on staples such as dry pasta, tomato sauce, and olive oil; whereas, for others, such as those from Northern Italian families in other parts of the United States may prefer Northern Italian staples such as rice, fresh pasta and butter.

For many Italian Americans, particularly in traditional Cattle ranching or "cowboy" states like California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii, Italian-American food tends to use a great deal more meat. Reasons for this are not universally agreed upon; some place it simply on the greater availability and higher quality of American meat (particularly beef), while others believe it to be a product of nutritional theories promulgated by early 20th-century social workers to ease integration of Italian immigrants into American society. Beef consumption has also been symbolic of many Italian-Americans' new found prosperity in these particular states (or regions) and within America at large; that is, as opposed life in pre-World War II Italy and Europe), where little beef was afforded or consumed; however, high-quality beef and its production is often seen as symbolically American.

Over time and with the development and appreciation of Italian cuisine in the United States, as well as the increased importation of goods and so on, some trends have seen the cuisine move towards a more “authentic” style that has either greater affinity with techniques and ingredients that are native to Italy, or otherwise a style that interprets the cuisine from the viewpoint of Italian culture as it exists throughout the world. Italian-American food also regularly imports innovations from Italy -- if not also try to mimic the producion of such goods domestically -- and includes relatively recent innovations such as espresso (now ubiquitous in American life), tiramisu, Nutella and so on. All of these introductions have been enthusiastically embraced and every year new products and cultural exchanges are shared between the trade of Italy and the United States, which is growing successful.

Italian-American restaurants and the "Red Sauce" stereotype

Italian American food is often somewhat pejoratively known as "red sauce" foodFact|date=June 2008, because of the significant amounts of tomato sauce that are often characteristic of Italian-American restaurant food for much of the 20th century. Some of this broader perception may be attributed and reinforced by the universal appeal of Italian style foods in the United States; for example, the common trend in much of American style foodservice is often towards perpetuating these concepts via mass marketing, just as it would for any other ideal type or abstraction, such as “Chinese food” or “Mexican food”.

A popular aesthetic associated with Italian-American food is the old fashioned clichéd image of the mom and pop "red sauce joint", a type of restaurant that specializes in such foods as spaghetti with meatballs and has tables decorated with red checked tablecloths and straw-covered Chianti bottles serving as tabletop candleholders. While the classic image of such a place has in many cases given way to more contemporary, upscale restaurant designs, the concept is common for more traditional Italian-American restaurants, to the point where some chain restaurants such as Papa Gino's, Maggiano's and Buca di Beppo have adopted such stereotypical touches as a red checked pattern in laminate tabletops as a stylistic hallmark.

Italian-American cooking has had considerable influence on the steakhouse tradition as well; many steakhouses were started by Italian-American entrepreneurs, including New York City's The Palm chain (named after a mispronunciation of the family name Parma) and the Massachusetts-based Hilltop (founded by local restaurateur Frank Giuffrida).

Top Rated Restaurants

Within the United States there is a long standing heritage of institutions with top restaurant ratings that serve "Italian" style food. Many of these restaurants contribute to the ideals and standards of contemporary, fine-dining Italian or Italian American cuisine.Some of the more significant rating services that have made an impact include: the Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA Award), Michelin series of guides, Slow Food guide, Zagat Survey, and others.

• As of the year 2008, the Distinguished Restaurants of America, lists 109 “Italian” style restaurants on its website, under that category and nationwide. Other regional ratings by examples include:

• Slow Food, based originally in Italy, lists several restaurants in regional guides (in printed book form only), such the "San Francisco and the Bay Area" guide. In that 2005 version of the guide, it lists 22 recommended restaurants that adhere to its standards of "authentic" Italian cuisine.

• Michelin names 4 Italian style restaurants with a one star rating in its 2007 San Francisco, Bay Area & Wine Country version of its guide (printed book form only). • Zagat Survey lists 3 "Italian" restaurants with "Top Rating" in its "2007 San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants" guide.

Of these regional restaurant ratings, it should be noted that these services are not available for all metropolitan areas of the United States; hence the popular perception of "top rated restaurants" is primarily associated with certain large cities in a few states in America. The DiRoNA award is one of the few programs that is both organized and recognized nationwide and also recognizes many Italian-American culinary personalities in its "Hall of Fame."

Italian-American food and convenience food

Italian-derived food has become remarkably common in convenience cooking, especially with canned foods such as Franco-American's SpaghettiO's as well as the popularity of Italian-American specialties from take-out counters in supermarkets and restaurants. In particular, the pizza parlor is one of the most ubiquitous of American eateries, with businesses ranging in size from single proprietorships all the way up to large chains such as Domino's Pizza and Pizza Hut. In a cross-cultural variation of the theme, refrigerated, ready-to-heat-and-eat spaghetti has become a popular convenience item in Asian convenience stores in the U.S.

Chef Ettore Boiardi was probably one of the first "Italian" celebrity chefs within the United States, so much so that he is credited with popularizing the cuisine to many non-Italian-Americans and the public at large. Chef Boiardi is more commonly known by his commercialized, eponymous brand name, "Chef Boyardee."

ocial & political influences on Italian food in the United States

In recent years, Italian style food, if not all food in the United States, has been influenced by the likes of social and/or political movements like Slow Food. Despite criticism by some individuals, the organization was created, has grown and has had much impact in Italy (as well as Europe overall), most notably in its reactionary stance towards American style consumerism and fast food lifestyle. On its website, www.slowfood.com, The Slow Food organization claims that it was founded in 1989 "to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world." Today, many Americans and Italian-American restaurants have embraced Slow Food principles and created their own "Slow Food USA" organization with local chapters. It is becoming a new trend and influence in the perception of Italian-American cuisine itself. Many restaurants advertise Slow Food affiliation, as do consumers look for recommended products and support the movement’s general philosophy.

Popularity of "Italian-American" and "Italian" cuisine

Italian-American food (and Mediterranean cuisine influence in general) has been highly influential in the American diet. It is one of the top three ethnic cuisines in the United States, according to the National Restaurant Association (known by industry professionals as the NRA). The NRA has stated:

"Italian, Mexican and Chinese (Cantonese) cuisines have indeed joined the mainstream. These three cuisines have become so ingrained in the American culture that they are no longer foreign to the American palate. According to the study, more than nine out of 10 consumers are familiar with and have tried these foods, and about half report eating them frequently. The research also indicates that Italian, Mexican and Chinese (Cantonese) have become so adapted to such an extent that "authenticity" is no longer a concern to customers." [Hensley, Sue, "National Restaurant Association." Article/ News Release, "International Cuisine Reaches America's Main Street," 10 August 2000.]

Surveys have also shown that an overall trend towards the inclusion of so-called "alternate-source ingredients," as well as the "incorporation of ethnic cuisines, flavors and ingredients into restaurant menus" is now very commonplace. Rated high on the list of popular or "hot" items in the survey include " [Mediterranean style] flatbreads, [Italian style] “ciabatta bread,” Mediterranean cuisine, espresso/ specialty coffee..." and so on. [Stensson, Anita, "National Restaurant Association." Article/ News Release, "Small is Big on Restaurant Menus..." 29 November 2007.] Of course, pizza and spaghetti in particular have been almost completely naturalized (the former in particular is a standard part of many American diets, often in forms almost completely unrecognizable to Italian cuisine).

Italian-American cuisine and wine

There is a strong association of Italian-American cuisine with the history of winemaking in the United States. Broadly speaking, the tradition among many Italian-Americans is to enjoy their food with the pairing of any wine to make the meal complete and sociable; hence, on most any table could be found a cheap "table wine" and often (especially during Prohibition) a homemade wine that is sometimes pejoratively known as " red." Such wines are still embraced as a symbol of Italian-Americans keeping their culinary traditions alive during Prohibition, and as well as until the extensive importing of higher-quality Italian wines in the 1970s and the appreciation of the new "finer" wines of California. The traditional straw-wrapped Chianti bottles still remain as emblematic fixtures on many of the habitual style Italian-American restaurant tables, both because of the wine itself and for the use of the empty bottle as a candleholder thereafter; however, this custom is seeming becoming passé, as the "fiasco" is no longer universal for Chianti packaging.

The influence of Italian-Americans on American wine and winemaking has been profound as well, and has been recognized since the founding of the United States as a nation. Indeed, Italian vintners were brought to the state of Florida as early as the year 1766 by Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a British Consul at Smyrna. More significantly, perhaps, was the contributions of Filippo Mazzei (often spelled "Philip Mazzei"), an Italian physician, a promoter of liberty and friend of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. Mazzei led a group of Italians in Virginia with the cultivation of vineyards, olives, and other Mediterranean fruit.

In later years, American viticulture was more influenced by the diaspora of Italians during the Great Migration that began in the 1870’s and reaching greater proportions from 1880 to 1920. Most of these Italians entered at the east coast of the United States at Ellis Island, whereas many of those quickly passed through to the American West Coast, where California still had the lure and aura of its famous “Gold Rush” and new prosperity. In that state, Italian-Americans were inspired by expanses of rolling hills and fertile fields.Prior Prohibition in the United States at the year 1919, many wineries had already made their start: Seghesio, Simi, Sebastiani and Foppiano all began in the late 1800s and are still in operation today. Others included Giuseppe Magliavacca’s Napa winery, Secondo Guasti’s Italian Vineyard Company and Andrea Sbarbaro’s Italian-Swiss Colony.From 1919 to Repeal of Prohibition in 1933, many Italian-Americans struggled to keep their vines in the ground and their vineyards going; yet, they persisted, often providing sacramental wine to the Roman Catholic Church or grape juice to the general market. These few holdouts can be credited with salvaging America’s viticulture heritage, in an industry that values the longevity and tradition of the vine and its produce.

Beyond the Prohibition and into today’s wine producing economy, Italian-American wineries maintain a forceful contribution to the domestic and world market. Some of these companies include: Atlas Peak (also known as Antinori), Cosentino, Dalla Valle, Delicato, Ferrari-Carano, E & J Gallo Winery, Geyser Peak (also knows as Trione family), Louis M. Martini, Mazzocco, Robert Mondavi, Monte Bello Ridge, Parducci, Pedroncelli Winery, Robert Pepi, Picchetti Brothers Winery, Rochioli, Rafanelli, Rubicon Estate Winery (also known as Francis Ford Coppola Presents), Sebastiani Vineyards, Signorello, Sattui, Trinchero (most often under the Sutter Home brand), Valley of the Moon, Viansa, etc.

On the Italian-American table today, there is an appreciation of California wine, American wine (other domestic), imported Italian wine; and, of course, the old standby Chianti (from Tuscany, Italy) or "generic" red or white table wine (often called vino da tavola) to high end "Super Tuscan" style wines such as "Tignanello." Some of the first Chianti wine to arrive in the United States was standard, cheap wines; however, after a slide in the overall quality of Chianti production during the mid-20th century, improvements in the recipes and techniques used to make the wines have led to the creation of Chiantis ranging from simple table wines up to high-end Chianti Classicos. All of these and more are widely popular with Italian-American cuisine in the United States.

pecialties

Specialties of Italian-American cuisine consist of both Americanizations of Italian classics and dishes specifically invented in the United States. Some of the names given below are derived from Italian dialects (particularly southern dialects such as Neapolitan and Sicilian) and are spelled as they are sounded out among English speakers.

Pastas and grains

Italian pasta is eaten widely in the United States, and reviewers have found American-made brands such as Ronzoni to be equivalent to or better than Italian-made pasta in quality. In addition, some Italian-American cooks have adopted Chinese egg roll wrappers for convenience cooking use, since it is very close to fresh pasta in composition.

*American chop suey - a relative of Ragù bolognese made primarily with hamburger meat
*Baked ziti - Ziti pasta, originally from Sicily, tube shaped pasta similar to penne but much longer, mixed with a tomato sauce and covered in cheese then baked in the oven
*Lasagna, particularly using ricotta cheese, called "lasagne alla napoletana" in Italy. The ricotta distinguishes it from better known (in Italy) North Italian style that uses béchamel sauce, called "lasagne alla bolognese"
*Polenta - Cornmeal mash, made in a varying degree of thicknesses depending on the intended use of the final product and often flavored with cheese or butter. Sometimes served with a meat sauce, or with deli meats.
*Spaghetti and meatballs - a combination that was present in 19th century southern Italy and extinct in early 21st century Italy, but is iconic in the USA. Often the meatballs are cooked in the sauce along with Italian sausage (salsiccia) and braciole (stuffed beef rolls).

Vegetable dishes

*Eggplant parmesan or melanzane alla parmigiana is a common Italian dish. It typically includes sliced eggplant, marinara sauce, and Parmesan cheese, layered repeatedly. It is never served on or with spaghetti in Italy and there are no meat "parmigianas" though zucchini and artichoke based versions do exist .
* Peas and Eggs - originally a meal eaten by poor Italian immigrants has since become a favorite lenten meal. It consists of simply eggs and peas, fried in a pan with olive oil and some garlic, onion and pepper.

Meats and eggs

*Frittata - An open-faced omelette. There can be potatoes and eggs, peas and eggs, asparagus and eggs, peppers and eggs, cucuzza (i.e. squash/zucchini) and eggs. These can be eaten by themselves or on sandwiches.
*Sausage and Peppers - "Salsiccia", peppers and onions cooked together, sometimes with a very light red sauce.
*Porketta - "Porchetta", Roast pork butt or shoulder; often a full suckling pig. Usually a holiday or celebration dish. Brought to America from Le Marche, Tuscany, and the Alban Hills.
*Chicken (or Veal) Parmesan - fried breaded chicken or veal cutlets covered in sauce and cheese, served with pasta. A very popular dish in casual dining restaurants, as well as a sandwich filling. In the Northeast, the name of this dish is often clipped to "chicken parm".

auces

*Alfredo sauce - derived from the Fettucine Alfredo made popular by Roman restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio in the 1960s, Alfredo sauce, which does not exist in traditional regional food, consists largely of cream and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese with nutmeg and black pepper seasonings, and is served over vegetables and some meats (particularly chicken and shellfish) as well as the signature pasta ribbons.
*Marinara sauce - a quick-cooking, sometimes spicy tomato sauce without meat served on pasta. Salsa al Pomodor is the usual Italian name
*Sunday gravy - a meat-infused tomato sauce commonly made on Sundays and special occasions; derived from the Italian "ragù napoletano". There is some friendly debate among Italian-Americans over whether it should be called "sauce" or "gravy".

eafood dishes

*Lobster Fra Diavolo - A pasta dish made with Lobster, and sometimes other seafood, that contains crushed red pepper to make it spicy.
*Baccalà - salt cod fish, traditionally served during Lent or for Christmas Eve. Can have it fried, baccala salad, etc.
*Alici or Acciughe - another integral dish served during Christmas Eve's "Feast of the Seven Fishes." This dish's full name is "Spaghetti con aglio, olio e acciughe" (spaghetti with garlic, oil, and anchovies; "alici" is another word for anchovy). The anchovies and garlic are sliced very thin and dissolve in the oil. When served, the dish appears to be just pasta covered in hot oil. (Many variants exist in Italy: some don't have anchovies, some add capers or chili pepper)

oups and stews

*Cioppino - a fish stew characteristic of West Coast Italian American cookery, particularly San Francisco
* Wedding soup - A soup with meatballs or sausage and pasta in a chicken broth
*Pasta Fagioli (Italian slang for it is Pasta Fazool, from southern Italian "fasule" instead of standard Italian "fagioli") - Pasta with beans, often cannelini beans, that has the consistency of a stew.

Breads, sandwiches, and savory baked goods

*Calzone and stromboli -- While the half-moon shaped Italian calzone is well-known in the United States, the very similar tube-shaped stromboli as well as large, loaf-like calzones served in slices are also fairly common.
*Italian bread -- Perhaps a bit closer to French bread in composition and appearance, American "Italian bread" is a lean white bread, often braided and covered in sesame seeds, with a thin but usually crisp crust and a soft crumb. American "Italian bread" does not particularly resemble many traditional Italian bread forms, but is very popular in both loaf form and roll form, where it is often closely associated with sandwich making.
*Pizza -- The most common form of American pizza is based on (and called) the Neapolitan style, the earliest and essentially standard version of which is commonly called "New York-style." Also popular in America is a version of the Sicilian pizza, a larger square pie in which the dough is risen an inch or more, and which is topped (contrary to native Sicilian tradition) in much the same way as the thin-crusted round Neapolitan form, including the use of mozzarella cheese. Even more Americanized forms such as Greek pizza, Apizza (i.e. New Haven-style) and Chicago-style have become common.
*Muffuletta - a large sandwich with cold cuts and olive salad, made on a round loaf; originated in New Orleans
* Italian beef sandwich -- a type of roast beef sandwich native to Chicago, similar to a French dip sandwich.
*Pizzagiena or "pizza ghen" - Easter Pie, made with various cheeses, eggs, and salted meats. Compare torta pasqualina, from Liguria, or the Italian-Argentine version, torta pascualina.Fact|date=February 2008Pizzagiena may also be called pasteed or pastiere, although it is more of a quiche than pie unlike pizzagiena.

weets

*Tiramisu - A sweet multi-layered cake with a light fluffy cream, often served with a coffee or other hot caffeinated beverage. Tiramisu is one of the more recent Italian imports, having been invented after World War II (probably in the Veneto region), but adopted readily by American diners.
*Cannoli - a sweet ricotta filling in a fried pastry shell
*Struffoli (or Struf') - Fried dough for dessert
*Evushgadil or "biscotti d'annodare" - knot cookies
*Sfogliatelle - a sort of custard turnover made with leaved ("foglie") pastry; a similar pastry, larger and filled with a type of pastry cream, is sometimes called a "lobster tail"
*Biscotti -- generally nut-flavored, though biscotti containing dried fruit or chocolate are common as well; often dipped in coffee rather than wine as in Italy. American biscotti are almost always loaf-type cookies that are sliced and rebaked to crispness, while the term refers to almost all forms of cookie in Italy.

References and Further Reading

There are many styles of cookbooks available in English, both on the subjects of traditional and authentic "Italian cuisine" and "Italian-American" food.

*Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio, "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen". New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. Focuses on the Italian-American kitchen and also the basis of the PBS television cooking show series. Winner of the IACP cookbook Award. Bastianich incorporates strong Northern Italian and even Istrian Slavic influences in her cooking.
*Buonopane, Marguerite D., "The North End Italian Cookbook", 5th ed. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2004, ISBN 0726730439: An oft-updated collection of Italian-American recipes from Boston, Massachusetts.
*De Laurentiis, Giada, "Giada's Family Dinners". New York, New York: Crown Publishing Group/ Random House, Inc., 2006, ISBN 0-307-23827-6 or 0-307-23827-X: By the star of television Food Network's "Everyday Italian" and "Behind the Bash"; De Laurentiis' cooking style bridges the gap between Italian and Italian-American food.
*Editoriale Domus (editor), "The Silver Spoon" (original title, "Il cucchiaio d'argento"). London: Phaidon Press, 2005, ISBN 0714845310: An English translation of a best-selling Italian kitchen reference providing a broad survey of the dishes popular around Italy; provided for comparison with the references about American Italian food.
*Gentile, Maria, [http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_71.cfm "The Italian Cook Book: The Art of Eating Well"] . New York: The Italian Book Co., 1919: A post-WWI effort to popularize Italian cooking in the United States.
*Hill, Henry, "The Wiseguy Cookbook". New York: Penguin-Putnam, 2002, ISBN 0451207068: A presentation of the role of food in the life of the American Mafia by the subject of the movie Goodfellas.
*Mariani, John and Galina, "The Italian-American Cookbook". Boston: Harvard Common Press, 2000, ISBN 1558321667: A broad history and survey of Italian-American food as eaten around the United States.
*Middione, Carlo, "The Food of Southern Italy". New York: William Morrow & Company, 1987, ISBN 0688050425 (hardcover). A San Franciscan chef's perspective on Italian food.
*Rice, William, "Steak Lover's Cookbook". New York: Workman Publishing, 1997, ISBN 0761100806. Not an Italian cookbook, but talks extensively about the influence of Italian-American cuisine on steakhouse culture and menus.
*Rucker, Alan, and Michele Scicolone, "The Sopranos Family Cookbook". New York: Warner Books, 2002, ISBN 0446530573: A tie-in to the popular HBO television series, featuring recipes typical of Neapolitan-derived New Jersey Italian-American food (the fictional Soprano family claimed descent from the town of Avellino).

On Italian-American Winemaking
*Wine Heritage: The Story of Italian-American Vintners. Dick Rosano (Author), Robert Mondavi (Foreword).

On Related topics of migration, immigration and diaspora

*Worrall, Janet E, et al. editors, "Italian Immigrants Go West: the Impact of Locale on Ethnicity." Cambridge, MA: Italian American Historical Association (AIHA), 2003, ISBN 0-934675-51-1 (hardcover) or 0-934675-51-X (softcover): an anthology of essays on Italian-Americans, including subjects of history, literature, ethnic relations, movement west in America, early 19th Century migration from Italy, politics, urban/ suburban/ rural living, typical labor and work life, etc.

*Gabaccia, Donna R., "Italy's Many Diasporas." Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2000, ISBN 0-295-97917-8 or 0-295-97918-6 (alk. paper): Foreign countries, emigration and immigration. See essays on "Patria e natio" (29), "legacy of civilta italiana" (33), table 3.3. "Destinations of migrants by region, 1876-1914 by percentage" (70), "Paese, regione and the global labor market" (68). This book will also help better understand the concepts of community among working Italian-Americans with the ideas of "paese" or "paesani," and the shared, formative culture among them, often referred to as "civilita italiana."

ee also

*Americanized cuisine
*Cuisine of the United States
*North American cuisine
*
*Culinary revolution
*New American cuisine
*Cuisine of the Mediterranean
*en icon [http://www.italianamericana.com FOODS OF AFFECTION ISSUE SPRING 2008 Italian Americana: The voice of leading cultural, intellectual and literary Italian Americans]

References