sunnysider

What's this thing with Italians and salt Lorna?

I wouldn't be entirely surprised to find that many Italians think they have the best salt in the world.

An Italian of my acquaintance declared that the mass produced fish and chips he was eating was wonderful.

I knew that though that although it was a passable imitation it wasn't - he was appreciating the heavy salting,

Is the salting of everything just a handy excuse for them to indulge in that other great passion - pills and blood testing?

Pulaski

Salt raises the boiling point of water. I would never boil anything, including eggs, pasta, and vegetables, including potatoes, other than a kettle, without adding salt to the water.

isshin

Just out of plain curiosity, do we have a facepalm emoticon in this forum?

Serrano

True, but is the temperature elevated by a meaningful amount? I suspect not, and never use salt in boiling water. A related point is the transfer of salt flavour to the food; I have no doubt that it happens. No visitors (Italian and otherwise) have ever noticed; indeed most refuse to believe it when we say that there has been no salt added.

sunnysider

I must try this serrano.

Make the pasta by the remove from heat method, add no salt, see if they notice.

If that works i may go for the big one and feed them noodles instead,

(Apololigies - last comment partly fuelled by my shocked reaction to somewhzt racist italian comment on asian food)

Pulaski

So the Italians invented pasta without any outside inspiration?

37100

Pasta boiled in unsalted water is disgusting! I know because my MIL makes in that way. And potatoes, veg you name it and it doesn't have salt. Adding salt after cooking kills the flavour.

sunnysider

Ah, hence my comment about the best salt in the world no 37.

Pasta great italian food, pasta no salt terrible.

So surely what you are savouring is the salt?

I never use salt in any of the things you list.

I steam my veg anyway.

37100

Ah..., but you don't make for example, mashed potatoes like my MIL. I don't think anyone does! She boils them to extinction beyond anything I ever seen anyone do either here or the UK! She then puts them through the ricer and adds the cooking water to make it sloppier. All without salt.

I wouldn't say pasta flavours salt rather that the salt enhances the flavour. Of course, the amount of salt used is a matter of taste, but no salt.

sunnysider

Quite

Of course they didn't.

But as I'm sure you know Italians can be somewhat convinced of their own unique place on earth. Witness the number of saints who chose to frequent it/apparitions of Virgin Mary etc. Other assorted miracles.

The other thing is the tomato of course - a very recent external introduction to Italy - especially compared to many of the other Italian glories.

And (much as I love good Italian pizza) pizzas of various types do of course exist in other cultures. It would be pretty ** extraordinary if they didn't - bread, throw a mixture of other stuff on top of it, put it in an oven for a bit. I mean you hardly need divine inspiration. But rather might start gradually experimenting with stuff/taking ideas from elsewhere and creating something with a local flavour.

I did read somewhere once that the march of the pizza across Italy from its Neopolitan base is very recent. Anyone got any views/info on this?

Pulaski

Of course the British aren't guilty of anything like that!
It's been 12 years since I visited Italy regularly (20 or so times prior to that in 20 years), and I don't recall seeing pizza much, or being offered it, at least north of the Naples area.

I had heard that the myth of pizza being Italy's national dish was a result of it emigrating to America with the Neopolitans, being popularized there, and being greatly enhanced, then being mischaracterized as Italy's national dish and that "fact" being broadcast as tiny fragment of America's much broader "cultural imperialism" (Hollywood, TV, and other media).

sunnysider

well perhaps. But not about food really.

I was of course agreeing with you upthread (or thought I was) about much Italian stuff not being uniquely Italian - a healthy perspective in things like food when Italian food rules can, in extremis, veer into plain racism - hence my reference to foreign food - I'd rather not detail the incident - it was rather pathetic/nasty.

37100

Really, Puleski? I've been here a long time and always found plenty of places in N Italy though it wasn't until the booming (haha) 80's that they started to appear on every corner.

primularossa

I don't know, but I can tell you that I have had my first pizza just after breast milk, ant it was many many decades ago and I lived in Tuscany, far north than Naples.

Never heard from people I know from the North that they did not know pizza when they were children. Not even my husband, who is from the Dolomites area. And I can suggest you a good pizzeria in every town in the North that I know, although of course people from Napoli claim that their pizza is superior to any other one! :-)

Pica

What she said . I add salt afterwards on the plate as well- love it, and tons of cracked pepper, black, white or pink.