The UK's obsession
 

Any opinion on this ?

The UK's obsession with cheap pasta sauces is causing a food crisis in Italy - Telegraph

Re: The UK's obsession
 

I agree with Frinetti about the spagetti bolognese
“In Italy, spaghetti bolognese will have 90g of spaghetti and 85g of ragu,” he said. “In the UK, in an Italian restauarant that is not really Italian, you get 80g of spaghetti and 200g of ragu.”
A few years ago I went to a beautiful Italian restaurant in Staffordshire with an open kitchen, stainless steel everywhere and immaculate Italian speaking chefs.
I ordered a spaghetti bolognese and after a long wait they served what seemed like a dish of Tesco's economy tomato soup with noodles.

Re: The UK's obsession
 

Well I've never had the pleasure of trying a Dolmio product, but if they are anything like their TV advertising campaign then Frasinetti is right.
However it's the old story of supply and demand. So called Slag Bol seems to have become the epitome of Italian cuisine in GB. What in heaven's name is it?
bye bye dicette l'inglese

Re: The UK's obsession
 

In Sicily they have never heard of spaghetti bolognese. Here everyone knows that cheap pasta sauces are the work of the devil or at the very least Unilever. Doesnt Heinza still do spag bol in a tin like in the 1960's?

Re: The UK's obsession
 

Can't even get decent food - right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an average nobody... get to live the rest of my life like a schnook

Re: The UK's obsession
 

An interesting article which identifies several issues. "Italian" food is marketed as "cheap food", which seems to be the heart of the issue, and persuading consumers of the cheapest preprepared (frozen or canned) pasta to pay substantially more probably ain't gonna happen. They need to get quality Italian produce in front of people with disposable income.

I am intrigued that the article identifies too much sauce as an issue, when the trend in restaurants is away from whopping piles of starch, when in just about every case the starch is there in a supporting role, to provide bulk and calories, and in some cases, texture. I can understand that excessive sauce might be an issue, so maybe reducing the proportion of pasta might make the dish more appealing to foodies? :unsure:

Unrelated to the food side of the article is the issue of the "high cost of production" in Italy, which clearly affects the whole economy, and which is condemning Italy to stagnation, especially when Italy can no longer devalue its currency, which was one of the key factors that kept the Italian economy ticking along quite nicely in the latter part of the 20th century. Unless/ until the high taxation and social costs are reduced, Italian businesses are going to continue to struggle against international competition.

Re: The UK's obsession
 

Heinz Spaghetti Hoops - can't beat 'em

Re: The UK's obsession
 

Farinetti is right of course, but have you seen the prices in Eataly? :blink:

Re: The UK's obsession
 

Italians who are worried about the starch content of their meals have a very simple solution: they don't eat pasta! The idea of pasta with a meat or fish sauce is to have a filling meat- or fish-flavoured dish that costs far less than a piece of meat or fish. I know that what I'm saying would upset certain eating-houses in the UK that palm off pasta dishes at the price of a main course.
But to increase the sauce and reduce the pasta would defeat the whole principle of the pasta dish. If people really want to "eat Italian" they don't need to eat pasta, rice or pizza; it's a myth that Italians eat only these starchy dishes. They eat meat, fish, cheese and vegetables too.
I think that if British people learnt a bit more about cooking simple pasta dishes at home they would know what they were being served in (pseudo)Italian restaurants and would be able to judge the quality and price better.
Spaghetti bolognese? Doesn't exist! And as for tinned pasta, that's unthinkable in Italy because (among other reasons) it would be difficult not to have the pasta overcooked. Spaghetti hoops? An abomination!

Re: The UK's obsession
 

Right, which is why Italians serve pasta either instead of an appetizer or between the appetizer and the main course. ...... Same principle as the traditional Yorkshire habit of serving a whole course of Yorkshire puds before the roast, to fill up on cheap starch. :)

Re: The UK's obsession
 

Yes, I was going to quote exactly that example if anyone didn't understand what I was talking about!

But anyway we can get obsessed about starch; an all-protein diet is as bad as an all-starch diet.

Re: The UK's obsession
 

But have you seen the "serving suggestion" of tinned pasta hoops on toast?!!

Re: The UK's obsession
 

How else would you serve them? :unsure:

Re: The UK's obsession
 

I am Italian, I live in London and I have learnt the hard way to never ever eat anything marked as "Italian" for the UK public. The only times I eat Italian is when I or some other Italian friend cook, or when I happen to find a real Italian restaurant which doesn't compromise (rare even in London).

Re: The UK's obsession
 

well, now also Michelle Obama cooks italian the unorthodox way !

https://italianinsight.wordpress.com...ooking-method/