Comments on: The problem with fetishizing pork jowl

By: Paige Flores

Paige Flores — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:28:09 +0000

i love Italian Food specially those juicy pastas. They are really delicious.;~;

By: Blind Taste / Robin Goldstein» Blog Archive » The fascists and their buffalo mozzarella

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:30:49 +0000

[...] previously discussed the thorny issue of the overzealous advocacy of a traditional recipe to the exclusion of all [...]

By: g

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:51:44 +0000

Being taught Amatriciana by a Genoese, is like being taught Sashimi by a Swiss. And I am Genoese, from a Genoese family.

The only reason Italians outside the center do not obsess over guanciale, is because guanciale is not available. The same reason why people outside Liguria do not obsess over the right basil when they prepare pesto, and so on…

Can there be a good amatriciana-like pasta made with bacon? Yes, I spent many years outside italy perfecting my recipe. Am I happy as a baby when I have access to guanciale? Yes

By: Mark Ryan

Mark Ryan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:28:09 +0000

Equally (if not more important) than the particular fatty pork product used is the quality of the tomatoes and the pasta. Foodies (myself included) can often get caught up in the hunt for a particular item and then overlook the foundations of a dish.

By: In search for the authentic | Simba tango

In search for the authentic | Simba tango — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:24:24 +0000

[...] Italy and Italian food (no wonder I love Buenos Aires?), I thought I would share this interesting article discussing authenticity in the Italian kitchen. Serves well (pun intended) as an apropos to the very same discussion on [...]

By: juan ciale

juan ciale — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:32:33 +0000

i very much enjoyed this entry. i am wondering whether you have given any thought, from a cognitive standpoint, to the effect of such “culinary dogmatism,” as you artfully put it.

does it enhance the pleasure, on the occasions in which you can match an outstanding taste with hitting a marker for authenticity, or does it rather detract from the pleasure of, say, a perfectly delicious amatriciana, because one gets caught up in the pancetta faux-pas?

my intuition suggests that the latter occurs, by and large, on the basis of some version of cognitive dissonance – some instance of (1) “ooh, i am enjoying this” and (2) “ooh, i ought not to be enjoying this as much as the authentic version”.

By: Kent Wang

Kent Wang — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:07:40 +0000

Salumeria Biellese, based in New York, makes a good gunciale, available at Central Market, and I imagine many places in New York.

By: Fulmer

Fulmer — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:21:01 +0000

Great perspective for those of us who get caught up in the gastro-ontological search. Quality vs. authenticity. I have been guitly of getting lost in the minutiae of culinary nostalgia. Earlier this year in a mole cooking class we discussed the many facets, merits and authenticity of mole in Texas as well as elsewhere. I found the recipe I enjoyed most was not exactly “According to Hoyle”, but it was so satisfying. To paraphrase that which you expressed so well, “Getting lost in the trees we sometimes miss the forest”.