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That's a common theme about regional flavors: they need to be adapted to local tastes. Just ask autochthonous Italians eating abroad - every single Italian res

That's a common theme about regional flavors: they need to be adapted to local tastes. Just ask autochthonous Italians eating abroad - every single Italian restaurant serve plates that are too greasy, too flavored, too spicy or whatever. And you can't get a good cup of coffee almost anywhere around the world, because outside of Italy the burnt flavor is often praised as a brew having 'character'. But that's fine, because Italian flavors are not really to the liking of Englishmen and vice versa. Carbonara being made with cream instead of egg is often done not because the places can't look a recipe off internet, but because that's what locals expect in term of flavor and consistency. Likewise for the absurdly loaded pizzas with three dozen ingredients: it tastes great both ways and I'm not gonna tell the One Italian Way is superior, but Italians are more used to a single strong flavor per plate, while abroad that'd be just plain and boring. So everything adapts. I dab in international dishes at home, but if a Mexican would eat my chili he'd have a stroke - but for other Italians? They all say it's super, because it's modulated to our taste.

jmiserez 10y ago
The trouble is that if you actually traveled to some of these places and really liked the food, most of the "adapted" stuff just tastes bland. Some adjustments due to availability of ingredients I can live with, but most of the time the adapted version is just a slightly worse version of the original. In part, this is also a problem of not having enough names for things. I guess there would be much less arguments over pizza if the Italian and American versions just had completely different names. In the end, if I order an "Italian" pizza I actually do expect it to be made according to the One Italian Way, and would be disappointed if it's not.
- dagw 10y ago
  most of the "adapted" stuff just tastes bland. I don't think anyone could accuse for example American Italian food of being a "bland" copy of the original. Italian food tends to be more subtle in flavour and with more focus on accentuating a single ingredient. American Italian is much bigger bolder flavors often mixing several strong flavours. You can argue that it's simplistic, boring and perhaps even unrefined if you're in that sort of mood, but hardly bland. I actually do expect it to be made according to the One Italian Way Except I've had fair amount of pizza in Italy and there is no One Italian Way.
  - jmiserez 10y ago
    I agree. When I say bland I don't literally mean bland as in non-spicy/tastes-like-nothing, but rather a bland experience. In the sense of uninteresting, dull, unexciting. I'd say that often happens exactly because of overpowering flavours. Also agree on the pizza, of course there is no single Italian way. But you would hardly expect e.g. a deep-dish pizza when there.
    - LoSboccacc 10y ago
      that's still a naming issue, we eat plenty of what'd you call deep dish pizza, but mostly we call them 'quiche' or 'torte salate' http://ricette.donnamoderna.com/torta-salata-in-rosso http://ricette.donnamoderna.com/torta-salata-in-rosso http://lericettedisimona.blogspot.it/2013/09/torta-salata-mascarpone-pancetta-e.html http://lericettedisimona.blogspot.it/2013/09/torta-salata-ma... now recipes usually call for a base which is different from pizza's, but that's mostly convenience because you can get good one out of common stores.

jmiserez 10y ago

The trouble is that if you actually traveled to some of these places and really liked the food, most of the "adapted" stuff just tastes bland. Some adjustments due to availability of ingredients I can live with, but most of the time the adapted version is just a slightly worse version of the original. In part, this is also a problem of not having enough names for things. I guess there would be much less arguments over pizza if the Italian and American versions just had completely different names. In the end, if I order an "Italian" pizza I actually do expect it to be made according to the One Italian Way, and would be disappointed if it's not.

dagw 10y ago
most of the "adapted" stuff just tastes bland. I don't think anyone could accuse for example American Italian food of being a "bland" copy of the original. Italian food tends to be more subtle in flavour and with more focus on accentuating a single ingredient. American Italian is much bigger bolder flavors often mixing several strong flavours. You can argue that it's simplistic, boring and perhaps even unrefined if you're in that sort of mood, but hardly bland. I actually do expect it to be made according to the One Italian Way Except I've had fair amount of pizza in Italy and there is no One Italian Way.
- jmiserez 10y ago
  I agree. When I say bland I don't literally mean bland as in non-spicy/tastes-like-nothing, but rather a bland experience. In the sense of uninteresting, dull, unexciting. I'd say that often happens exactly because of overpowering flavours. Also agree on the pizza, of course there is no single Italian way. But you would hardly expect e.g. a deep-dish pizza when there.
  - LoSboccacc 10y ago
    that's still a naming issue, we eat plenty of what'd you call deep dish pizza, but mostly we call them 'quiche' or 'torte salate' http://ricette.donnamoderna.com/torta-salata-in-rosso http://ricette.donnamoderna.com/torta-salata-in-rosso http://lericettedisimona.blogspot.it/2013/09/torta-salata-mascarpone-pancetta-e.html http://lericettedisimona.blogspot.it/2013/09/torta-salata-ma... now recipes usually call for a base which is different from pizza's, but that's mostly convenience because you can get good one out of common stores.