I think it's important to recognize that the degree of precision required to achieve "authenticity" varies between cultures. Italian dishes tend to be extremel

I think it's important to recognize that the degree of precision required to achieve "authenticity" varies between cultures. Italian dishes tend to be extremely precise in terms of what ingredients may be added, to the point where many people would disagree you're making an authentic Carbonara sauce if you add garlic to the sauce, or even use pancetta instead of guanciale. On the other hand, a culture like the US usually only requires that dishes follow a rough template - a meatloaf is a meatloaf provided it's predominantly ground meat molded into a loaf shape and baked.