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Wait, is tiramisu really that common that everyone knows what it is? I think you're expecting too much from others. I didn't grow up Amish, and although I did

Wait, is tiramisu really that common that everyone knows what it is? I think you're expecting too much from others. I didn't grow up Amish, and although I did grow up in a non-assimilated insular religious community I've been living in Western secular society for about 10 years now. The only Italian foods I can think of are pasta (I can name spaghetti and macaroni and lasagna and that's it) and pizza, which I knew of since childhood. Lately I've seen the word tiramisu around but I have no idea what it is. I think I saw it on a cake in a bakery and I assumed it was pretentious for chocolate but actually I don't know. I certainly didn't know it was Italian.

leviathant 5y ago
Central Pennsylvania has a pretty substantial population of people of Italian heritage, and at least throughout the 90s and early 2000s, a great many of the restaurants in the area served Italian food. I used to eat Italian all the time, and I don't have a drop of Mediterranean blood in me. So, arguably, not knowing about Italian food in Lancaster county would be kind of a shocker.
jsolson 5y ago
Going a bit off-topic here, but as a tiramisu lover I feel compelled to say that if you like desserts and coffee, generally, you might consider trying some if the opportunity presents itself. A bit more on topic, I'd generally agree that it's not so common as to be universal. I don't think I'd heard the word in any way that registered as significant before my mid-20s, and I'm certain I never tried it until my late 20s or early 30s. I grew up in the suburbs around Pittsburgh, PA with plenty of passable Italian restaurants -- but tiramisu simply wasn't a dessert people in my family ordered.
- mbg721 5y ago
  Tiramisu is a more recent invention than other well-known Italian or Italian-American foods, maybe 1970s.
bryanrasmussen 5y ago
I can't help thinking of the Tiramisu joke from Sleepless in Seattle https://the-take.com/watch/whats-the-meaning-of-the-tiramisu-joke-in-sleepless-in-seattle https://the-take.com/watch/whats-the-meaning-of-the-tiramisu...

leviathant 5y ago

Central Pennsylvania has a pretty substantial population of people of Italian heritage, and at least throughout the 90s and early 2000s, a great many of the restaurants in the area served Italian food. I used to eat Italian all the time, and I don't have a drop of Mediterranean blood in me. So, arguably, not knowing about Italian food in Lancaster county would be kind of a shocker.

jsolson 5y ago

Going a bit off-topic here, but as a tiramisu lover I feel compelled to say that if you like desserts and coffee, generally, you might consider trying some if the opportunity presents itself. A bit more on topic, I'd generally agree that it's not so common as to be universal. I don't think I'd heard the word in any way that registered as significant before my mid-20s, and I'm certain I never tried it until my late 20s or early 30s. I grew up in the suburbs around Pittsburgh, PA with plenty of passable Italian restaurants -- but tiramisu simply wasn't a dessert people in my family ordered.

mbg721 5y ago
Tiramisu is a more recent invention than other well-known Italian or Italian-American foods, maybe 1970s.

bryanrasmussen 5y ago

I can't help thinking of the Tiramisu joke from Sleepless in Seattle https://the-take.com/watch/whats-the-meaning-of-the-tiramisu-joke-in-sleepless-in-seattle https://the-take.com/watch/whats-the-meaning-of-the-tiramisu...