Italian-American cuisine

Italian-American cuisine(Italian:cucina italoamericana) is a style ofItalian cuisineadapted throughout theUnited States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, calledItalian Americans.
As immigrants from the differentregions of Italysettled throughout the variousregions of the United States, many brought with them a distinct regional Italian culinary tradition. Many of these foods and recipes developed into new favorites for the townspeople and later for Americans nationwide.
Italian-American food is based primarily on the culinary traditions ofsouthern Italianimmigrants, although a significant number ofnorthern Italianimmigrants also came to the United States and also influenced this style of cuisine to some extent.
Italian-Americans often identify foods with their regional heritage. Southern Italian staples include drypasta,tomato sauce, andolive oil, whereas northern Italian staples include foods such asrisotto,white sauce, andpolenta.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the Italian poor suffered from severe food insecurity, from taxes, modernization (depriving them of feudal land access), and overpopulation. The non-landowning class survived on a mostly vegetarian diet consisting of hard bread and soups;meat, if any, was reserved for celebration.Partial knowledge of fine food trickled down from the rich from restaurants, despite the poor having little means to access them.
Under this background, waves of Italians immigrated to the United States, mainly throughEllis Island. In the US, these immigrants found hard work, long hours, and cramped quarters; yet for the first time they were paid well enough to afford plenty of soft bread, flour, meat, cheese, eggs, and even olive oil, dry pasta, and cheese imported from Italy or the Italian diaspora in Argentina.Reacting to this newfound abundance, Italian-American cuisine shows two important characteristics: it heavily emphasizes the use of "rich ingredients" (meat, cheese, and eggs) compared to its Italian peasant counterpart, yet it retains a simple-to-prepare style characteristic ofcucina povera(Italianfor 'cuisine of the poor').The stereotypical Italian-American "red sauce" cuisine is, accordingly, a fusion of these characteristics with a southern Italian (chieflyNeapolitanandSiciliancuisine) base.Immigrants from different regions of Italy also exchanged their regional recipes as they become neighbors.
Northern Italians also left important marks on Italian-American cuisine. Two cheesemakers from Parma,Paolo Sartoriand CountJulio Bolognaisi, took advantage of the milk supply inWisconsinand producedParmesan cheese.
There were very few Italian-American cookbooks published until the 1960s. Italian-Americans, like Italians in Italy, chiefly passed down recipes as an oral tradition.Girls tookhome economicsclasses that boasted the superiority of a homogenousAmerican cuisine, influencing the range of ingredients and techniques they use at home.
Instead of learning about Italian food from the immigrant population, the general American population of this time explored Italian food using cookbooks written by Anglo-American chefs, containing those chefs' adaptations of Italian food.These books were also used by Italian Americans who were convinced that these books formed "an integral part of their cultural heritage" and had no alternatives.Only with the "new ethnicities" movement of the 1960s did significant efforts to document Italian-American cooking and associatedfoodwaysappear.
Over time, through an increased appreciation of Italian cuisine in the United States, as well as increased imports into the United States from Italy,there has been a push towards producing more authentic dishes, which use techniques and ingredients that are more native to Italy.
On the other hand, e.g.carbonara, a dish unrecorded in Italy beforeWorld War II, may be due to an American influence in relationship to the alliedliberation of Romein 1944.
Italian-American food andMediterranean cuisinehas been highly influential in the American diet. It is one of the top three cuisines in the United States, according to theNational Restaurant Association:
Rated high on the list of popular, or trending, items in the survey includeMediterraneanflatbread,ciabattabread,espresso, and specialty coffee drinks.Pizzaandpastaare also common dishes in the United States; however, they are presented in very different forms than in Italy.
There is a strong association between Italian-American cuisine and the history ofwinemakingin the United States.
ManyItalian wineswere first introduced to the United States in the late 18th century. Italian vintners were first brought to the state ofFloridain 1766 byDr. Andrew Turnbull, a British Consul atSmyrna(nowİzmir).Filippo Mazzei, an Italian physician, and close friend of U.S. PresidentThomas Jefferson, also helped to cultivate vineyards, olives, and other Mediterranean fruit with the help of Italians.
In later years, Americanviticulturewas more influenced by the Italiandiasporaof thetransatlantic migrations, which steadily brought more Italians to America from the 1870s through the 1920s. Most of these Italians entered the East Coast of the United States throughEllis Island, whereas many of those quickly passed through to the American West Coast, where California still had its famous "Gold rush".
In California, Italian-Americans were inspired by the expanse of rolling hills and fertile fields. Prior toProhibitionstarting in 1919, many wineries had made their start: Seghesio,Simi,Sebastiani Vineyardsand Foppiano began in the late 19th century and remain in operation today. Others included Giuseppe Magliavacca's Napa winery, Secondo Guasti's Italian Vineyard Company and Andrea Sbarbaro'sItalian Swiss Colony.
From 1919 until therepeal of Prohibitionin 1933, many Italian-Americans struggled to keep their vineyards going. Many remained through providing sacramental wine to theCatholic Churchor grape juice to the general market. These few holdouts can be credited with salvaging America's viticulture heritage, in an industry that values the longevity and tradition of the vine and its produce.
Today, Italian-American wineries prove a powerful asset on the world market. Some of these companies include:Atlas Peak(also known asAntinori),Cosentino, Dalla Valle,Delicato,Ferrari-Carano,E & J Gallo Winery, Geyser Peak,Louis M. Martini,Mazzocco,Robert Mondavi,Monte Bello Ridge,Corrado Parducci, Pedroncelli Winery,Robert Pepi,Picchetti Brothers Winery, Rochioli,Rafanelli,Rubicon Estate Winery(also known asFrancis Ford Coppola Presents),Sebastiani Vineyards, Signorello,Sattui,Trinchero(most often under theSutter Homebrand),Valley of the Moon, Viansa,and more.
There are many styles of cookbooks available in English, both on the subjects of traditional and authentic "Italian cuisine" and "Italian-American" food.
On Italian American Winemaking
On Related topics of migration, immigration and diaspora