Comments on First Paris Then Rome: France vs. Italy: Whose Food is Better?

French food that most people know: Baguette, brie...

2009-02-06T18:07:00.000+01:00

French food that most people know:
Baguette, brie, quiche(not many know its even french), pate, and what else?

Italian Food that People know:

Pizza, spahetti, lingiuni, fettucini alfredo, Lasagna, Gnocchi, ravioli, Pesto, Parmesan, Romano, Mozzarella, veal cutlet, ceasar salada, veal parmesan, ciabatta bread, calabrese bread,
minestroni, focaccia bread, ricotta, bocconcini, provolone, bruschetta, etc

By the way dont forget the very tasty fish and chi...

2009-02-06T07:59:00.000+01:00

By the way dont forget the very tasty fish and chips from england cant be beat.

In case you french didnt know Italians founded some of Paris’s greatest cafes.

"The Italians.... made the French acquainted with the art of dining well, the excesses of which so many of our kings tried to suppress. But finally it triumphed in the reign of Henry II, when the cooks from beyond the mountains came and settled in France, and that is one of the least debts we owe to that crowd of corrupt Italians who served at the court of Catherine de' Medici." The French Encylopedie, Vol. 4 (1754).

Italian society was eating - with the aid of utensils - ravioli's covered with cinnamon while the rest of Europe was chomping down on rotten meat with their hands.

Jacob Burckhardt: "In the 16th century the Italians had all Europe for their pupils, both theoretically and practically, in every noble bodily exercise and in the habits and manners of good society."

Hello, I think you are widely wrong on two things:...

2008-03-10T21:46:00.000+01:00

Hello, I think you are widely wrong on two things:
- Bread in Italy is very very often salted. In Rome, anyway, bread is ALWAYS salted and Rosetta is excellent!!
- We do not need to use butter! We have olive oil!!! I repeat: OLIVE OIL!!! You do not really want to replace such a natural fat with dirty buttery fat, do you?
Anyway good post.
Go Italy!
http://frenchconspiracy.blogspot.com/
Emigré

Caroline, cara, be careful when you say "Italy," b...

2007-07-09T19:41:00.000+02:00

Caroline, cara, be careful when you say "Italy," because south of Rome we have a whole other world going on down here--especially as far as cuisine is concerned.

First, my (Calabrian) OH wouldn't know about the quality of butter because his family doesn't use it. At all. Ever. It's all olive oil, all the time. that said, I completely agree that the butter is *nasty* (I sneak it into the house).

Bread? Down in these parts, it's widely available homemade and not dry at all--quite fluffy inside with a lovely hard crust. And if we're not having pasta or rice (rare), there's bread on the table, and lots of it. We go through a kilo every two days or so. The trick is to eat it fresh, of course.

On the meats, it's funny that you single out veal, and I haven't had really great veal here (it's OK); most other meats that we eat, we raise ourselves (chicken, turkey, rabbit, pheasant). But the salamis (suppresata especially), sausages? I'm not a huge fan, but they are tasty.

But the sweets? I generally prefer cakes to pastries anyway, but the dolci of Sicilia and Calabria are an experience :)

P.S. I *love* pecorino cheese--fresh and aged, which I grew up on in America. Yum, but I can understand how it could be an acquired taste. I guess ;)

Ah, and as Kataroma said, I commend your braveness for entering such dangerous territory ;)

Kataroma, it is indeed "steak and kidney pie". Ch...

2007-06-07T18:20:00.000+02:00

Kataroma, it is indeed "steak and kidney pie". Check out the BBC's recipe. (You can't argue with the "Beeb." http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/steakandkidneypie_1318.shtml

I agree that it is an English "delicacy," albeit it is often dubbed a "British" one, though the English should receive all the blame. And yes, I have tried it, many times. My English mother's cooking is second to none, but please, no organ meat . . . especially not kidneys . . .

"Steak and kidney pudding" also exists, but that is not what is under discussion, although it is equally as repulsive.

But I'm happy that you enjoy these dishes.

Thinktank

Isabelle, Eh ben, figures-toi, typiquement, les fa...

2007-06-06T12:22:00.000+02:00

Isabelle, Eh ben, figures-toi, typiquement, les familles françaises ici à Rome acheté une machine à pain. On dit que ça marche assez bien et le pain est meilleur que celui que l'on achéte à la boulangerie.

Yeah, bread is especially bad in Italy ! I'm think...

2007-06-06T10:23:00.000+02:00

Yeah, bread is especially bad in Italy ! I'm thinking about buying one of these "machines à pains" in Paris before leaving, in order to make my fresh own bread in Rome ;-))
En fait, je viens de réaliser que je pourrais aussi bien écrire en français sur ton blog ;-)

...and what's wrong with steak and kidney pudding?...

2007-06-03T11:04:00.000+02:00

...and what's wrong with steak and kidney pudding? (it's not pie BTW) It's yummy. I bet you've never tried it.

You are a brave woman wading into such a charged d...

2007-06-03T11:03:00.000+02:00

You are a brave woman wading into such a charged debate.

I don't know much about the French but the one sure fire way to piss off an Italian is to criticise something about Italian food. They seem to have been taught from the cradle that their food is THE BEST and that it is BETTER THAN any other type of food. I once managed to completely offend an Italian English student when he asked me which cuisine was my favorite and I replied "Thai" (yummm! I still remember some of the yummy dishes I ate on my trip to Thailand - truly delectable) Apparently the only correct answer was "Italian." :(

Anyway I like Italian food but (and please don't throw tomatoes at me!) I don't like Italian breakfasts (all that sweet stuff!), desserts (I hate tiramisu and panettone etc. and the cakes are all sooo dry - I much prefer English puddings and French patisserie) and bread. You are right, French bread is way better. :)

I agree with you about the meat in Italy. I think ...

2007-05-29T15:34:00.000+02:00

I agree with you about the meat in Italy. I think that many of the cuts don't optimize the meat, (does that make sense?) and they often make odd choices about what cut to use for a particular dish. I haven't been impressed by the quality, either.

We have some very good bread here. It comes from a nearby town, but if it's not available in the shops, I don't buy any other kind because all the other types available here are insipid.

Ilaria, it is Italians who explain to me that they...

2007-05-27T16:26:00.000+02:00

Ilaria, it is Italians who explain to me that they don't eat much bread and prefer pasta and pizza instead and (at least compared to the French), I think this is true. We had 4 bakeries within 2 blocks of us in Paris. Here, I have to take the bus or my bike to get to the closest panettiera here, and the selection is nowhere near the same, leaving aside the taste ;-). That being said, I will take pizza bianca over a French baguette any day! MMmmmmmmm.

Yes, Tony, and don't forget the Scots unforgettabl...

2007-05-25T20:19:00.000+02:00

Yes, Tony, and don't forget the Scots unforgettable "haggis". And of course your own "bangers and mash". Enjoy!!

Dear Thinkthank,Yu talkin' to me ?Yu talkin' to me...

2007-05-25T12:15:00.000+02:00

Dear Thinkthank,
Yu talkin' to me ?
Yu talkin' to me ?
Who yu are to question her majesty's cuisine ? Of course it is one of the most delicate cuisine in the world : remember these juicy rosbif or these bread and butter cookies or the scots salmons smoked or not, or even the amazing boiled sprout that encourage a fantastic regular bowel movements.
Please think, thank.
Tony B (ex)

Re: Tony B.'s comment - this coming from a subject...

2007-05-25T02:43:00.000+02:00

Re: Tony B.'s comment - this coming from a subject of the country that gave the world "steak and kidney pie" . . . Hmmm

Dear mommy,I am a bit disapointed that you even di...

2007-05-24T18:52:00.000+02:00

Dear mommy,
I am a bit disapointed that you even did not dare mentioning the english cuisine with such distinguished Chef as the one we have at number 10. it seems that it has benn a long time since you did not taste the flavor of a good genuine crispy Fish and Chips or tasty Yorkshire Pudding. Coming from a Canadian fellow is an outrage to the Crown of HM and I feel consequently obliged to launch my special forces to locate you and send you directly to my friend Georgie's special cuban "club med" to understand which kind of terrorist group has succeeded to brainwash one of our citizen on such a deep anchored cultural custom.
Tony B

Non mais ça va pas la tete de dire des insanités p...

2007-05-24T18:37:00.000+02:00

Non mais ça va pas la tete de dire des insanités pareilles. Bien sur que l'on mange mille fois mieux en France avec un choix incroyables de plats différents. L'Italie, à part les pates et les tomates c'est vrai, n'arrive pas à la cheville de la cuisine française. Je pense d'ailleurs faire modifier la constitution européenne en ce sens. Je peux vous dire que je mets mes services sur votre cas et sur votre propaganda anti française

Italians don't eat bread!? I wish! I spend 10 mins...

2007-05-24T16:22:00.000+02:00

Italians don't eat bread!? I wish! I spend 10 mins in line every day at my panettiere!! We always have bread on the table, and I like that we can get a zillion dfferent types (even salted, though I prefer no salt in my bread).

Cheeses...I like most Italian cheeses (except for scamorza) and don't know much about French cheeses, but it's probably personal taste...I know there's a thousand of Italian ones too, with all the regional variations.

Cuts of meat...I don't buy it, and I don't know what you can get in France, but compared to the US, in Italy we have a bounty of different and better cuts!

BTW It's frittata and fontina ;-)