From the use of Romano cheese instead of pecorino, to bacon instead of bacon, to the cream that even replaces eggs. Pasta carbonara is one of the most fake Italian recipes among foreigners, so much so that almost 6 out of 10 Italians (57%) traveling abroad have come across distorted versions of our cuisine.
This was revealed by a Coldiretti analysis of Noto Sondaggi data on the occasion of Carbonara Day which is celebrated on 6 April.
Alongside the phenomenon of fake in Italy, against which Coldiretti is protesting at Brenner on Monday 8 April, there is, in fact, the agricultural organisation, of national dishes which undergo the most bizarre modifications outside national borders.
An example, Coldiretti reports, is the use in the USA of the so-called 'Romano Cheese' which, in addition to not respecting the rigorous production regulations, is even obtained in the United States and Canada from cow's milk and not sheep's milk. Also to be avoided are the many American variants found by Coldiretti on recipe sites on the web which include, among other things, the addition of frozen peas, butter or basil but also cream, "a horror committed even by the English".
Furthermore, the lack of clarity on Made in Italy recipes offers, concludes Coldiretti, "fertile ground for the proliferation of fake Italian food products abroad where exports could triple if there was a stop to international food counterfeiting which today is worth 120 billion euros and is cause of economic damage, but also of image".
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