Italian Food Rules

Dining etiquette

Americans have all sort of rules and laws they follow; rules involing queues like stand quietly in line, rules involving driving like stay within the lines. By contrast, Italian have very few rules and most of those can be broken. For example, in Italy, there is no minimum drinking age to which there is any adherence (and imposing one would only encourage underage Italians to drink).

But the situation is the reverse when it comes up to food. Yes Italians do have eating rules!

For example, my friend George  from New York City once wanted to order a caffe latte with his Mexican meal - right in front of me. It took me a while to dissuade him. Hopefully no restaurant in Italy would ever allow its customers to have cappuccino together with pasta.  I have never been brave enough to order pasta 'alle vongole' and cappuccino together to test this rule; if you have more courage than I do, try that combination and see what happens.

The following rules are aimed to correct common American (lawless) mistakes:

Lunch / Dinner Order of Courses

• Appetizers
• Pasta
• Meat / Fish ( with Vegetables or salad )
• Salad
• Cheese
• Fruit
• Sweets and coffee
• Ammazzacaffe ( Grappa or Amaro )

Breakfast: Even McDonald's in Italy serves cappuccino for breakfast. In Italy, forget eggs and bacon or sausages for breakfast except possibly in a hotel that caters to American or English tastes. Cappuccino and Brioches are one of the few 'legal' options. Maybe you could have yogurt... probably having tea is pushing it too far.

Lunch and Dinner:

1. No butter will be served to spread on your bread. (I think it takes away from lunch anyway - I do not serve it when I cook.)
2. What about dipping bread in oil? There's no harm with this in the course of a meal, but the bread-oil routine is not used as an appetizer in Italy. It has a tendency to fill you up and diminish your enjoyment of the meal.

3. No bread should be eaten together with pasta - this is a major no-no. In the US, we make fresh bread when guests come; however,  I have resolved to serve bread only after pasta is gone from the table or my American guess will make the sin to eat bread and pasta together.
4. Have mineral water and or wine with your meal. Forget sodas or milk unless you are a teenager or a small child. An exception can be made if you are eating pizza at lunch time.
5. The Italian main meal is traditionally multi-course: restaurants like to serve you first and second plates, perhaps third plates, and do not appreciate it when Americans insist on having only one thing ( but they are getting more used to it recently). Keep in mind that Italian portion sizes are smaller than American portion sizes, and the mixture they serve (pasta/rice first, followed by meat/fish/vegetables, followed by fruit) is a relatively healthy balance. You may get fewer calories and a healthier mix eating three courses in Italy than one giant entrée  covered with cheese in the United States. Traditionally, grated cheese is not added to fish-based meals. These rules have eroded somewhat, but you may still get a strange look if you ask for it.
6. Coffee may be drunk with fruit or dessert but never with the main meal. In addition, traditionally coffees with milk (capuccinos and lattes) are for breakfast only. Lunch and dinner are followed by espressos, or, at most an espresso macchiato.
7. Contrary to the perception of some, cinnamon does NOT go on capuccinos or lattes. Chocolate/cocoa or whipped cream does. Go with the flow on this one, you'll have fun.
8. If you are eating at someone's home, there is still an expectation that you will eat everything on your plate. Again, this has changed somewhat over time, but leaving large amounts of food is still considered an insult to the cook. But watch out for the clean plate problem: cleaning your plate too quickly can cause the home chef to refill it and expect another clean plate. Pace yourself!
9. Picking out the healthy food? Italians really object to Americans picking out the healthy vegetables and leaving them on the sides of the plate. Come on - try them! Italians are very good at cooking vegetables and you might actually like it. (My young son loves spinach, string beans and other vegetables).
10. Salad dressing: Italians use oil and vinegar so do not expect ranch, thousand island, or, worse yet "Italian" salad dressing.  Greated parmisan is never  used on lettuce.
11. Spaghetti: Italians (above 5 years of age) never cut their spaghetti. Well, Italians have been eating spaghetti all their life ..they should be able to roll it up on their fork easily. Once upon a time (mainly up to my grandfather's generation) the use of the spoon was common. However, it is not used anymore - the spoon is definitely out of fashion now.

Wine: Traditionally, white wine goes with fish, red wine goes with meat. White wine is traditionally chilled, red wine (except for sparkling red) is traditionally not chilled. Ok I confess it, a couple of times I have enjoyed red wine with fish. However, I would never do what a friend of mine did: I brought over a bottle of Chianti to her house for dinner. She poured the wine in a pitcher and added ice - The shock lasted a long time.

By Paolo Nascimbeni