Popularity of "Italian American" and "Italian" Cuisine
Italian American food (and Mediterranean cuisine influence in general) has been highly influential in the American diet. It is one of the top three ethnic cuisines in the United States, according to the National Restaurant Association (known by industry professionals as the NRA). The NRA has stated:
Prof. Donna Gabaccia in "Italian Americana" Winter and Summer 1998 volumes, no. 1 & 2 notes that "Food and cooking are powerful expressions of our ties to the past and to our current identity." In these two issues of "Italian Americana" Donna Gabaccia reflects on various aspects of Italian American cooking, recipes, and Italian American life. "Italian, Mexican and Chinese (Cantonese) cuisines have indeed joined the mainstream. These three cuisines have become so ingrained in the American culture that they are no longer foreign to the American palate. According to the study, more than nine out of 10 consumers are familiar with and have tried these foods, and about half report eating them frequently. The research also indicates that Italian, Mexican and Chinese (Cantonese) have become so adapted to such an extent that "authenticity" is no longer a concern to customers."
Surveys have also shown that an overall trend towards the inclusion of so-called "alternate-source ingredients," as well as the "incorporation of ethnic cuisines, flavors and ingredients into restaurant menus" is now very commonplace. Rated high on the list of popular or "hot" items in the survey include " flatbreads, “ciabatta bread,” Mediterranean cuisine, espresso/ specialty coffee..." and so on. Of course, pizza and spaghetti in particular have been almost completely naturalized (the former in particular is a standard part of many American diets, often in forms almost completely unrecognizable to Italian cuisine).
Read more about this topic: Italian-American Cuisine
Famous quotes containing the words popularity of, popularity, italian, american and/or cuisine:
“A more problematic example is the parallel between the increasingly abstract and insubstantial picture of the physical universe which modern physics has given us and the popularity of abstract and non-representational forms of art and poetry. In each case the representation of reality is increasingly removed from the picture which is immediately presented to us by our senses.”
—Harvey Brooks (b. 1915)
“There are few cases in which mere popularity should be considered a proper test of merit; but the case of song-writing is, I think, one of the few.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)
“If the study of his images
Is the study of man, this image of Saturday,
This Italian symbol, this Southern landscape, is like
A waking, as in images we awake,
Within the very object that we seek,
Participants of its being.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“... though it is by no means requisite that the American women should emulate the men in the pursuit of the whale, the felling of the forest, or the shooting of wild turkeys, they might, with advantage, be taught in early youth to excel in the race, to hit a mark, to swim, and in short to use every exercise which could impart vigor to their frames and independence to their minds.”
—Frances Wright (1795–1852)
“Thank God for the passing of the discomforts and vile cuisine of the age of chivalry!”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)