Italian-American Cuisine - Traditional Influences and Contemporary Trends in Italian American Food

Traditional Influences and Contemporary Trends in Italian American Food

Italian American food is based heavily (though not exclusively) on the traditional food of southern Italian immigrants, most of whom arrived in the United States from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this great wave of immigration into the United States, many of the peoples came particularly from the areas of Naples and Sicily and moved to large American cities, such as New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Boston and San Francisco. For many Italian Americans, who identify their food with their locale and the home areas of their ancestors, the food is based on staples such as dry pasta, tomato sauce, and olive oil; whereas, for others, such as those from Northern Italian families in other parts of the United States, may enjoy Northern Italian staples such as risotto, fresh pasta, white sauce and polenta.

For many Italian Americans, particularly in traditional cattle ranching or "cowboy" states like California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii, Italian American food tends to use a great deal more meat. Reasons for this are not universally agreed upon; some place it simply on the greater availability and higher quality of American meat (particularly beef), while others believe it to be a product of nutritional theories promulgated by early 20th-century social workers to ease integration of Italian immigrants into American society. Beef consumption has also been symbolic of many Italian Americans' new found prosperity in these particular states (or regions) and within America at large; that is, as opposed life in pre-World War II Italy and Europe, where little beef was afforded or consumed; however, high-quality beef and its production is often seen as symbolically American.

Over time and with the development and appreciation of Italian cuisine in the United States, as well as the increased importation of goods and so on, some trends have seen the cuisine move towards a more “authentic” style that has either greater affinity with techniques and ingredients that are native to Italy, or otherwise a style that interprets the cuisine from the viewpoint of Italian culture as it exists throughout the world. Italian American food also regularly imports innovations from Italy—if not also try to mimic the production of such goods domestically—and includes relatively recent innovations such as espresso (now ubiquitous in American life), tiramisu, Nutella and so on. All of these introductions have been enthusiastically embraced and every year new products and cultural exchanges are shared between the trade of Italy and the United States, which is growing successful.