The Intriguing Origins Behind Italian America’s Famous Dishes


From meatballs to lobster fra diavolo, here are some surprising back stories on how it all started.

The following article, written by Dan Gentile, appears on The Huffington Post. 

Sometimes the greatest food creations come from adapting to necessity, like when the Earl of Sandwich put meat between bread for a quick snack to get through long gambling sessions, or when KFC doubled down on Americans’ need to be even less healthy.

Classic Italian-American food is no different. When immigrants began arriving on our shores, they couldn’t find the right ingredients and were met with palates and traditions that varied greatly from those of their paisanos back home. They adapted their food culture to these new conditions, bringing forth a menu of dishes that might seem unfamiliar or downright confusing to native Italians. But on the other hand, some old traditions lived on even though the original context for the food was long gone.

Continue reading at The Huffington Post. 

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