It is a controversy that is shaking Italy. The carbonara would be an American invention that dates back to the 1940s! Alberto Grandi, Italian food historian, dared to put forward this hypothesis at the end of March in the columns of the FinancialTimes, British daily newspaper. His words bristle the hair of many Italians, even on this side of the Alps… In particular cooks and waiters from the Peninsula, working in Paris, who do not hide their astonishment.
American soldiers, bacon and eggs
“But it’s not okay! Carbonara was born in Rome!”, says Marco, a waiter in a Parisian pizzeria. “And even years before World War II,” he adds, shaking his hands fingers close together around his thumbs in a familiar Italian gesture.
He can’t believe the so-called American origin of the carbonara sauce. It is however the version of the historian Alberto Grandi, who affirms that she would have been born during the Second World War. American soldiers, who came with bacon and eggs, would then have inspired Italian cooks, deprived of other ingredients due to shortages.
“I’ve never heard this carbonara story”
But this story greatly surprises chef Gian-Luigi Epifani, at the head of a restaurant in the capital of the same name. “I’ve never heard it!” he exclaims, taken aback. “In restaurant kitchens, I was always told that it was the dish of the poor, of people who worked in the coal mines…”, reports the restaurateur.
“It’s a dish that we probably had to adjust, depending on the tastes of the chefs: with or without scrambled eggs, with or without cream, etc,” admits Gian-Luigi Epifani. “In any case, the basic recipe is made with guanciale: and it’s not American bacon, it has nothing to do with it!”
“Carbonara is the Italian Mona Lisa!”
“Carbonara is the Italian Mona Lisa!” insists Gerardo Gargiulo, head of the “Da Pupetta” brand. “It’s a tasty dish, you have to be very careful about the balance of flavors and the right cooking of the pasta, otherwise you can easily miss it,” he explains. “There is no need for added salt thanks to the guanciale, so you have to let the salt in this dish reveal itself and it’s quite an art!”.
The inspiration might therefore be foreign, but the know-how is very national. Italy has just asked for its cuisine – carbonara included – to be listed as a world heritage site.