Italian
food is something of an American staple these days, and it tends to
be one of the "big three" options for going out to dinner.
Italian food is delicious, wholesome and it’s easy to see why so
many Americans love it. Want to know more about the history of
Italian food in America? Read on to find out more.
When
did Italian food come to America?
Italian
food as we know it today came to America in the late 19th and early
20th centuries with the wave of Italian immigrants that poured into
the country during those periods, bringing their love of cooking with
them. Foods like pasta and tomato sauce from Sicily, and risotto and
polenta from northern Italy, began to gain popularity in the US,
especially in the major eastern cities like New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia. Italian chefs also discovered that the US had something
Italy did not: a ready and inexpensive supply of high-quality meat.
Many of the most popular Italian meat dishes, from spaghetti and
meatballs on up, were developed during the early days of Italian food
in America.
Why
did Italian food become so popular?
The
reason the popularity of Italian food spread so widely and quickly in
the US was that many enterprising Italian families opened
restaurants. The family-operated restaurant was (and still is) common
in Europe, and for many years it was common in the US as well,
allowing Italian Frankfort,IL Restaurant
with unique recipes to spring up all over the country. Italian
cookbooks and ingredients became commonplace as well, allowing
families to cook their own Italian meals in the home.
Finally,
the advent of chain restaurants cemented the popularity of Italian
food in the present day. While family restaurants still exist, the
convenience and consistency of getting Italian food at an Olive
Garden or a Pasta House, or getting pizza delivery in Frankfort, IL,
is what keeps Italian food so popular and ubiquitous in the US today.
