They're very serious about "authenticity" but much of it was invented post-WW2. It's an intentional national cultural project more than some ancient tradition.
Genuinely absurd fascist shit going on with that, like you have random bumfuck towns issuing public denouncements about how a michelin star chef broke the papal edicts by placing a single mildly smashed clove of garlic in his recipe for a tomato sauce named after bumfuck lombardy.
And in their denouncement they cite that their special tomato sauce has over 1000 years of unbroken tradition and history, and adding garlic is spitting on that.
Adding tomatoes like over half the way through those 1000 years does not count however.
People get really fucking goofy about Italian food.
Like oh, this cuisine unlike any other is based on having fresh and high quality ingredients?
Sorry, British food also gets better if you have top quality ingredients and spend endless hours making sauce or stock for them.
They're very serious about "authenticity" but much of it was invented post-WW2. It's an intentional national cultural project more than some ancient tradition.
Genuinely absurd fascist shit going on with that, like you have random bumfuck towns issuing public denouncements about how a michelin star chef broke the papal edicts by placing a single mildly smashed clove of garlic in his recipe for a tomato sauce named after bumfuck lombardy.
And in their denouncement they cite that their special tomato sauce has over 1000 years of unbroken tradition and history, and adding garlic is spitting on that.
Adding tomatoes like over half the way through those 1000 years does not count however.