PUNTOITALY N°2 - July - December 2012

59 Learn in Italy to distinguish what is authentic What is the best way to get to know Italian products and learn to distinguish them from the numerous imitations? The answer is very simple: just try them in person. Italy has a great reputation for tourism and is rich in history and art which always fascinate travellers from all over the world. The easiest way to come into contact with the genuine, original products of a particular region is the- refore to plan a trip to Italy. In the pauses between visits to museums or monuments, you will immediately find in every single town restaurants, delicatessens, wine shops and shops in general that will give you the oppor- tunity to learn what local food and wine really tastes like. It is easy to discover and recognise the real Italy. Italy is one great theme park, in which the joys of the palate are a great international attraction. Tasting is believing! Beware of Imitations The entire made-in-Italy food and drink sector is infected by the gro- wing phenomenon of international “piracy” which steals and de- contextualises words, colours, localities, images, names and recipes which belong to Italy, using them to disguise products that have no connection whatsoever with the real Italy. It is therefore vital that people abroad know how to recognise a product that is truly Italian. Here is a short list of the products that are most copied. Cheeses. Parmigiano Reggiano is the Italian food speciality most imitated in every part of the world. However, Brazilian Gorgonzola, the Pecorino Romano produced in Illinois with cow’s instead of sheep’s milk, Danish and Swedish Fontina made completely diffe- rently from how it is made in Val d’Aosta, American Asiago or Ger- man Cambozola, a gross hybrid, are only some of the curious interpretations to be found in the five continents. Charcuterie. The list is long also for charcuterie, with the presence on tables in the global market of “Italian” pancetta, coppa and pro- sciutto with the label “Made in California”, but also of false Tuscan or Milanese salami, or even Soppressata Calabrese. The specialists in imitations with no holds barred play cleverly on terms associated with Italy, and so “Daniele”, “Genoa”, “Milanesa”, “Cacciatore” in- filtrate the names of products, to suggest origins that are not openly expressed, because if they were they would be fraudulent. Olive oil. Here too there are plenty of cases of imitation of one of the products that is a symbol of the Mediterranean diet, with incredible concoctions of names. Thus we find “Pompeian olive oil” which has nothing to do with the excavations at Pompeii but is produced in Ma- ryland, or the “Romulo” olive oil from Spain with an image of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus on its label, or again the “Tu- scan Sun olive oil,” produced in the USA, or also the “Toscana olive plantation oil” spread throughout Australia. Pasta. “Neapolitan spaghetti”, “Milanesa pasta”, “Milaneza taglia- telle and capellini”, “Tuscan risotto and polenta” are some of the names used for the numerous imitation products found all over the place. The phenomenon of counterfeiting extends from the pasta to the sauce: pomodori pelati “grown domestically in the USA” or “Salsa Bolgnese from Australia” are two classic examples, while the phenomenon of Chinese “pomodorini di collina” has even hit the Italian home market. THE ITALIAN MAGAZINE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS IN GELATO, PASTRY AND TRENDY FOOD-AND-DRINK