Food For Thought

Foodfare, culture, and authenticity

This week in class we learned about what makes an "authentic" Italian meal and the food culture in Italy.

This week was incredibly interesting since food is so deeply ingrained in our lives here in Italy on a day-to-day basis. We visited a few markets and some grocery stores to compare the differences between what is catered toward local people or tourists.

San Lorenzo Market:

The San Lorenzo market was a great experience, and I have been back many times since our first field visit. This market was two levels, with local producers on the bottom selling produce, meats, cheeses, breads, and more. The top level was catered towards tourists with restaurants drawing people in with signs with pictures, english, and fun graphics. It was interesting to see the difference between the two levels. I really liked the first floor, since all the

Sant'Ambrogio Market:

The Sant'Ambrogio Market was the first market I had been to in Italy. It really opened me up to the value Italians hold on fresh and local produce. Only the fruits and vegetables that are in season were being sold, and the prices were good compared to what is paid in the United States for organic produce. I purchased tomatoes and I loved the taste of them. At home, I usually don't like eating tomatoes plain but here I love eating them. I noticed they went bad quicker due to less preservatives, but that improves their flavor!

Vivi Market:

The Vivi Market sold many diverse foods that I had not seen in grocery stores up until this visit. Each aisle had foods from different countries. It was interesting to see which food was chosen to represent each country. The prices were a bit expensive since it is a niche store within the city, and this food can't be found in many other places close to the city-center.

Eataly:

Eataly was a grocery store selling only Italian foods. This is a chain store, with locations are Italy and internationally. So many of the signs throughout the store had the goal of linking the producer to the consumer. It seemed as though this store may have been aimed more at tourists. The signs were in both English and Italian, which caters towards tourists seen below.

Throughout each of these field visits I noticed how the importance of local and fresh ingredients is always emphasized. Each market had local produce sold by local merchants. The grocery stores made sure to emphasize where each product was coming from if it was packaged produce, through signs and advertisements.

As time has gone on, the lines between regional cuisines in a region have become blurred. Since technology has connected all parts of the world, it's easier to share ingredients, ideas, and traditionally foods all throughout a country or even internationally. In the US, one street may have food from 30 different regions or countries. In the historic city centers in many Italian cities, the local food traditions are preserved. There are regulations put forth that do not allow for non-local cuisine to be in the city-centers. this means that you will not see a large diversity of food within Florence, which was done to preserve the 'Italianness' and the 'aesthetic' of the city. I think it is important to preserve the traditional foods and support local producers. However, I also think it would be good to allow for some diversity in replacement of some of the less "authentic" and "tourist trap" restaurants seen throughout the city.