I’m pretty laid back most of the time but everyone has a few pet peeves, me included. Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to Italian? Here are three of mine:
- It’s spelled: Bruschetta – It’s pronounced: brus-kett-a (not “brusheta”) Why? beacause in Italian “che” is a hard C.
- If I only order one, it’s a PANINO…. not a Panini! (It really irks me if the person behind the counter asks me if I meant Panini. NO!)
- If it’s not made with mozzarella di bufala it shouldn’t be called a Caprese Salad in my opinion… how about another name? A) “tastless” mozzarella salad? B) “rubbery white ball” salad? C) An “add lots of salt and pepper” salad? D) a “what the hell is this Sh*t!” salad?
Panino = Singular : Panini = Plural
What are some of your Italian Pet Peeves??
Us Greeks cringe when Tzatziki is mucked up or something easy like Souvlaki.
Says those correctly and I’ll get Broos-ketta right! lol
Just teasin’ ya but being Greek I emphathize with your peeves.
Joe, Have a glass of chianti or some sangiovese and relax. Not everyone has the benefit of Italian ancestors or studying the language. At least they’ve embraced a cuisine we always knew was superior
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Here’s another: pronouncing Bellagio–bellajzhio, like the French g. Hello? It’s Italian, so it should be pronounced like the English J. Or how about Digiorno as in Dijzhorno? Drives me crazy!!!
Joe,
Bruschetta bothers me too. What bothers me about the Grazie, is how tourists say it, Grassi, Grazzee.
makes me cringe..
ciao ciao
One thing that bugs me is when people call all pasta, ‘macaroni’. There are so many different types of pasta. In my family we all have our favorites. My mom loves perciatelli, I love rigatoni, my kids and husband love spaghettini. My little one loves Acine di pepe (sp?)in soup.
Ciao
I’m with you Joe – especially on the bruschetta one. If they’re going to serve it, they should at least know how to pronounce it. OK, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but try to get close anyway. Not that the bruschetta they serve is anything like the real thing but….
Saying EXpresso instead of espresso.
re: panino/panini I’ve notice that same mistake when it comes to a certain ricotta filled pastry.
You’ve got another vote for bruschetta here.
What I’d like to know is whether you say “rizohtoh” for risotto? And, if you do, whether you feel a little pretentious doing so? (If you get my drift.)
The people that insist on saying “I”talian, instead of “It”alian. Do we call our homeland “I”taly????
ooo..that macaroni comment hurt. Ouch! LOL
I don’t get mad at how people pronounce. If they like my food and try to pronounce it, that’s good enough for me
My biggest peeve for me is hands down bruschetta. The other one that irks me is when people mispronounce gnocchi….it’s not ga-nah-key people!!
My peeve is gnocchi…it’s really not that hard to say it right
Thanks! I learned how not to piss off an Italian today! Panino I will remember and use now.
I was going to say the exact same thing Anna posted, I cringe when people ask, “are you “I” talian??
I have to admit I am guilty when it comes to cannoli — I never ask for one (cannolo). Ah, well, I have to agree with Maryann, as long as they enjoy the food and at least try to pronounce it, I’m fine with that.
Now, “I”talian is another matter …. !
Besides the mispronunciation of bruschetta and saying eXpresso for espresso, my peeve is when someone says gelati as in Let’s get a gelati. I understand that Italian can be complicated and I sure have made my share of errors, but after being corrected many times and then continuing to say these things…I just don’t get it.
Well, being an Italian from Italy I should have no peeves, but I loved you idea of a “what the hell is this Sh*t!” salad.”
Yes, mozzarella di Bufala is mandatory in Caprese, no doubt.
PS
I also loved the ga-nah-key thing. Btw, do you think Italians correct foreigners a lot about the language? I don’t think they are like the French when one asks for directions: the French first correct you, then they tell you the info requested.
Or maybe I got it all wrong. I don’t quite understand what this pet peeve means
Peter – Deal! By the way, speaking of Cultural Centers… the Greek Cultural Center we have here is HUGE.
Joan – I may need a bottle!
Rose – I’m glad I’m not the only one.
Katie – I’m with ya.
Anna – I knew Maryann was going to chime in on your comment.:) I agree.. but don’t tell Maryann!
Mary – I agree.. if you’ve got it on your menu, your people should be able to say it correctly.
NYCRagazza- I’ve heard the EXspresso one is a big pet peeve from lots of people.
Sally – It’s sad but I haven’t ventured into making risotto. What kind of Italian am I!?
Anna-That’s beyond pet peeve!
Maryann – good point… and I knew you would have something to say about the Macaroni.:)
LuLu&Foodhunter – yes the “gn” is tough for some people… try living in Bologna and explaining that to your friends!
Natalie – It’s an uphill battle with Panino.
Marie – an eye for an I?
Barbara – that’s because you’re not supposed to eat just one!:)
Girasoli – I think the gelati one would get on my nerves quickly… glad I haven’t heard it.
Man of Roma – I don’t think Italians correct foreigners enough… good point. I think it’s a great way to learn. A “pet peeve” is something that annoys or frustrates you but is minor in nature.
Well, you got me thinking Joe. Because we say “pistacheeos” for pistacchi, but I’d never say: “Pass the “pistarky”, please. It would just sound odd and rather pretentious. Bit like saying: I went to Paree for the weekend, instead of Paris.
(As for the risotto… you’d better put that right.) lots of love, sally
There is a little award waiting for you on my site…Please pass by!
Funny you should mention it- I wrote an entire post about it a few months back!!
http://www.italyinsf.com/2008/06/02/menu-misspellings-and-other-italian-food-pet-peeves/
Great blog, love reading it!
Fantastic post Joe. I have so many peeves I’d better not get started! I’ll just drink the wine instead!
What is with the ‘I’talian thing? That is hilarious!
…and Joe you were born to make risotto, trust me.
Great comments tutti. amanda
I’m so with you on the bruschetta. But the one that makes me crazy is the way anything ground together is called a pesto! Ugh, it’s so American to take a good thing and work it to death.
I think mine have all been listed, but my husband hates seeing *fettuccini* on menus when we go to Canada. It drives him crazy – but then again living in Italy I have seen *flesh* on menus here!
“A panini” bothers me most, always from places passing themselves off as authentically Italian.
The bastardization of macchiato is a pet peeve. I was told once I couldn’t order it without caramel.
I had a roommate who constantly focused on Italian pronunciation. Being fairly interested in lexical precision, I can appreciate how peeved a person of Italian descent ancestry might feel when others (read: American English-speakers) defile the language. I am especially sympathetic when the affronted *actually* speaks Italian. It’s a certain miscarriage of cultural justice, to be certain, to tolerate offenses of these sort.
Of course, I suppose such Anglo-focused consumers probably have their hands full just trying to master proper English pronunciation of the alphabet, let alone mastery of its use in other languages.
I guess it’s fortunate that there is at least one place on Earth where most people won’t commit such incendiary cultural “faux pas” (pardon my French) – Italy.