# Italian Rules for food and drink **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 20, 2023, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824 "2023-06-20T11:33:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/101 "2023-07-07T07:45:34Z")
yeah, I too like the rules and quirks. That’s why I started this thread, because I think they are cool. I hope that people didn’t think it was meant as a complaint. I tested the pesto last night. I made one batch with a mortar and pestle and the other with a food processor. To be honest, I could not taste any real difference. Both came out creamy (for lack of a better word. What I mean is that the oils came out and mixed nicely). And neither of them felt particularly warm to the touch. And the food processor version did not leave any sharp edges. Dunno. Maybe I just happen to have a good food processor (it isn’t anything special though), but I don’t think this particular practice made much of a difference. (full disclosure, I am not completely crazy about pesto 😆) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/102 "2023-07-07T15:24:49Z")
I’d think using a mortar and pestle allows for better control over the final product. You can more easily judge if you need a little more of this or that than you would using a food processor. Also better control over the size of the final ground ingredients. But, if you use the same ingredients without adjusting then I can see a food processor working as well. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/103 "2023-07-07T15:52:41Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > By the way, if you want to give it a try, buy a large loaf of Wonder Bread, punch a few whole in the wrapper with a fork so the air can escape, hold it like an accordion, and squeeze it as tight as you can. You can shrink it down to a packet about 6 inches wide. LOL Which, as an old (German-born) friend said, can be great fun if you like that sort of thing, but it isn’t _bread_. > [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > Another rule: pasta must never be cut with a knife Why get a knife dirty if you don’t need to? I cut it with the edge of my fork. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/104 "2023-07-07T18:38:31Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > Another rule: pasta must never be cut with a knife… Don’t break it either when trying to cook it: > **[American Girls Breaks Italian Fiancé’s Spaghetti @CarloandSarah](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lSyuu3hV0k%5C&feature=youtu.be)** > > ​@CarloandSarahFor more from Carlo and Sarah follow their instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/carloandsarahtiktok/For More Italian Videos Followhttps://www.in... ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/105 "2023-07-07T19:04:11Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > > [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > > > Another rule: pasta must never be cut with a knife > > Why get a knife dirty if you don’t need to? I cut it with the edge of my fork. And just as an aside Germans claim it is unpolite to cut potatoes, asparagus or green salad leaves with a knife or to open a boiled egg cutting off the top with a knife (which is not easy, btw, but is fun when it works). ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/106 "2023-07-08T06:27:26Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Why get a knife dirty if you don’t need to? I cut it with the edge of my fork. Sorry, I don’t know why I wrote it the way I did. What I should have said is that pasta should never be cut AT ALL. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/107 "2023-07-08T10:39:34Z")
Are you supposed to stuff an entire raviolo into your mouth? What about lasagne? ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/108 "2023-07-08T15:35:55Z")
Well, if it works for Garfield… I think the rule only applies to long pasta. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/109 "2023-07-08T17:42:16Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Germans … asparagus… Like they can talk with those ghastly white fingers they put on the plate. Come, relish the bland flavor and absent texture! I kid, I enjoyed German apsaragus. My few days there 15 years ago happened to be during the May asparagus season and it was offered at a number of places. I do think green is superior, though. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/110 "2023-07-08T17:45:50Z")
When I lived in Hungary in the late 90s/early 00s, all they sold was white asparagus. I was very confused as I had never seen it before. Definitely a more delicate flavor than green, but a bit of a pain in the ass with the peeling it requires. I did not eat a lot of asparagus in Hungary, unless it was prepared for me. And I’m not sure I ever found any green asparagus back then. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s common now. Plenty of foods that were difficult to find then I’ve found easier and easier to find in my subsequent visits over the years. (Like green celery, as opposed to the root.) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/111 "2023-07-08T21:18:12Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I do think green is superior, though. Different, with a more intensive taste, but not so tender. Both are very good, IMO. But the green variety is also not supposed to be cut with the knive. I, of course, do it, what else? Stuff the whole stalk in your mouth? OK, sometimes I do that too. Can be funny. Particularly when you feel the sudden urge to laugh or sneeze while doing it. > [@pulykamell](#): > > (Like green celery, as opposed to the root.) Nitpick: it is not the root you mean, it is the stem. Also called [hypocotyl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocotyl) in the celeriac’s/celery’s case. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/112 "2023-07-08T21:29:35Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Nitpick: it is not the root you mean, it is the stem. Also called [hypocotyl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocotyl) in the celeriac’s/celery’s case. We call it “celery root” here, at least in the US, if we’re talking about the same thing. The bulbous part of celery that is underground. Also known as “celeriac” but “celery root” is more common in my area. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/113 "2023-07-08T21:34:37Z")
You may call it that, but it is not underground. It is a stem, thick and bulbous, but a stem nonetheless. Take a look at the link above or at [this one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celery). Just a nitpick, \hijack over. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/114 "2023-07-12T06:14:37Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > what else? Stuff the whole stalk in your mouth? Pick it up and bite off a piece, I guess? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/115 "2023-07-13T23:22:59Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > But the green variety is also not supposed to be cut with the knive. I, of course, do it, what else? Stuff the whole stalk in your mouth? OK, sometimes I do that too. Can be funny. Particularly when you feel the sudden urge to laugh or sneeze while doing it. In _The Kingdom_, a 1981 history of the modern kingdom of Sau’di Arabia, Robert Lacey tells the story of the first state visit of the royal family to the United Kingdom. British diplomats had carefully tutored the Arabians in Western etiquette, including the use of knife and fork; apparently, Arabs of the Nejd then ate with their fingers and folded pieces of flatbread. According to Lacey, at their first state dinner in Iran, the Sau’dis (led by then Prince, later King Faisal ibn Sa’ud) reacted with looks of pained betrayal when their British tutors picked up the asparagus with their bare hands; and then doggedly carried on using the unfamiliar cutlery. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/116 "2023-07-13T23:43:23Z")
In my humble opinion, the structure of asparagus requires a knife and fork. The base of the stalk is tough and fibrous. The tip is soft and mushy. Cut it into four pieces. Eat the two end pieces in a single bite. Eat the two middle pieces in a single bite. That way, the too-tough parts, and the too-mushy parts, balance each other. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/117 "2023-07-14T00:47:50Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Stuff the whole stalk in your mouth? Yes. “ Asparagus is actually meant to be eaten with your fingers – as long as it is not covered in sauce.” [Have Fun with Asparagus Etiquette - Delaware Grown](https://delawaregrown.com/2019/02/06/asparagus-etiquette/#:~:text=Asparagus%20is%20actually%20meant%20to,until%20you%20reach%20your%20fingers). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/118 "2023-07-14T08:22:04Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The base of the stalk is tough and fibrous. > The tip is soft and mushy. That sounds like your asparagus is both too old (tough and fibrous at the base) and overcooked (mushy in places). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/119 "2023-07-14T08:52:19Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In my humble opinion, the structure of asparagus requires a knife and fork. I think it requires fingers, lots of butter and salt, and a nice glass of Sancerre ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824/120 "2023-07-14T09:03:25Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > You may call it that, but it is not underground. I don’t know; I think it extends into the ground. I’ve never seen them before harvesting, but they look dirty. > [@mbh](#): > > The base of the stalk is tough and fibrous. > The tip is soft and mushy. Yeah, the base ends almost always have to be trimmed. After washing them, I lay them out on a cutting board and do a few test cuts, and there’s always a tough inch or two that I end up removing. The tips cook very quickly. The best cooking method would be to arrange the stalks vertically, but it’s impractical. I recall reading many years ago that it can done in a percolator-style coffee pot (yeah, that many years ago). If you’re not concerned with cooking them whole, you can chop them and save the tips for the last few minutes of cooking time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-rules-for-food-and-drink/985824.md?page=7)