[Thoughts on the Table – 54] True or False? 15 Stereotypes on Italy, with Nick Zingale

15 stereotypes on Italy

Is it true that Italians drink espresso all the time? Live with their parents until they’re 30 years old? And that they all know how to dress up? In this entertaining episode, Nick and I will try to debunk these and many more stereotypes on Italy and on the Italians. But will we succeed?

As usual, your feedback is appreciated! Please share your thoughts in comments or by contacting me.

This episode uses sounds from freesoundRinging bell by domrodrig, and Buzzer by Timbre.

   
Paolo Rigiroli

Author: Paolo Rigiroli

Now based in the UK, Paolo is an Italian who lived in Canada for nearly 18 years and blogs about Italian food and its many aberrations.

2 thoughts on “[Thoughts on the Table – 54] True or False? 15 Stereotypes on Italy, with Nick Zingale”

  1. Another great podcast. I think you may have found your “Watson”, Paolo…

    As far as the stereotypes are concerned I can tell your I have at least one Italian friend who can’t cook. Or at least that was the case years ago when I knew her, as a med student in New York. Her Mom back in Italy was an absolutely fabulous cook. It seemed that, in this case, however the apple DID fall far from the tree….

    Of course, there may have been extenuating circumstances: being a med student doesn’t leave much time for honing your culinary skills, and as an Italian cooking in North America for the first time, you need to learn how to coax flavor out of less than optimal ingredients. And I’ve also found that the children of great cooks sometimes don’t ever learn to cook themselves, they’re happy to let their parent keep on cooking for them indefinitely.

    1. Thanks, Frank, I agree about Watson! Nick, I’ll explain later 🙂

      You’re absolutely right about Italians who can’t cook because their parents keep on cooking. I think this is a place where another stereotype kicks in: people live with their parents until they’re 30 years old. My mother told me that she only learned to cook when she got married – before, her mother took care of it. But she moved out when she was 23. Now the average age for getting married is much higher, and people may not get to practice their cooking until much later in their life. They would still know some basics from having observed their parents, but they may not be nearly as good cooks as they are.

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