How Italians eat pasta: 5 etiquette rules you didn't know about

If you've ever ordered a plate of pasta in Italy, you might have noticed that you're not just ordering food—it's an entire experience that comes with its own set of rules that shouldn't be broken. How Italians eat pasta is a whole art. But you can learn it!

Content Do not cut the pasta into pieces Eat the pasta only with a fork Do not ask to wrap the pasta with you Do not rush to add Parmesan to the pasta How Italians eat pasta: eating the sauce is also of great importance How Italians eat pasta: conclusions

WomanEL suggests learning the basic rules for eating pasta that you need remember before you go on a culinary adventure in Italy.

Do not cut the pasta into pieces

Be careful: cutting pasta in Italian restaurants is one of the main violations of etiquette. Your food is supposed to be eaten slowly – the idea is to savor every bite, so the food should not be consumed in such a way that it can simply be shoved into your mouth. Secondly, slicing disrupts the harmony of the dish. If spaghetti was supposed to be shorter, it would have been made shorter in the first place.

Eat pasta with a fork only

Another belief that should be discarded immediately is that you can use a spoon to eat spaghetti. This is categorically untrue. Instead, you need to take a fork, stick it in the middle of the plate and twist until it is surrounded by spaghetti. Only then will you be able to gracefully bring them to your mouth.

Don't ask to wrap your pasta to go

Every meal in Italy – be it appetizers, entrees, main courses or desserts – is significantly smaller than your typical fast food meal. The belief is that diners will arrive at a restaurant hungry enough to eat an entire plate of pasta (or whatever they order), and even for a petite person this shouldn't be too difficult. So, don't expect to be able to take the food home with you.

Firstly, they will look at you strangely. Secondly, the very taste of Italian pasta is delicious when it is just prepared (and not when you heat it up in the microwave at home). Thirdly, the establishment itself may not have containers for take-out food.

Do not rush to add Parmesan to the pasta

Cheese has a strong flavor and texture, and too much of it risks ruining the dish. Where you can sprinkle Parmesan cheese: in pasta with marinara sauce, Bolognese and their variations. Avoid adding it to pasta with truffles, fish, shellfish, etc. Parmesan in these dishes can overpower the unique flavor profile.

How Italians Eat Pasta: Eating the Sauce Is Also Important

Another thing that Italians don't understand, besides the mad rush to eat pasta, is too much sauce on the plate. In Italy, if you are in a decent restaurant, you will not find pasta covered in sauce. Despite this, some of the sauce will most likely spill over the sides of the plate.

Here you will need scarpetta. In Italian, the word means “little shoe,” and it refers to the piece of bread you have to break off from the loaf in the communal bread basket that no doubt sits on your desk. This is not only the most elegant way to eat the sauce, but also the most delicious.

Etiquette rules for eating pasta in Italy, Source: pexels.com