Where was Carbonara created? It’s a question Italians don’t want to hear the answer to

The traditional Carbonara dish, whose five ingredients accompanying the pasta are pork cheek, pecorino cheese, egg, salt and pepper. - Copyright Andrew Medichini/AP

By Euronews

Published on 31/03/2023 - 12:13•Updated 13:15

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Where was Carbonara created? One academic says it's not Italy, which is an answer causing shock and outrage in the country.

Carbonara: a dish drenched in a delicious combination of eggs, bacon and cheese, is famous worldwide. But where did it come from? If your first thought was Italy, you might be wrong.

"The first recipe that was publicised is from 1953 in Chicago. Many Italians went to America, so practically all the cooking — all the Italian kitchen is Italo-American, " Professor Alberto Grandi, a gastronomic historian at the University of Parma, said.

As the legend goes, an early version of the dish was created for American soldiers who landed in Italy during World War II. It then travelled across the Atlantic, where the first recipe for the pasta was written down just a couple of years later.

But Prof Grandi's answer to a question no one was asking has sparked controversy and outrage in Italy.

Watch Euronews' report in the video player above to learn more.

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