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Spaghetti Bolognese Doesn’t Come From Bologna Says Mayor Of Bologna

The Mayor of Bologna is becoming ever such a little bit testy over Spaghetti Bolognese – and rightly so. For it doesn’t come from Bologna and you’d not be able to get a plate of it there either. It’s as with Neapolitans regarding whatever it is they do in Chicago and pizza. They might call it that, the deluded might even enjoy it but really, nowt to do with us.

There are details about the dish – Bolognese would not be made with minced beef but with a 50/50 mixture of beef and pork. Which herbs used matters, garlic not being one of them. There’s also the major point which is that the sauce is actually ragu. And as a strong and possibly chunky sauce it’s not one that would ever be matched with spaghetti. Entirely the wrong sort of stodge for that. Should be with tagliatelle.

To give an idea of the faux pas here, it’s like horseradish with roast lamb, yorkshire puddings with leg of pork, mint sauce on chicken. Just, you know, wrong, an abomination unto Nuggan.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The mayor of the city of Bologna has launched an online campaign to raise awareness of the fact that spaghetti bolognese is not something people in Bologna actually eat.
It may be loved around the world, but spaghetti bolognese is actually hard to find in Italy – at least outside of tourist-oriented restaurants.
In Bologna, where many people believe the dish to be from, you’re much more likely to find tagliatelle al ragù on a restaurant menu – thicker strands of pasta in a thinner tomato sauce.[/perfectpullquote]

No, they’re serious about this:

Really:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] The Mayor of Bologna has launched an awareness campaign to untangle the reputation of his city from the pasta wrongly thought to originate there. Spaghetti Bolognese is a favourite around the world but has no particular tie to the city in north Italy. “Dear residents, I am collecting photos of spaghetti Bolognese from around the world (speaking of fake news). This one is from London, please send me yours,” wrote Mayor Virginio Merola on social media earlier this week. Pictures rolled in of Knorr “spaghetti Bolognese” sauce spice mix from Austria, a sad, plastic confection of overcooked pasta from Utrecht, a jar of Heinz sauce from Ocado in Britain and a black board offering “Bolonske Spagety” in Moravia. [/perfectpullquote]

Ghastly:

It’s like crimping your pasty along the top. And which fool would ever do that?

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Tim Worstall

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  • French fries aren't French. German chocolate cake isn't German but named for someone whose last name was German. English muffins aren't English albeit created by a Brit living in the States. Australian Shepherds aren't Australian. It's about time someone started trying to fight against this growing problem.

    • And Danish pastries aren't Danish either (the Danes know them as wienerbrød or 'Viennese Bread'). But English muffins are English - although they bear no resemblance to the puffed-up monstrosities from the wrong side of the pond.

  • It is in fact the pasta shapes that are regional. Spaghetti Bolognese does not exist as a dish in Italy because they did not have spaghetti in Bologna, it is a Southern Italy pasta where they don’t have ragu, instead tomatoe sauces or shell fish.

    In the same way risotto is North Italian where the rice is grown.

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Tim Worstall

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