Guanciale, egg, pecorino romano and black pepper four ingredients for a pasta, the carbonara, famous and replicated everywhere. The pasta dish, symbol of the culinary tradition, born poor, certainly simple and with a well-defined taste has a dedicated day, Carbonara Day, which is celebrated on April 6th.
One, none and one hundred thousand Carbonaras: thousands of interpretations confirm it as the most loved, personalized recipe, purists would say ‘profaned’ and discussed, a real queen always at the center of attention. The recent controversy triggered by the Financial Times on the paternity of the dish (American according to the scholar Alberto Grandi) which ended up on the front pages of the whole world. But if paternity can be relentless, there is no doubt that pasta alla carbonara is one of the classic dishes of the Roman tradition (with cacio e pepe and amatriciana).
The variants of this first course are proof of its popularity. There are those who are faithful to the original, those who propose variations on the theme and those who distort it with unrecognizable versions, such as the New York Times Tomato Carbonara which, again, infuriated the network.
To establish whether the “revisited” carbonare or the original are more widespread on the web, the pasta makers of the Unione Italiana Food have commissioned AstraRicerche the first Carbonara census in the world, analyzing the most viral trends of reinterpreted carbonaras on the web. In 36% of cases it is “wrong” recipes, which it is even a bit risky to call Carbonara (and who live purely abroad). 61% of the preparations remain faithful to the purist #TheRealCarbonara or add acceptable ingredients and variations on the theme (4%). AND in the USA and in the UK the strangest searches are growing. Looking at our house, 7 out of 10 Italians know the necessary ingredients, considering guanciale (and, with a fair tolerance, bacon), eggs, pecorino or parmesan and pepper as essential. And if 6 out of 10 Italians respect the use of the right ingredients, even in our house there is a certain interpretative flair: 1 out of 5 Italians (especially men) ventures into the “differently carbonaras” with an ingredient outside the box.
Carbonara is loved so much it even be among the most ordered dishes at home, as evidenced by the order trend analyzed by Just Eat: over 5,800 kg of home orders have already been ordered in the first months of 2023 alone. Like all the great classics of our cuisine, the recipe has been reworked and used not only in the pasta sector but in general in other formats, such as arancino or pasta omelette. In short, by now there are also the ‘carbonara’ dishes that have become popular. Here is a ranking
Supplì carbonara
Carbonara Burger
Carbonara pasta omelette
Arancini carbonara
Tonnarello carbonara
E the type of pasta? The shape that is immediately associated with carbonara pasta is spaghetti, but a valid solution is represented by tonnarelli. As an alternative to long pasta, half sleeves and rigatoni are also allowed which, thanks to the serrated edges, allow the tasty cream to be retained. Regardless of your favorite version, the crunchiness of the bacon, the creaminess of the egg, the flavor of the Roman pecorino and the spicy note of black pepper place carbonara on the podium of the most ordered pastas on Just Eat, together with amatriciana and timeless lasagna. Carbonara is ordered throughout the year, especially in the colder months, with a peak of orders recorded in January; the weekend is the favorite time. As for the cities in the lead, obviously Rome, second place for Bologna where the classic version is very popular, but also the omelette and carbonata with spaghetti alla chitarra or semolina. Genoa follows, which remains faithful to tradition, Padua with the burger variant, and Palermo, also a pillar of the timeless classic spaghetti alla carbonara. Favorite variants? The supplì, followed by the arancini, the more classic half sleeves alla carbonara, but also the version in sandwich or pinsa.
