How can you tell whether a packaged Italian food brand is authentic?
Look for evidence you can check: who makes the food and where, and whether the recipe follows the traditional dish. Check whether the family or company behind it has a documented history, and whether the label is plain about ingredients. Authentic does not require an Italian address. The Mascio family behind San Gennaro Foods, for example, has made Italian food for four generations, in Italy and then in Seattle.
What does authentic mean for a packaged Italian food?
It means the food is true to the dish it names and honest about how it is made. A packaged polenta should taste and behave like polenta. A stew base should follow the stew it is named for. Authentic is about the recipe and the people, not the flag on the box.
Who makes an Italian food brand, and where?
Turn the package over. The label names the company responsible for the food and its city. "Manufactured by" means that company makes it. San Gennaro's polenta is manufactured by San Gennaro Foods, Inc. in Kent, Washington, USA. An Italian name on the front says nothing about where the food is made.
Does the recipe follow the Italian tradition?
Polenta began in Northern Italy as a cornmeal porridge. Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian: a rustic one-pot dish from the Italian countryside. Cioppino was created by Italian fishermen on the wharfs of San Francisco in the 1800s. A brand should be able to tell you where its dish comes from and how its version follows it.
Is the brand's history documented?
Real family history has names, places and dates. San Gennaro's story starts with Nicola DiIulio, who founded a pasta company, Pastificio Maiella, in Sulmona, Italy, in 1928. In 1959 the family moved to Seattle, where Flora Mascio made fresh ravioli in the basement of the family home. Her son, Gennaro "Jerry" Mascio, founded San Gennaro Foods in 1993. Read the full story.
What should make you look twice at an Italian food brand?
Italian words with no maker behind them. A story with no names or places. Claims such as "traditional" or "imported" with nothing on the label to support them. None of these proves a product is poor, but each is a reason to read the label more closely before you buy.
What does authentic mean to San Gennaro Foods?
To San Gennaro Foods, authentic means an Italian recipe, made by the family that has made Italian food for four generations, packed so a busy household can put it on the table on a weeknight. San Gennaro's food is an age-old Italian tradition, made easy for today's busy families.