Spaghetti with Carbonara sauce is one of the most famous dishes in the world. And although the peak of its popularity was in the years 1951-1955 in the USA, so far you can taste it virtually everywhere - "from Las Vegas to the Crimea". Few, however, realize that this cream and pasta dish, associated with the traditional cuisine of sunny Italy, is a very young dish. It was established either at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries or during World War II.
Carbonara Mystery
There are no pre-1944 written sources mentioning the origin of Carbonara. However, there are three main hypotheses explaining its origin. Two of them are "purely Italian" and date back to the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century. One is that Carbonara evolved from an earlier Italian dish called cacio e nova, which made eggs, lard and cheese. The second Italian theory is that Carbonara was invented by miners from Umbria, who later brought it to Lazio.
Why miners?
How is it possible that the miners would be the creators of the creamy Carbonara? This may have been due to the time they spent underground - often several days. They were unable to store fresh food, they took mostly pasta, eggs, pecorino cheese and bacon with them. It was from the combination of these ingredients that the original Carbonara recipe was to be created. The creamy consistency of the sauce was also supposed to result from Spartan conditions: miners, having little water at their disposal, cooked pasta before going to work. Later, they boiled it again, combining it with the bactericidal infusion of sage they had brewed underground. As a result of this double cooking, the pasta became extremely sticky and the dish took on an even creamy form. This theory would explain the origin of the name of the dish - after all, carbon is carbon.
Italian - American genesis
Another, also quite probable thesis, tells about the creation of Carbonara during the Second World War. It was to be built in 1944 in Rome or Naples - when the Americans landed. There was a shortage of food in Italy at the time. One of the cooks had the idea of using American rations (i.e. bacon and powdered eggs) to make spaghetti sauce. One of the versions says that the Americans asked him for it, bored with eating the same thing all the time. Soon the street spaghetti vendors picked up the idea for this quick, cheap type of sauce and quickly began selling "Spaghetti a la carbonara". Where did the name come from then? Perhaps the sausage that was initially added to the sauce - it was "Carbonada", cooked on hot coals. Another legend says that this pasta was created by a former Roman chimney sweep who devoted himself to gastronomy.
The creator of Carbonara is alive?
Renato Gualandi is a cooking master born in 1921, known as the "prince of Italian cuisine". He is known throughout the country for his culinary highlights and cookbooks. Many consider him the actual maker of Carbonara. He describes its creation as follows: “First performed in Riccione, on September 22, 1944, on the occasion of the liberation of the city, in the presence of American generals. The recipe consisted of the following ingredients: spaghetti pasta, cream cheese, cream, bacon and powdered eggs with a charming red color. The pasta was a bit creamy and this very feature made it successful."
How to make a Carbonara?
Today we can enjoy tasty Carbonara at home. All you need to do is prepare spaghetti noodles, a packet of Knorr Fix Carbonara, some grated Parmesan cheese, 18% cream and 150 g of lean bacon. You need to fry the bacon, then you need to mix Knorr Carbonara with water and add the cream. When the sauce is creamy, just add fried bacon to it. Just mix it with the pasta and enjoy the taste!
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