10 Things to know about being Italian

By Madi Parker

Despite the differences that set apart each culture, family and cooking are two topics that people of all ethnicities and backgrounds can relate. These two common factors can bring even the most different people together, even if there may be odd ingredients or family problems. As an Italian, food is one of the most important parts of life at home. For those who plan to travel to Rome, study abroad or even date an Italian, here are 10 things to know.

  1. Any type of pasta or bread is sacred. Knowing the difference between your pastas is a guaranteed way to get on an Italian’s good side.
  2. The making and preparation of spaghetti is a life or death situation. If you get even one step wrong, you’re immediately disowned and never invited to a family dinner again.
  3. Great grandmothers are holy beings who know everything. If you challenge her authority, she will beat you with anything that’s closest to her.
  4. The kitchen is a place where miracles or disasters happen. There is no in between. You either create a new way of life, or destroy it altogether.
  5. The way your spaghetti tastes and looks defines you for the rest of your life, no matter the changes you make. You make one mistake and it’ll haunt you for the rest of your living days.
  6. It takes an entire day to prepare real, authentic red sauce. Any less, your pasta will not come out right and your grandmother will come at you with a knife. I’m not joking. Beware of little old Italian ladies with a weapon.
  7. You cannot have spaghetti without having some sort of bread along with it. If you try, nothing will taste right and the world will end and chaos will ensue.
  8. The beak hand thing is a very real thing. If you see it, you did something wrong and you’re doomed for the rest of your life. Watch out for the beak hand.
  9. Cannoli is a little piece of heaven on a plate. It is cherished and loved and every Italian will fight for its reputation as the best dessert. If they don’t, then something’s wrong.
  10. Italians hold grudges until the day they die, and carry them on into the afterlife. You get on their bad side and you will never return to the sunny friendship you once held with an Italian.