Last year in northern Italy, my wife and I had many dishes including pizza that used Arugula. It tasted much different than what I’ve been able to find in the states. In Italy it was more flavorful and had a hint of a basil taste especially on pizza. I swore I wouldn’t try to compare anything food wise to what I had in Italy because it’s not simply the ingredients as part of the secret sauce… it’s the whole experience. But I thought I’d throw this out here to see what the opinions are. Thanks in advance.
by Stewie_Atl
6 Comments
As an Italian I can say that a traditional dishes taste correct only where they belong, the ingredients are extremely various and different Italian regions have many different ingredients, tomatoes taste different in Sicily than Campania or Lazio and extremely different from north Italy, so it is for all Italian products.
If you can grow it yourself, the sylvetta varietal is the closest that I have found.
Something I have noticed (and it may or may not be universally accurate) is that in USA ppl eat “baby” (i.e. young) arugula. For my taste, this stuff has little or no flavor compared to the mature plant, which has an almost peppery bite to it. Idk what the rules for arugula (roquette) are in Italy but perhaps this is ONE of the differences.
It’s not odd that people on holiday experience deeper flavours than at home but….. the Italian cuisine is more aimed at simplicity and letting the separate ingredients speak for themselves. As in the US it’s all swamped in sauce and cheese most of the times. The only exception maybe is steak.
I’ve wondered the same , maybe different variety or just fresher?
In Italy, we call it rocket