According to the Daily Mail, Heinz is aiming to offer Generation Z a ready-to-eat pasta dish that will be sold for just £2 in the UK. It is aimed primarily at young people who do not want to or do not know how to cook and prefer instant dishes that can simply be popped in the microwave to heat up.
This first canned pasta launched by an American brand in more than a decade has been heavily criticized by professionals. In their opinion, canned carbonara often contains a large amount of preservatives, flavor enhancers and other additives that significantly distort the original taste of this dish, revered throughout the world. An authentic carbonara, composed of five main ingredients (pasta, guanciale, pecorino cheese, egg and pepper), should be served immediately after preparation. Everything else is a pathetic imitation.
The chef of the Michelin-starred Pipero restaurant, Alessandro Pipero, has compared canned carbonara to “cat food.” Among the most ardent critics is chef and TV presenter Gianfranco Vissani, who does not mince his words: “I would send them (the producers – RG note) to a well-known address. By making such proposals, they are destroying Italian culture. Our cuisine should be ashamed. They are trying to innovate for themselves. This product has nothing in common with Italy except the name.” The chef of another Michelin-starred restaurant, Glass Hostaria, Christina Bowerman, also harshly criticized the new product: “I think it is a terrible idea. There is a risk that consumers will try this canned version before the original, and most likely they will. “Disappoint you with carbonara once and for all.”
This is not the first time that foreigners have invaded the “sacred”. In 2020, Romans were horrified by the “nightmarish carbonara” of the famous British chef Gordon Ramsay, and in 2021, The New York Times caused outrage with its version of the dish with roasted tomatoes (Smoky Tomato Carbonara). Italians are no less emotional and reject all accusations of gastronationalism when in those same States they include pizza with pineapple on restaurant menus or serve it with ketchup, often accompanying this culinary disgrace with a giant cup of cappuccino.
