Peter Aitken wrote:

> "Dimitri" > wrote in message
> . com...
>
>>"sf" > wrote in message
. ..
>>
>>>On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 21:22:35 GMT, "Dimitri"
> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Just to be clear the original recipe has the following:
>>>>
>>>> Pancetta not bacon
>>>
>>>Those of us who don't like pancetta can substitute bacon...
>>>we think the taste isn't the same, it's better.
>>
>>Then call it smoked carbonara or bacon carbonara.
>>
>>That is like saying, I like Asian pears better that apples so I'm going to
>>make an apple pie using Asian pears but I'll continue to call it an apple
>>pie.
>>
>>Carbonara is made with Pancetta not bacon, not ham, not sausage, not
>>molinari, not Genoa, it's made with Pancetta. For goodness sake make it
> with salmon jerky if you like but call it something else.
>>
> Unfortunately for your claims, Dmitri, carbonara sauce is properly and
> traditionally made with smoked American style bacon. In fact it has been
> suggested that the sauce originated in WW2 when American soldiers would take
> bacon to local women and ask them to make a sauce with it. In Italy it is
> usually made with smoked bacon but in Rome the bacon is sometimes replaced
> with pork jowl. The use of pancetta is a substitute for the pork jowl.
>
> This information comes from Marcella Hazan's cookbook.

The extension of this conjecture on origin is that it was made with
the ingredients of the rations that the GI's carried including
powdered eggs. Yum. But, hey, better than not eating.

Carbonara isn't properly a sauce, like Alfredo isn't a sauce. Both are
techniques that dress cooked pasta with ingredients rather than pasta
and separately-prepared sauce combined for service. They're more
accurately described as assembled rather than combined.

Smoked foods aren't commonly found in the Italian larder. Even today,
smoked bacon is a relative rarity in Italy. I had a carbonara variant
in Milan made with a good Italian Speck (smoked ham) some years ago.
The smoke flavor was considerably more subtle than bacon and I liked
it better.

Pastorio