The British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC for short, publishes recipes from all over the world in the Food category on its website. In most cases, they are well received by users, as the reviews on the website and on social networks show. But now a recently published recipe is causing a real storm on the internet. TRAVELBOOK reveals what it is.
If there’s one dish you won’t find in any restaurant in Italy, it’s Pizza Hawaii. And even here in Germany, when it comes to combining ham and pineapple as a pizza topping, opinions differ: some love it, others hate it. A Hawaiian spaghetti recipe, which the BBC posted online in early April, is now providing new fuel in this regard. “A family-friendly pasta recipe that makes the best of canned food,” writes the BBC’s creative genius.
And not everyone likes it. “An insult to Italian cuisine, I’m out!”. “It’s sad.” “God in heaven, what kind of horrible recipe is that?” – This is how most of the reactions on Facebook and Twitter can be seen on the food that contains ham and pineapple (both canned) and oil, onion, garlic. and “fat cheese” included. A Twitter user writes about these components: “The BBC has declared war on Italy.” The BBC community is also ruthless on the site, giving Spaghetti Hawaii just 1.5 out of 5 stars.
And even those who like to eat pizza with pineapple refuse the recipe with the spaghetti version. “I love Hawaiian pizza, but the thought of Hawaiian spaghetti never appeals to me,” writes one Facebook user. Another user said, “I love pineapple on pizza, but pasta has reached my limit.”
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What do Italians say about Spaghetti Hawaii?
But do Italians themselves really find food so scary? Obviously yes. “It’s absolutely impossible,” Rita Santomauro, who runs a hotel on the Italian island of Panarea, tells TRAVELBOOK. “For us Italians, there is neither Pizza Hawaii nor Spaghetti Hawaii. Pineapple has no place in salty foods, only in sweets. Former Berlin-based TRAVELBOOK writer Francesco Marino is not sure about the combination of pineapple and pasta. But he admits: “I’m already less critical of Hawaiian pizza, I buy it frozen from the supermarket every now and then, maybe for a party… I’ll never ask for it in restaurants: first, because a good pizza doesn’t need a combination There are strange ingredients. And secondly, because a real Italian pizzeria doesn’t have Hawaiian pizza on the menu.”
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Some Italians also took to Twitter under the BBC post and commented on Spaghetti Hawaii. “Such a thing is just a crime,” writes one. “More proof that ‘British’ and ‘food’ don’t mix,” says another.
After all, there are some favorable comments among users. “Why not, I’ll give it a try,” reads one Facebook comment. “I love it,” wrote another user. Whether Spaghetti Hawaii will ever make it onto the menu of Italian restaurants remains more than doubtful.