Итальянские страсти

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Italians have very strict rules when it comes to making carbonara. The classic combination of Italian pasta, pork and cheese are mixed with egg yolks and pepper preferably just moments before serving to create the perfect dish.

Which is why, when jars of a pale creamy sauce labeled “carbonara” but made in Belgium using non-typical ingredients appeared in a store at the European Parliament — an institution Italy often calls on to protect its traditional foods from imitation — there was outrage.

Now, Italy’s agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, has called for an immediate investigation into an alleged culinary crime on the market shelves within the Brussels institution.

The product, made by Belgian food producer Delhaize, does not claim that the sauce was made in Italy, but it does commit the cardinal sin of using smoked pancetta instead of guanciale — pork jowl — in its recipe, critics say.