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In this fourth episode of the Italian American Power Hour, John, Pat, Stephanie and Rossella, discuss the many familiar brands and Italian American products that are intrinsically and uniquely associated with the Italian American experience.  We discuss the roles they played in forming our community’s sense of identity, how their development reflected our community’s own, and the hold they still have on us today.

Tweetables:

• “I’ve lived all over the country and everywhere I go I have to find my sort of mothership headquarters, Italian American landmark that I can rely on for my ingredients, for socializing, just to get a dose of the culture.” – John Viola
• “Manhattan Special is a sign of authenticity for a place no matter where I go.” – John Viola
• “If you don’t know Stella D’oro, you probably got to our show by accident” – John Viola
• “I think it’s even more than the Italian American experience in the New York area, but the immigrant experience, because a lot of the European immigrants also bought the Stella D’oro cookies.” – Pat O’Boyle
• “In the post-war era you could eat cookies every day. God Bless America.” – Pat O’Boyle
• “If anything, people are going back to the basics” – Rossella Rago [on Italian American food]
• “That gap of 40 or 50 years from when we walked away from it to when we walked back, we’ve lost a lot of the traditions because people don’t know how to make the escarole and beans because their mother didn’t”. -Pat O’Boyle
• “I don’t know if pasta and potatoes or peppers and eggs are stuff that people are making on a regular basis anymore, but I think there’s a lot of interest in it and I think they are real heirlooms.” – John Viola
• “Are people going to a chain Italian restaurant for a plate of escarole and beans? They’re not. They’re going for pseudo-Italian American food.  It’s not the food that brought our people the longevity that they have.” – Pat O’Boyle
• “While the most clicked on recipe is not an authentic Italian recipe, I assure you the ones in the top 10 are authentic.” – Rossella Rago
• “I think the way Italian Americans should be eating is seasonally, but we have to remember we’re not in Italy anymore.” – Rossella Rago
• “We weren’t allowed to have a microwave in the house because my mother believed it would kill us.” – Rossella Rago
• “Italians and Italian Americans, we’re obsessed with digestion.” – Rossella Rago
• “Go out and buy them. Support the tribe!”. – Pat O’Boyle [on Italian American products]

 Grazie Mille,

Anthony Fasano and Dolores Alfieri Taranto
Co-Hosts, The Italian American Podcast