DD Support Board and Research Team

[janice shell]

There is no 'write' way to prepare, combine, or CONsume foods.

Of course there is. If you prepare your food incorrectly, it will be inedible, and in some cases dangerous. Think e.Coli and other sources of "food poisoning". There can also be other problems. Cassava, for example, is a popular vegetable in many cultures. But if you don't prepare it "write", you may die:

It is a good source of nutrients, but people should avoid eating it raw.

Raw cassava contains cyanide, which is toxic to ingest, so it is vital to prepare it correctly. Also, there are two types of cassava: sweet and bitter. Bitter cassava is hardier but has a much higher cyanide content. Most of the cassava used in the United States is sweet.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323756

There are other foods like it. Fugu would be one.

What is strange about prosciutto? People eat dry cured ham, or ham cured in other ways, in much of the world. What's strange about fish sauce? It's been a staple since ancient times.

Kimchee is not "spoilt vegetation". It's fermented vegetation. So is sauerkraut. Which, perhaps surprisingly, is believed to have originated in China. And you have some odd ideas about what's "rotted". Though I'll give you cheese and meat so "aged" they have worms.

I dew knott deign to instruckt otters on how they ught to make or CONsume their casseroles, lutefisk, Jello salats, Cream of Mushroom drowned pork chops, or fish boil. I do knott demand CONformity wiff any food or method of madness preparation thereof.

You missed my point, which I think was pretty clear. It was about cultural traditions.

I like chikkin and pasta. So do 'Talyuns (see chikkin parmagiana con pasta - I has bin to Parma, e tu?

Of course I have. But while you can probably get Chicken Parm at some Italian restaurants, I can't recall ever having seen it. It's best-known as a staple of Italian-American cuisine, and originated not in Parma, but in southern Italy. Melanzane (eggplant) alla Parmigiana was an earlier version, popular among southern Italians who couldn't afford chicken often. Interestingly, food historians believe the "parmigiana" in the dish's name has nothing to do with the city, and have proposed a couple of Sicilian words it may be derived from:

Italian food writer Clifford A. Wright notes the argument of Sicilian food authority Pino Correnti, who theorized that the word parmigiana derives from the Sicilian word damigiana, which describes a wicker sleeve used for wine bottles and the hot casserole used to prepare and serve melanzane alla Parmigiana. Meanwhile, other Italian food experts believe its origins comes from the Sicilian word palmigiana, referring to the horizontal slats on a roof, which they say resembles the layering of eggplant slices in the dish.

https://www.paesana.com/blog/the-story-behind-chicken-parmigiana

The author of that interesting history doesn't quite buy that theory. Certainly "damigiana" doesn't have much relevance; it's just the Italian (not Sicilian) for "demijohn".

Here in the States--and in some parts of Europe outside Italy-- chicken parm is often served with a side of pasta. In Italy, pasta is not a side, except perhaps at some tourist restaurants. It is a first course. Or, in casual restaurants, mostly pizzerie, it can be a main course.

Tradition. And culinary culture.