The Italian and American take on Leftovers

In the rush of western society it seems that we are all trying to get ahead. By get ahead I mean, complete our everyday tasks as quickly as possible so that we can get to the couch to watch Netflix at the end of the day. It’s a race to nowhere. This speed and efficiency idea is embodied by the concept of “meal prep”. The new, trendy idea of “meal prep” does not mean preparing ingredients for that days meal, it means preparing food for many future meals that can be reused throughout the week. If you research meal prep on pinterest, you will find many different plans on how to cook enough food to last you through the whole week, such as veggie medleys, chicken and rice, and pastas. Making your meals in advance will save you time in your journey to that nightly Netflix, and ultimately the journey to the weekend. It’s like we view the act of cooking as a burden, instead of the artful, mindful process it is. When my Italian Professor was cooking us her infamous Risotto Milanese, from her home of Northern Italy, she explained that she only makes enough risotto for the meal, so there were no leftovers. I began to wonder what the Italian take on this trendy “meal prep” was. Do Italians cook in advance or reuse meals throughout the week, or do they only cook enough food for the meal at hand? I was unsuccessful in finding information on meal prep in Italy, and what came up was “Italian” meals that could be prepped for the week in advance from American blogs.

I had to rethink what “meal prep” is. At its core, “meal prep” is just making leftovers for the whole entire week in advance. Leftovers are a topic of much debate when it comes to Italians and food. Even though the concept of wrapping up food that was not finished at dinner was invented in Rome, getting your leftovers to go is not an option in many Italian restaurants today. In my research I found that there are several reasons that leftovers are not taken “to-go” in Italy. One reason goes along with my Professor’s cooking technique with her risotto. When cooking, a chef uses enough ingredients to make the appropriate sized proportion for the meal, as not to be gluttonous. Another reason is that food is prepared to be eaten right when it is cooked in Italy. No, your leftover risotto was not meant to harden in tupperware and be nuked in the microwave until the hardened butter chunks have melted. Anything left on your plate in Italy is scrapes, and to take it home would be a sign of poverty.

It is ironic that the to-go bag concept was traced back to sixth century BC Rome, yet is looked down upon in Italy today. It’s hard to say how Italians would feel about the concept of “meal prep” that we Americans seem to be fanatic about. Since “meal prep” is literally making leftovers for the whole week that will sit in the fridge for days, I doubt that Italians would enjoy the trend. The issue of food waste has been a problem in Italy, and the Slow-Food movement has been working to encourage the use of the American coined term “doggy-bags”, to take home leftovers. I feel like the mindfulness and artfulness of Italian cooking combined with the resourcefulness of American cooking could account for a happy balance.