Many celebrate Italian Heritage Month through cooking. But there’s more to the story than just pizza, pasta, and eggplant parmigiana.
While many reflect on the traditions of Italians and Italian-Americans this month, some are still discovering their contributions.
Last week, the Chicago Sun Times published a story by Bill dal Cerro about the ubiquitous food products and brands invented by Italians in America that have been overlooked.
Dal Cerro believes, “the achievements of Italians and Italian American weave so fully through the quilt of American culture that their threads are nearly invisible.” Dal Cerro’s theory holds up, especially when you think about food.
Take the ice cream cone. The first patent was filed by Italo Marchiony, an Italian pushcart vendor on Wall Street. (Marchiony went on to own a cone-making factory and an ice cream vendor empire in Manhattan.)
And Mr. Coffee. First-generation Italian-American, Joe Marotta, co-created that iconic drip-coffee machine popularized by baseball legend Joe Di Maggio.
And Planters peanuts. Amadeo Obici, an immigrant from Veneto, Italy, began the company after emigrating to Pennsylvania.
It’s clear that for some time, Italians and their descendants have known the recipe for success in America. To discover more of the culinary contributions and inventions by Italians read the article.