After spending several months savoring the culinary and alcoholic delights of my temporary workplace here in Northern Italy my high esteem of Italian cuisine suffered a severe blow this week when I was introduced to an aberration of one of the most popular dishes here - the world famous risotto.
It turns out that Coca Cola operate their biggest manufacturing plant in the town of Nogara, Verona district, which is not too distant from areas of country where prime rice for dishes like risotto is grown.
With the commercial power of Coca Cola I guess it had to happen. At a local week long festival celebrating risotto in a multitiude of varieties the company has a new claim to fame to poison the locals with their sugar, conservatives and flavouring enriched world famous beverage. Its called Risotto alla Durello e Coca Cola.
Local restaurants are now offering this 'new' risotto which uses one of the better Veronese wines Durello, along with a can of Coke to produce risotto.
Adulterating good Veronese wine is bad enough but Risotto with Coke? I ask you, is this progress and if so, in which direction, forwards or backwards?
Ok - I occasionally take a coke and am not entirely immune to the fact that it is one of the most unhealthly drinks around, contributing to severe obesity, diabetes, teeth rot and God knows what other side effects in folks who drink it to excess, or as in the case of many poor countries I have worked in, in place of unavailable basic foodstuffs, but it just seems to me that enough is enough and its about time folks took a stance against this manipulative commercial giant and kicked it out of key aspects of our daily life.
Maybe my venting is a waste of time since its only a matter of time before some of these DNA experts discover a new pair of chromosomes on our double helix evolutionary stamp. I guess you know their names?
Coca and Cola!
Ciao!
It turns out that Coca Cola operate their biggest manufacturing plant in the town of Nogara, Verona district, which is not too distant from areas of country where prime rice for dishes like risotto is grown.
With the commercial power of Coca Cola I guess it had to happen. At a local week long festival celebrating risotto in a multitiude of varieties the company has a new claim to fame to poison the locals with their sugar, conservatives and flavouring enriched world famous beverage. Its called Risotto alla Durello e Coca Cola.
Local restaurants are now offering this 'new' risotto which uses one of the better Veronese wines Durello, along with a can of Coke to produce risotto.
Adulterating good Veronese wine is bad enough but Risotto with Coke? I ask you, is this progress and if so, in which direction, forwards or backwards?
Ok - I occasionally take a coke and am not entirely immune to the fact that it is one of the most unhealthly drinks around, contributing to severe obesity, diabetes, teeth rot and God knows what other side effects in folks who drink it to excess, or as in the case of many poor countries I have worked in, in place of unavailable basic foodstuffs, but it just seems to me that enough is enough and its about time folks took a stance against this manipulative commercial giant and kicked it out of key aspects of our daily life.
Maybe my venting is a waste of time since its only a matter of time before some of these DNA experts discover a new pair of chromosomes on our double helix evolutionary stamp. I guess you know their names?
Coca and Cola!
Ciao!
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