While Americans react to customized, monster-sized burgers with a loud “hell yeah,” Italians take a different approach. They see their food as something to be protected. As a result, not only can you not put pineapple on pizza in Italy, but you can’t even have garlic bread with pasta. Who do these people think they are?!?!


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Fortunately, there are some out there fighting the good fight against Italian food norms. One such person recently documented a whole year of attempts at pissing off Italians — and boy, is it satisfying to watch.



In the video, Ben Reid showcases the many ways he’s managed to make Italians mad. These range from breaking pasta in half, to putting ice in his wine, to smothering his pizza in ketchup.



In my opinion, it’s about time. In March, the Financial Times published a piece documenting how many “Italian classics” are, in reality, not that old — and a decent amount of them have been strongly influenced by American cuisine. Revelations in the piece include the fact that tiramisu was largely unheard of before the 1980s; the closest thing to original parmesan can be found not in Parma, but in Wisconsin; and the first pizzeria likely opened in New York.


“For my father in the 1970s, pizza was just as exotic as sushi is for us today,” explained Italian academic Alberto Grandi.



“Authentic” or not, Italian food is pretty darn good. But after I order something, it’s mine — and if I want to add a little extra parmesan to my pizza, no Italian can stop me.