Giada de Laurentiis was a huge part of my childhood, mainly because she specialized in Italian cooking, which is perhaps the one cuisine I truly can’t live without. The first recipe I made from scratch was her one for chocolate chunk cookies with pine nuts, which I still make almost ten years later simply because I can’t get enough of the dark chocolate/nutty combo.
Even then, while her recipes are spot-on and a great way to introduce someone to Italian cuisine, her Italian pronunciations are, quite frankly, hilarious. I may not know much about Italy, but it seems pretty clear that the way she says her Italian words just isn’t how they’re supposed to sound.
1. Pancetta
Photo courtesy of @attimorestaurante on Instagram
She tends to put a long pause anytime there’s a double ‘t’ in a word, but with that pause, you very well may have enough time to make this beef ravioli and sub the bacon for pancetta (or “pahn-CHEEH-tah“).
2. Mozzarella
Photo courtesy of @burratagram on Instagram
Seems like the more syllables, the more obnoxious it sounds. If it’s any consolation, you can make a mushroom sandwich with “muhz-uh-RELL-a” cheese, which almost justifies listening to her say it.
3. Spaghetti
Photo courtesy of @hanataro on flickr.com
Here come the double t’s again. If you want to take a break from dense carbs but still want to have a ball saying “spi-GHEE-tee,” try these spaghetti squash egg cups. Portable, healthy, and protein-packed. They’re really the best.
4. Prosciutto
Photo by Renee Chiu
Oh precious, thinly-sliced salty pork, you deserve better than a pretentious enunciation. You also deserve to be the topping of a delicious arugula pizza that only takes ten minutes to make.
5. Parmigiano
Photo courtesy of @albertexoan on Instagram
Thank goodness Giada tends to disregard the “Regianno” part of the cheese though judging from the price of the hard cheese, it was probably too expensive to say the other half. Still, it’s important to keep “par-meh-JIAH-no” in your faux-cheesemonger arsenal, if you can afford it.
6. Fettuccini
Photo by Anna Heckler
You’d think that there’d be nothing fancy about saying one of Italy’s most popular dishes, but leave it to the Food Network champ to add in extra syllables, making it “eh-feh-too-CHEE-nee.” At least she follows these ten essential pasta rules.
7. Ricotta
Photo by Lynn Cooper
It’s one thing if you roll the ‘r’ at the beginning, but it’s another if you roll every damn letter. Still, you can make some fab lemon ricotta pancakes that are surprisingly easier to make than they sound (then again, it depends on how you pronounce it all…).
8. Mascarpone
Photo by Isabel Wang
The very core of any tiramisu, mascarpone cheese is creamy, slightly tangy, and light. Unfortunately, you’d never get that vibe with the way Giada blurts out the word, but at least you have a caffeine-soaked dessert to enjoy that features “mus-car-poh-NEH” cheese.
9. Linguine
Photo courtesy of @lucydeber on Instagram
Even thinking of the Pixar movie that features a character named after the pasta shape doesn’t wash away the sour taste of her verbal over-enthusiasm.
10. Bruschetta
Photo by Corrine Odom
You can say ‘bruschetta’ normally, like you’re relaxed and calm, or you can take the Giada approach and sound like you’re yelling mid-word. Whichever way you prefer, you’re still able to make this appetizer with merely dining hall ingredients, and it tastes pretty darn good (or at least better than your mediocre dining hall food).
All jokes aside, we have lots to thank Giada De Laurentiis for, especially when it comes to teaching people how to prepare Italian food quickly and easily. You’ll always be my OG chef, no matter how much I chuckle at your unnecessary enunciations.