Adding ketchup to spaghetti is considered the ultimate offence to Italian cuisine, according to Italians, surpassing the controversial act of putting pineapple on pizza, which 53% of us absolutely love to do.
Bonusfinder surveyed 1,400 Italian residents and identified the worst food crimes other countries commit against authentic Italian food.
Survey highlights:
- Nearly two in three (64.6%) of Italians say ‘putting ketchup on spaghetti’ is the worst thing you can do to Italian food.
- More than 62% of Italians find pineapple on pizza ‘very upsetting’.
- One in three of Italians admit to having abandoned a date due to a food-related reason.
The top 5 food crimes according to Italians
|
Rank |
Food crime |
% of Italians who consider this a crime |
|
1 |
Ketchup on spaghetti |
64.6% |
|
2 |
Pineapple on pizza |
62.4% |
|
3 |
Putting pasta in cold water and then boiling it |
56.9% |
|
4 |
Cutting spaghetti or linguine with a knife |
55.1% |
|
5 |
Refusing to share food with others |
52.1% |
- Putting Ketchup on spaghetti | 64.6%
The survey reveals that putting ketchup on spaghetti is the worst perceived crime against Italian food, with 64.6% of Italians finding this habit irritating. In the UK nearly 1 in 5 use ketchup as a pasta topping regularly, according to pastaevangelists.com.
- Pineapple on pizza | 62.4%
Ranking as the second worst food crime for Italians, is the infamously debated pineapple on pizza, with 62.4% finding this “upsetting”. In Naples, home of the original pizza, the percentage goes up to 64.89% of people that never want to see pineapple on their pizza. On the other hand, Brits love pineapple on their pizza with 57% finding this topping acceptable, according to YouGov.
- Putting pasta in cold water and then boiling it | 56.9%
Third is ‘putting pasta in cold water and then boiling it‘ with 56% of Italians agreeing that they find this ‘extremely wrong’. Interestingly, more than 70% of those who consider this a crime are aged over 40.
- Cutting spaghetti with a knife | 55.1%
Cutting spaghetti with a knife ranks fourth, with more than half of Italians (55%) saying that they find it wrong. However, in the UK, the same percentage (55%) said they find the act of cutting spaghetti acceptable.
- Refusing to share food | 52.1%
Ranking fifth is refusing to share food with others that, according to the survey, upset over half of Italians (52.1%).
What other food crimes made the top 10?
|
Rank |
Food crime |
% of Italians who consider this a crime |
|
6 |
Adding cream to carbonara |
50.1% |
|
7 |
Using the wrong type of pasta for a particular dish |
45.4% |
|
8 |
Putting ketchup on pizza |
42.5% |
|
9 |
Asking for cheese on a meal containing seafood |
39.3% |
|
10 |
Using a knife and fork to eat pizza |
31.1% |
Date night? These “food crimes” can cost you a date with an Italian
|
Rank |
Food Crime |
% of Italians who would consider walking out of their date |
|
1 |
Asked for ketchup with their pasta |
8.3% |
|
2 |
Refused to share food |
7.6% |
|
3 |
Ordered pineapple on their pizza |
7.2% |
|
4 |
Asked for cheese on a meal containing seafood |
5.2% |
|
5 |
Ordered garlic bread with pasta |
5.1% |
Over one in three (36.3%) of Italians admitted to ending a date early after witnessing their partner committing a food-related misdeed.
Nearly 1 out of 10 Italians admitted that they would consider leaving a date early if their date asked for ketchup on their pasta. Considering that nearly two in three think that putting ketchup on pasta is a crime against food, this does not come as a surprise.
Another red flag for Italians on first dates is not sharing food. In fact, 7.6% admitted that they would consider abandoning their date for this reason, with men being 25% more likely to contemplate walking out.
One of the most infamous food transgressions – ordering pineapple on pizza – ranks third with 7.2%, with the most affected age group being those aged 41-60 (41%). Adding cheese to a meal containing seafood is another red flag for 5.2% of the Italians surveyed, with nearly 80% being over 40. Fifth in the study is ordering garlic bread with pasta, with 5.1% admitting that they find this to be a dating red flag for their counterpart.