The Reason Fettuccine Alfredo Is Not Actually Popular In Italy

It's a dream for many to travel to Italy and try the country's delicacies, which of course include loads of pasta dishes. However, when many Americans visit Italy and try to order fettuccine Alfredo, a recipe we all know and love that is popular in restaurants everywhere, they tend to get some strange looks. This is because fettuccine Alfredo doesn't really exist in Italy, or at least by that name in particular. If you order fettuccine al burro, the restaurant will know exactly what you're looking for, but they will serve you a lighter dish of pasta in a buttery cheese sauce. It'll have a similarly rich, cheesy flavor, but it's not exactly what you might have expected. So, don't anticipate finding an even better, authentically Italian version of Olive Garden's Alfredo in Italy, because you'll be out of luck.

The original fettuccine Alfredo recipe, or fettuccine al burro, excludes the American staples of heavy cream and other seasonings, such as pepper and garlic, and is simply a mix of butter and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The recipe originated in Rome in 1908 from chef Alfredo di Lelio, and it would end up a popular dish at his restaurant, Alfredo alla Scrofa, in 1914 after its opening.

Di Lelio wanted to make a dish that would help his wife Ines heal after giving birth to their son. The meal needed to be something not extremely heavy but still delicious, so he whipped up a light pasta dish with lots of butter and a bit of Parmigiano Reggiano. It worked and helped Ines recover. 

The positives of this dish didn't stop there. It began to become a sensation when American movie star couple Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks visited the restaurant on their honeymoon in 1920 and raved about it to their famous friends, such as Albert Einstein and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Years later, the restaurant was visited by other icons, including Marilyn Monroe and Federico Fellini. Alfredo alla Scrofa still stands today, and it prides itself as the place where Alfredo was invented. Although fettuccine Alfredo still isn't well-known in Italy, you can get the dish almost anywhere, just under a different name.

If you can't get to Italy anytime soon, making your own original Alfredo at home is easy. All you need is a good amount of butter and cheese and some pasta water. Mix the hot pasta with the butter and cheese, and add pasta water to thin out the sauce to your liking.