FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Molly Wright for Barilla
312-596-3457
molly_wright@chi.bm.com
NEW YORKERS LOVE LASAGNE!
Survey Shows 80 percent of New Yorkers Like Lasagne,
Enjoy Sharing Lasagne Meal with Families, Dates and Giuliani
CHICAGO (Nov. 17, 2003) – Rudy Giuliani, Joe Torre or Marissa Tomei? When asked in a recent survey1 which famous Italian-American New Yorker they’d most like to share a lasagne dinner with, 26 percent said the former mayor. Yankees Manager Torre followed with 15 percent and the Hollywood actress had 12 percent of respondents hoping for a dinner date with the star; 19 percent didn’t know who to select.2
Sponsored by Barilla, the Italian food company, the survey of 1,200 people in the New York metro area also found that 54 percent of New Yorkers said they would make lasagne for a date, while 60 percent of those surveyed in the Bronx would serve the dish to a special someone.
"Lasagne is the ideal dish to share with loved ones," said Chef Gianluca Rizza of acclaimed New York restaurant F. illi Ponte. "It’s a staple at my family’s dinner table and one of my signature dishes. Lasagne is highly versatile with an abundance of ingredient choices. Anyone can select their favorite meats, cheeses, and vegetables to create a personalized version of this classic meal."
Sunday is the day New Yorkers most likely gather around the table, and also the day they most likely would enjoy a family favorite, lasagne. In fact, almost half of the respondents named lasagne as one of their favorite meals, and nearly 80 percent agreed the traditional Italian dish is delicious whenever they eat it.
In homes throughout Italy, where lasagne dates back to the 14th century, families create lasagne with flat-rolled, thin sheets of pasta made with semolina flour and fresh eggs. The strips are layered with specially selected ingredients according to the taste of each family and region. It’s part ritual and part art form.
"Whether in Italy or in New York, home chefs can always start with the same ingredient for a great lasagne: Barilla Oven Ready Lasagne, which is rolled flat like homemade lasagne across Italy. The light texture offers great tasting lasagne, but an added benefit is that it doesn’t have to be boiled before baking, making the lasagne process easier at home," said Chef Rizza.
Battle of the Boroughs
While each region of New York favors a unique combination of cheese, vegetables and meat, lasagne’s popularity is highest in the Bronx where 53 percent of locals call it a favorite. When asked where to get the best lasagne in the New York City area, most New Yorkers said at home. Those on Long Island, the region with the highest population of people of Italian descent in the New York area, were most likely to prefer homemade.
Since almost all New Yorkers and suburbanites overwhelmingly prefer lasagne with red sauce, they may want to try Chef Rizza’s Lasagne di Carnevale alla Napoletana, a traditional lasagne from the Southern Italian region of Campania made with a tangy red sauce and mozzarella, Parmesan and ricotta (recipe attached). Manhattanites are more likely to prefer white sauce, or béchamel, a commonly used sauce for lasagne in Italy, and may enjoy Barilla Besciamella, a Northern Italian lasagne created by Chef Rizza with a delicious white sauce, asparagus, Pecorino cheese, pesto and pine nuts.
As for vegetables, the overall favorite was spinach, although a majority of those surveyed on Staten Island preferred onions. However, one-quarter of city dwellers and nearly one-third of suburbanites preferred no vegetables at all in their lasagne. Most New Yorkers prefer meat in their lasagne, with ground beef preferred by a majority of respondents. While ground beef ruled with residents of Brooklyn, they were the most likely to try other meats, with 16 percent favoring ground turkey.
Chef Rizza, who spent the first half of his childhood in Florence, Italy and moved to Queens when he was 11 said, "The New York area has such a rich Italian heritage, it’s no wonder lasagne is a favorite meal here. The dish is easy to love, no matter what your taste preferences are, or your background. It’s a deliciously satisfying dish for everyone to come together around and enjoy."
Other Interesting Findings
The survey also offered a few other tasty New York tidbits:
· Mom knows best. When it comes to baking lasagne, 37 percent of New Yorkers credit mom with their culinary skills while 32 percent claim to be self-taught.
· Enjoy one now, save one for later. Of those who make their own lasagne, 63 percent will make an extra one to enjoy later.
· They even like it cold. One-third of the men surveyed admitted to eating lasagne cold, compared to just 23 percent of the women.
About Barilla
Since 1877, the Barilla Company has been producing pasta and other grain-based foods for consumers around the world. The company’s basic animating principle has been to make these healthy products affordable to all, no matter where they might be. Barilla has remained true to its entrepreneurial roots over the past four generations, by combining ancient Italian traditions with cutting-edge technological advances. The result is a globally successful company, built on a foundation of principles that allow for continuous growth to reach ever-expanding goals.
The Barilla Group – whose brands include Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pavesi, Voiello, Wasa, Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), and Yemina and Vesta (Mexico) – is the first Italian food group, headed by the Barilla family for 125 years. The Group has 25 factories (18 in Italy and 7 abroad). It is a worldwide leader in pasta and currently realizes 31% of sales in volume in more than 100 countries.
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1The survey, sponsored by Barilla and conducted by Kelton Research, was fielded in October 2003. It was a random-digit-dialing telephone survey of men and women 18 years of age and older living in private households. The sample consisted of 1,200 adults in the New York City metro area including Manhattan, Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, Fairfield County, Bergen County, Passaic County and Union County.
2Other Italian-American New Yorkers receiving votes included Phil Rizzuto (5 percent), Paul Sorvino (5 percent), Lorraine Bracco (4 percent), Rocco Dispirito (2 percent), Mario Cantone (2 percent) and other (5 percent). Four percent refused to give an answer.
