I've wondered that myself after coming back from Italy recently. But I did see a program about olive oil and one of the customs is to eat freshly baked bread with the first cold pressing of the olives.

We had it at virtually every restaurnat that my wife and I ate at in Italy. Perhaps we just went to differebt restaurants.

BTW. We think the French olive oil from Provence is the very best!

The so-called "authentic" Italian restaurants in the U.S. have all picked up this practice, usually placing the olive oil in a saucer and then sprinkling some crushed herbs into it for extra flavor. As many times as I have eaten in Italy, in all kinds of restaurants and in a few Italian homes, I have never seen this done. That doesn't mean that the practice doesn't exist somewhere in Italy; I just haven't ever seen it.

I was given the oil in a saucer in the places I ate in Rome for sure, can't recall it happening in Venice or Florence.

Do Americans serve bread with butter at every meal? Or Mexicans, tortilla chips with salsa at every meal? Or the British scones with jam at every breakfast? Probably not, but each thing might be associated with the area. Everytime I go to a Mexican restaurant I expect chips and salsa, but it doesn't mean I expect it to be authentic--served at every meal in a true Mexican home.

This is an American practice but some restaurants in Italy and Greece are starting to oblige American patrons because it is requested.
Typically I have never seen this done without asking for oil at most restaurants.
Remember that slather of oil contains more fat than required. Even though it's not saturated fat it's still overkill for most diets. Maybe that's why Americans are for the most part more overweight than Europeans.
Not a slam just a fact and yes, I'm American.

Example of why you should wear your glasses in dimly lit Italian restaurants:
Sitting in a cozy booth with my husband,they brought a little dish and put it right in front of me, then left the bread and went away.
I sat there talking to my husband, then put my hand down on the empty (I thought) dish....right into a puddle of olive oil.We each got our own little dish of oil, it made my hand soft and smooth
I wore my glasses for the rest of the meal~

I'd never seen this until last year in a restaurant in Venice. The waiter brought bread to the tables as usual. I then saw a young American woman get up, go to the waiters' station and pick up a soup bowl. The head waiter looked daggers at her. She then put some olive oil and vinegar into the bowl and proceeded to dip her bread into it. When her main dish was brought, the waiter took the bowl away and although he said nothing, he looked displeased.
She then asked for cheese on I forget what dish it was but one where you don't normally have cheese sprinkled. When she was told politely that it was not customary she said loudly that she just wanted some cheese, right!
Her table was brought its bill at the same time as the food and the waiters didn't ask if they wanted coffee or dolci. The moral is, ask and don't just take.

I'd never seen this until last year in a restaurant in Venice. The waiter brought bread to the tables as usual. I then saw a young American woman get up, go to the waiters' station and pick up a soup bowl. The head waiter looked daggers at her. She then put some olive oil and vinegar into the bowl and proceeded to dip her bread into it. When her main dish was brought, the waiter took the bowl away and although he said nothing, he looked displeased.
She then asked for cheese on I forget what dish it was but one where you don't normally have cheese sprinkled. When she was told politely that it was not customary she said loudly that she just wanted some cheese, right!
Her table was brought its bill at the same time as the food and the waiters didn't ask if they wanted coffee or dolci. The moral is, ask and don't just take.

It depends on where you are in Italy. I can't tell you boundaries (watch Mario Batelli on FoodTV, he talks about this stuff all the time) but there's a definite geographic boundary where butter only is on bread as opposed to oil or visa-versa. I distinctly remember during my first trip in 1999 we had butter on the table for the bread (Northern Italy), but when we arrived in Lucca the waitress said "No butter - Oil!" She wouldn't even give us butter.

We stayed recently with friends in Puglia who own olive groves that have been in their family for 300 years.This bread-dipping-into-olive-oil custom was once the thing in many southern Italian homes especially Puglia (Apullia) where olive oil was a big part of life and consequently needed to be tested on a regular basis to ensure it was still good. Until recently (when many North Americans starting asking for it) it was considered "not the done thing" according to our friends, although the custom had always prevailed in their home (minus herbs or salt) Their children had been taught not to ask for it in a restaurant or in the homes of their snobbier friends and the little ones giggled at us behind their hands at us for committing this sin of good manners. (P.S. we did it anyway and continue to back at home using ghe superb first pressing oil that we brought home from their farm, all 15 litres!)

Venice -- she probably wanted cheese on a seafood dish. Americans seem to want to sprinkle grated cheese on every Italian dish. But it is a no-no to put cheese on seafood dishes (even seafood pasta). I've been in restaurants (in the US) where they will also refuse the cheese, but will leave it on your table to allow you to "destroy" the dish as you wish.

I asked for butter in Lucca and was given olive oil for the bread, so I think it depends where you're at. In another little town the waiter went back to the kitchen and brought me a cube of butter hacked off a pound block. Marilyn

Lisa

"Americans seem to want to sprinkle grated cheese on every Italian dish." Really, only Americans? All Americans? Fairly broad statement to make about citizens from an entire country, especially since I, an American, don't put grated cheese on much of anything. Nor do any of the other locals that I know.

Now hurry, Lisa, that bowl of milk is waiting for you.

When I was in Italy I don't recall having this, but this was then years ago. Food trends in Italy change just as they do here. For example, Fettucine Alfredo and Tira Misu are relatively modern inventions, from the last half of the 20th century. Another thing is that there are regional differences and differences between chefs. Spaghetti Carbonara is different in different areas of the country, as is Lasagne with meat. I also agree it depends on the quality of the restaurant you go to.

Kara,

Beg to differ with you.

Olive oil is predominantly monosaturated fat which is the good stuff. It, along with fish is why the Med diet is so healthy.

It does contain calories, but unless you go "hog wild" it will help, rather than harm. A couple of tablespoons on a saucer will handle a good hunk of bread.

And BTW, this American eats it with almost every evening meal and is 6:3 188, have reduced my weight by 15 lbs and my cholesterol has been lowered from 289 to 211 in nine months.

I'm happy!

Thanks,

Tom
I agree with you but it's easy to overdo the bread and oil. I'm Greek and cook with olive oil on a daily basis (extra virgin only).
My point is that too much is not healthy. Yes, it does lower bad cholesterol but physicians are now saying that too much may also do harm.
Everything in moderation.

Kara,

Agree with you on the moderation.
My wife tells me that moderation is acceptable for most things except for drugs and adultery. And...she reminds me that I do not have enough money to try either becuase it will then all be hers ;~))

Tom,
Your wife sounds like a very smart and funny woman. I'm about to go out with my husband for Italian tonight and I will be eating warm bread and olive oil. Cheers.

I cannot quote you the source, but I read that when you eat bread with olive oil rather than butter, it is more satisfying and thus, you eat less bread . Yes, they are both fats and probably have about the same amount of calories but one is animal and one plant. The olive oil is definitely better for your heart.

My mother is from Naples. Several years ago we went to an Italian restaurant (in the US) and were served bread with olive oil. This was the first time she had seen this and looked rather puzzled. I said "mom, don't you like this?". She said that she was take aback for a moment because when she grew up in Italy they ate this combination with every evening meal because they couldn't afford butter. So she was surprised to see peasant food in a fine restaurant.

The olive oil with bread thing has likely been around in certain areas of Italy for some time, but the new mania for doing it has its roots in the Napa Valley. I can't remember the name of the restaurant (but it may be Tra Vigne), but the chef there claimed to have been the first to do it. Years ago now, so maybe a different chef.

So to answer the original query, it's more of a food fiction. In my experience Italians always eat bread with meals, and they pretty much always eat it plain. I remember travelling to Munich once with a group of milanesi who all thought it hysterically funny that the Bavarians ate their bread with butter.

We were in Arles several years ago, and stopped at a winery. The proprietor insisted that we all have a shot of olive oil before we tasted the wine. Said he drank a half liter a day. Didn't even offer us bread.

In the central part of Italy where extra virgin olive oil is mostly used we do indeed like to dip our oil in the bread, this is done though in a specific time period. The olive oil crop is in late November/beginning of December and I don't know if you have ever had the opportunity of tasting the oil as soon as it comes out of the press!! l'olio nuovo is simply scrumptious, then day after day it loses colour,taste and fragrance. So the answer is yes we do dip our bread in the oil but mostly in the fall. Most of the oils that are purchased in shops or served in restaurants are cheap blends of third class oils and god knows how old they are....

Quite some time ago I had saved an article written by Marcella Hazan where she wrote a great, get to the point, article about regional differences in Italian cooking. In the article she briefly discusses this issue of olive oil and bread. (It's an American thing, not Italian). If you'd like to read the article it's at made-in-italy.com/winefood/food/intro.htm
Her comments about olive oil are in the second last paragraph.

Interesting comments! I must say that I really don't care where it originated, it tastes great (especially with a little balsamic vinegar and some grated Parmesan cheese!, although I'm not sure that it's less filling!

Last nite while out to dinner at a nice restaurant in Boston, the bread was served with olive oil as it is now in so many restaurants in the U.S. I happened to say that in the six trips to Italy that I have made in the past eight years, and in the more than a hundred restaurants in five different regions that I have eaten, we never were served oil with bread. My fellow diners thought that it was a tradition there. Both sets of my grandparents were born in Italy, I have visited relatives there, and I never remember them eating oil with their bread. My experience does not mean that no Italian nationals dip bread in oil, but it certainly is not typical.

Ron, just curious as to what region your grandparents are from?

I believe Dario's comments are probably the most accurate on the subject. We were in Florence last November and were offered olive oil and bread in several restaurants. They were very proud of the oil and explained to us that it was "very green" and "very new." On prior trips to Italy at other times of the year, we were never offered bread and oil. So, it makes sense to me that it is the time of the year -- when the olives are first harvested. At any rate, it sure is good.