At the risk of seeming po-faced, is it possible that some people don't know that 'latte' is the Italian for milk ? If I ordered latte, milk is what I would expect.

Hello Caroline. Latte in Italian does indeed mean milk. But for some reason in the US "latte" is used as a description of coffee with milk..I don't know why. Perhaps it is like the word biscotti..which is plural..but no one seems to know that either. Words get different meanings over the decades and we have so many people here in the US that had parents or actually now grandparents or great grandparents that came from various areas of Italy that the meanings become changed over the generations. And then when ancestors go back to the "old country" they of course think they know the language and there is confusion. And also, dialects. So perhaps some dialects in Italy when the word "latte" was used did mean coffee with milk..I sure don't know.

I do know that my son-in-law who was born, raised and lived in Rome until about 8 years ago gets very confused in regards to second and third etc. generation American/Italians, their interruption of the Italian language, their interruption of Italian cooking etc. But I imagine that is true with a lot of immigrants.

Hi LoveItaly. Interesting thoughts, thanks.

What really annoys me here in the UK is "a panini, two paninis" (sometimes even "two panini's") but I think that's already a lost cause - sigh.

Dear Daneille and LoveItaly,
I've always assumed that Australians started ordering "latte" because they were too lazy to say the two words [and perhaps because they didn't know what "latte" means]. In my case it was the former, and I was once corrected at an Italian counter in a foodhall here in Sydney: "Ah, you mean 'caffee latte'!" It did, however, remind me of the time I ordered a "coffee with milk" in Edinburgh, and was given a cup of milk coffee and a glass of milk.

The last time we were in England coffee with milk was simply "white with". Go figure.

Actually in France, one just orders a "crème" instead of saying "café crème." Anybody who says "café crème" or "café au lait" is clearly a foreigner. However, people have "café au lait" at home and call it that. And in a café, even though you call it a "crème" they just use milk.

The last time I was in the US, coffee came as black or "regla"

Coffee bars were very popular in Britain in the 50s. They served cappuccino, but for some reason the places were called espresso bars.
There are still some older folk who confuse the two.

2Italy: thanks for that tip on water buffalo - i just took that train ride twice in January and didn't know to look - next time i will. Thanks.

beaupeep: Can happen anywhere.

Exactly my point.

Loveitaly: very sorry to hear about your experience!!

Frothed milk in a hot drink is something I definitely don't lose sleep over, however!

Hi Sue,

>I ordered a "coffee with milk" in Edinburgh, and was given a cup of milk coffee and a glass of milk.<

That person also doesn't know the difference between "a woman and child" and "a woman with child".

((I))

I think I really started something here! I've been enjoying telling him some of the funniest comments. Even he had to laugh at some of them. I think his "problem" is two fold.
1. He is a retired engineer and if you know any engineers, they stick to the rules and will not alter a thing, no matter if times change. It's the original way they learned it that's the correct way.
2. When he was on a Navy ship in the 50S, they were told not to drink the milk in certain countries b/c it wasn't pasturized therefore that's the rule!
How does he remember this rule 57 years later when he doesn't remember what I tell him two minutes ago?

Hi LoveItaly,

>For heavens sakes Ira, I thought the spaghetti was picked off of spaghetti trees. ...

Only Swiss style spaghetti.

Did you see the BBC show? Amazingly informative.

www.museumofhoaxes.com/spaghetti.html

((I))

PS,

It's the 50th anniversary.

"Actually in France, one just orders a "crème" instead of saying "café crème." Anybody who says "café crème" or "café au lait" is clearly a foreigner."

Actually, after years of ordering a "crème" or a "grande crème," I've caved in to pressure. Almost every waiter repeats, "un cafè crème," and most of the French I've heard ordering ask for a café crème.

Peggy, tell him just to drink the wine.

How could you have asked for a "grande crème"? It is a "grand" or "petit" crème, not grande or petite, as it is modifying the unsaid masculine word "café". Maybe that's why they repeated what you said.

And why do so many people say 'eXpresso', rather than 'espresso', (wherever they are!).

>And why do so many people say 'eXpresso', rather than 'espresso', ...

Because the espresso machine is expressly expressing the essence of the coffee.

Not 'coz they're dumb them? 8-)

'then'

Please can we have an edit button!

toupary

you are right:

Peggy, tell him just to drink the wine.

Red wine is a mild but effective desinfectant.
´

Every one who is in doubt about live cultures in his caffe latte or elsewhere, should take a liberal dose of red wine afterwards.

Or do as the Italians do, to have the coffe with some other desinfectant, as brandy, or even better, grappa.


A ratio of one liter of red wine (vino rosso, please repeat: vino rosso per favore), preferably dark red wine , to a small cup of coffee is what the doctor prescribes. And if you still have to face dysenteria, continue drinking dark red wine. The more wine, the less you give a damm about anything.