Fettuccine Alfredo

2025-10-18T01:57:31Z

2600:1700:1600:DD00:9EA5:44EF:1F97:F192: /* Alfredo sauce */Typo

{{Short description|Creamy pasta dish with butter and cheese}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Fettuccine Alfredo
| image = The Only Original Alfredo Sauce with Butter and Parmesano-Reggiano Cheese.png
| image_size = 250px
| associated_cuisine = {{flatlist|
*[[Italian cuisine|Italian]]
*[[Italian-American cuisine|Italian-American]]
*[[Global cuisine|global]]
}}
| creator = Alfredo di Lelio (1882–1959)
| year = {{circa|1907–1908}}
| course = {{plainlist|
*''[[Italian meal structure#Formal meal structure|Primo]]'' (Italy)
*[[Main course|Main]] (United States)
}}
| place_of_origin = [[Rome]], Italy
| main_ingredient = [[Fettuccine]], [[butter]], [[Parmesan]]
| variations = US additions: heavy cream or half-and-half, chicken, broccoli, parsley, garlic, shrimp, turkey, salmon, mushrooms
| similar_dish = ''Fettuccine al burro'', ''pasta burro e parmigiano'', ''pasta in bianco''
| cookbook = Alfredo Sauce
| no_commons = true
}}

'''Fettuccine Alfredo''' ({{IPA|it|fettut'tʃiːne alˈfreːdo|lang}}) is a pasta dish consisting of [[fettuccine]] tossed with butter and [[Parmesan|Parmesan cheese]] which melt and [[Emulsion|emulsify]] to form a rich [[cheese sauce]] coating the pasta.<ref name="cb72">{{harvnb|Carnacina|Buonassisi|1975|pp=72–73}}</ref> Originating in [[Rome]] in the early 20th century, the recipe is now popular in the United States and other countries.<ref name="Cesari-2023">{{Cite web |last=Cesari |first=Luca |date=2023-09-24 |title=Lo strano caso delle Fettuccine Alfredo, il piatto quasi sconosciuto in Italia e famoso negli Usa |trans-title=The strange case of Fettuccine Alfredo, an almost unknown dish in Italy that's famous in America |url=https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/la-storia-delle-fettuccine-alfredo/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=[[Gambero Rosso]] |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name="Somma-2024" />

The dish is named after Alfredo Di Lelio, a Roman restaurateur who is credited with its creation and subsequent popularization.<ref name="Cesari-2023a" /> Di Lelio's [[Gueridon service|tableside service]] was an integral part of the recipe's early success.<ref name="downie">{{harvnb|Downie|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yvMf8Y4TWSoC&pg=PA106 106]}}</ref><ref name="Rector-1927">George Rector, "A Cook's Tour", ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', November 19, 1927, pp. 14, 52, 54, 56, 58 [https://books.google.com/books?id=A00kAQAAMAAJ&q=noodles+alfredo snippet]</ref><ref name="frasi" /> Fettuccine Alfredo is a variant of standard Italian preparations ''fettuccine al burro'' ({{gloss|fettuccine with butter}}), ''pasta burro e parmigiano'' ({{gloss|pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese}}), and ''pasta in bianco'' ({{gloss|plain pasta}}).<ref name="Root-1971">{{harvnb|Root|1971|p=86}}</ref><ref name="Mariani">{{harvnb|Mariani|2011}}{{page needed|date=March 2023}}</ref><ref name="zafferano">{{Cite web |title=Fettuccine Alfredo |url=https://www.giallozafferano.com/recipes/Fettuccine-Alfredo.html |access-date=18 April 2024 |publisher=Giallo Zafferano}}</ref>

Outside of Italy, cream is sometimes used to thicken the sauce, and ingredients such as chicken, shrimp, or broccoli may be added when fettuccine Alfredo is served as a main course.<ref name="Cesari-2023a" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hutcherson |first=Aaron |date=2024-02-05 |title=You can't beat fettuccine Alfredo for a rich, adaptable 30-minute meal |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/01/23/fettuccine-alfredo-evolution-dinner-in-minutes/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Goldsmith |first1=Samuel |title=Alfredo sauce recipe |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/alfredo-sauce |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=BBC Good Food |language=en}}</ref> Neither cream nor other additional ingredients are used in Italy, where the dish is rarely called "Alfredo" outside of Rome.<ref name="Cesari-2023" />

== History ==
=== Italian origins ===
In Italy, the combination of pasta with butter and cheese dates to at least the 15th century, when it was mentioned by [[Martino da Como]], a northern Italian cook active in Rome;<ref name="Gambero2016">{{Cite web |last=Annalisa Zordan |date=29 May 2016 |title=Fettuccine Alfredo. Come si preparano e chi le ha inventate |url=https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/articoli-food/fettuccine-alfredo-come-si-preparano-e-chi-le-ha-inventate/ |access-date=22 November 2021 |publisher=[[Gambero Rosso]] |language=it}}</ref> this recipe for "Roman macaroni" ({{Langx|it|maccaroni romaneschi|links=no}}) calls for cooking pasta in broth or water and adding butter, "good cheese" (the variety is not specified) and "sweet spices".<ref name="arte-coquinaria">{{Cite book |last=de Rossi |first=Martino |url=https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/fbz/fb05/germanistik/absprache/sprachverwendung/gloning/tx/martino2.htm |title=Libro de Arte Coquinaria | section=Ch. 2 § Maccaroni romaneschi | year=c. 1460 | access-date=26 May 2024 }} Original manuscript scan available on the [[Library of Congress]], relevant section on [https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2017medren60856/?sp=39 page 39].</ref>

{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y
|head1=Maccaroni romaneschi|lang1=it|''Piglia de la farina che sia bella, et distemperala et fa' la pasta un pocho più grossa che quella de le lasangne, et avoltola intorno ad un bastone. Et dapoi caccia fore il bastone, et tagliala la pasta larga un dito piccolo, et resterà in modo de bindelle, overo stringhe.

''Et mitteli accocere in brodo grasso, overo in acqua secundo il tempo. Et vole bollire quando gli metti accocere. Et se tu gli coci in acqua mettevi del butiro frescho, et pocho sale.

''Et como sonno cotti mittili in piattelli con bono caso, et butiro, et spetie dolci.''
|head2=Roman-style Macaroni|lang2=en|Take some white flour, and add water and make a sheet of pasta slightly thicker than that for [[lasagne]], and wrap it around a stick; and then remove the stick and cut the pasta into pieces the size of your little finger, and they end up with the shape of thin strips or strings.

Cook in fatty broth or in water, depending on the season. But they need to be boiled when you cook them. If you cook them in water, add some fresh butter and a bit of salt.

When they are done, place on a platter with some good cheese, and butter, and sweet spices.
|attr1=Maestro [[Martino da Como]] ({{circa|1460}}). Libro de Arte Coquinaria, Ch. 2 § ''Maccaroni romaneschi''.<ref name="arte-coquinaria"/>
|attr2=Translated by Jeremy Parzen (2005)<ref>{{ Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Efw2S_NekYC&pg=PA67 | title=The Art of Cooking: The First Modern Cookery Book | translator-first1=Jeremy | translator-last1=Parzen | editor-first1=Luigi | editor-last1=Ballerini | publisher=[[University of California Press]] | year=2005 | pages=67–68 | isbn=9780520928312 | access-date=27 May 2024 }}</ref>
}}

=== Roman creation ===
Modern fettuccine Alfredo was created by Alfredo Di Lelio in Rome in the early 20th century. According to family lore, in 1892 Alfredo began to work in a restaurant located in Piazza Rosa that was run by his mother, Angelina. He cooked his first ''fettuccine al triplo burro'' ({{gloss|fettuccine with triple butter}}—later called ''fettuccine all'Alfredo'', and eventually fettuccine Alfredo)<ref name="cb72" /> in 1907 or 1908, in what is said to have been an effort to entice his convalescent wife, Ines, to eat after giving birth to their first child, Armando.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Storia |url=http://www.ilveroalfredo.it/storia/ |access-date=6 September 2017 |website=il vero Alfredo |date=10 March 2015 |publisher=web |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Carnacina |title=Roma in Cucina |date=1975 |pages=72–73}}</ref> Recipes attributed to Di Lelio include only three ingredients: fettuccine, "young" Parmesan cheese and butter.<ref name="Popik-2009" /><ref name="Rector-1927"/><ref name="frasi" /> Yet there are various legends about the "secret" of the original Alfredo recipe: some say oil is added to the pasta dough; others that the pasta is cooked in milk.<ref>Doris Muscatine, ''A Cook's Tour of Rome'', New York: Charles Scribers' Sons, 1964, p. 126</ref>
[[File:FOTO-ALFREDO-1914-ricostruita-alta-risoluzione.jpg|thumb|left|Alfredo Di Lelio in front of Ristorante Alfredo, {{circa|1914}}]]
Piazza Rosa was condemned to make way for the construction of the [[Galleria Alberto Sordi|Galleria Colonna]] ({{circa|1910}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Piazza Rosa, Roma |url=https://www.info.roma.it/strade_dettaglio.asp?ID_indirizzi=4539 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=info.roma.it |language=it}}</ref> and his mother's restaurant was forced to close. Di Lelio subsequently opened his own restaurant on the via della Scrofa ({{circa|1914}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giardina |first=Rowena Dumlao |date=2017-04-28 |title=Ristorante Alfredo alla Scrofa: The Birthplace of Fettuccine Alfredo |url=https://honestcooking.com/ristorante-alfredo-alla-scrofa-birthplace-fettuccine-alfredo/ |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=Honest Cooking |language=en-US}}</ref> Following a visit to ''Ristorante Alfredo'' by the American actors [[Mary Pickford]] and [[Douglas Fairbanks]] (who was known as "The King of Hollywood")<ref>{{Cite book |title=The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks |publisher=Chicago Review Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1613734049}}</ref> in the early 1920s, Alfredo began to serve his signature dish using a golden fork and spoon bearing the inscription "To Alfredo the King of the noodles" (said to have been a gift from the famous Hollywood couple in gratitude for Alfredo's hospitality).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2024-02-07 |first1=Natalia|last1=Distefano|title=Fettuccine Alfredo Day: lo storico ristorante festeggia annunciando la nuova apertura in Arabia Saudita |url=https://roma.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_febbraio_07/fettuccine-alfredo-day-lo-storico-ristorante-festeggia-annunciando-la-nuova-apertura-in-arabia-saudita-340effec-23a7-4322-a80a-fa143cf54xlk.shtml |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=Corriere della Sera |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name="Popik-2009" /><ref name="cb72" /><ref name="Cesari-2023" /> Di Lelio's fame and success grew (he was knighted by the [[King of Italy#Kingdom of Italy, House of Savoy (1861–1946)|King of Italy]], making him a ''[[Order of the Crown of Italy|Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia]]'') until [[Rationing#Second World War|war rationing]] made it increasingly difficult to obtain flour, eggs, and butter.<ref name="Newman-1927">Edward Manuel Newman, ''Seeing Italy'', 1927, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mthWAAAAMAAJ&q=alfredo p. 176]</ref><ref name="Rohe-1927" /><ref name="Rector-1927" /> He sold the restaurant to two of his waiters in 1943 and retired.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McLemore |first=Henry |date=28 February 1951 |title=He Meets His First King |work=Evening Standard. Uniontown, PA. |page=4}}</ref><ref name="frasi">'frasi' [pseudo. of Francesco Simoncini],  ''Ristoranti a Roma'', A.B.E.T.E. 1967, p. 99</ref>

After the war, in 1950, Di Lelio opened a new restaurant in [[Piazza Augusto Imperatore]] with his son Armando.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mausoleo e piazza di Augusto Imperatore {{!}} sovraintendenzaroma |url=https://sovraintendenzaroma.it/i_luoghi/roma_antica/monumenti/mausoleo_e_piazza_di_augusto_imperatore |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=sovraintendenzaroma.it}}</ref><ref name="Somma-2024">{{Cite web |last=Somma |first=Marianna |date=2024-02-20 |title=Storia delle Fettuccine Alfredo, il più famoso piatto italo-americano |trans-title=The history of Fettuccine Alfredo, the most famous Italian-American dish |url=https://www.wineandfoodtour.it/storia-delle-fettuccine-alfredo-il-piu-famoso-piatto-italo-americano/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=Wine and Food Tour |language=it-IT}}</ref> He vigorously promoted the restaurant by creating a [[celebrity wall]] of fettuccine themed photographs showing himself (in humorous poses, with his pasta and gold cutlery) serving dignitaries, politicians, famous musicians and film stars such as [[James Stewart]], [[Bob Hope]], [[Anthony Quinn]], [[Bing Crosby]], [[Gary Cooper]], [[Jack Lemmon]], [[Ava Gardner]], [[Tyrone Power]], [[Sophia Loren]], [[Cantinflas]], and many others.<ref>{{harvnb|Mariani|2011|p=79}}</ref> The dish was so well known that Di Lelio was invited to demonstrate it both in Italy and abroad.<ref name="frasi" /> The fame of the dish, by this time called ''maestosissime fettuccine all'Alfredo'' ({{gloss|most majestic Alfredo-style fettuccine}}) on Alfredo's menus, was heightened by the tableside "spectacle reminiscent of grand opera" during its preparation,<ref name="Root-1971" /> "in a ritual of extraordinary theatricality". {{quotebox|align=right|width=35%|quote=[The] owner mixes the pasta and lifts it high to serve it, the white threads of cheese gilded with butter and the bright yellow of the ribbons of egg pasta offering an eyeful for the customer; at the end of the ceremony, the guest of honor is presented the golden cutlery and the serving dish, where the blond fettuccine roll around in the pale gold of the seasonings. It's worth seeing the whole ceremony. The owner, son of old Alfredo and looking exactly like him [...] bends over the great skein of fettuccine, fixes it intensely, his eyes half-closed, and dives into mixing it, waving the golden cutlery with grand gestures, like an orchestra conductor, with his sinister upwards-pointing twirled moustache dancing up and down, pinkies in the air, a rapt gaze, flailing elbows.<ref name="frasi" />}}
Both the original restaurant (now called [[Alfredo alla Scrofa]]), and the post-war iteration (known as Il vero Alfredo and still run by the Di Lelio family) serve "fettuccine Alfredo" and compete vigorously, with escalating puffery (e.g., "the king of fettuccine", "the real king of fettuccine", "the magician of fettuccine", "the emperor of fettuccine", "the real Alfredo", etc.).<ref name="frasi" /> In 1981, there were about 50 restaurants in Rome selling similar fettuccine dishes, mostly called ''fettuccine alla romana''.<ref name="Hoffmann-1981"/>

Fettuccine Alfredo, minus the spectacle, has become ubiquitous in Italian-style restaurants outside of Italy, although despite its worldwide renown, in Italy this dish is usually still called simply ''fettuccine al burro''.<ref name="zafferano" /><ref name="Mariani" /><ref name="Cesari-2023" /> According to the Roman edition of the [[Corriere della Sera]], since 2005 ''Fettuccine Alfredo Day'' has been celebrated on the 7th of February "throughout the world" to commemorate Di Lelio's famous creation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Distefano |first=Natalia |date=2025-02-07 |title=A Roma la ventesima edizione del Fettuccine Alfredo Day: festa con gli eredi dell'inventore delle «bionde al burro» |url=https://roma.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/25_febbraio_07/a-roma-la-ventesima-edizione-del-fettuccine-alfredo-day-festa-con-gli-eredi-dell-inventore-delle-bionde-al-burro-938b1a8b-c67d-4484-8ec6-ace7007adxlk.shtml |access-date=2025-07-09 |website=Corriere della Sera |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== American popularization ===
The dish has long been popular with Americans, who, when in Rome, have often sought out its historical origins.<ref name="Cesari-2023a">{{Cite web |last=Cesari |first=Luca |date=2023-01-26 |title=The Invention of Fettuccine Alfredo: A Love Story |url=https://lithub.com/the-invention-of-fettuccine-alfredo-a-love-story/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}, excerpted from {{Cite book |last=Cesari |first=Luca |title=The discovery of pasta: a history in ten dishes |date=2023 |publisher=Pegasus Books, Ltd |isbn=978-1-63936-316-2 |translator-last=Bishop |translator-first=Johanna}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mariani |first=John |title=Why Fettuccine All'Alfredo Is One Of The World's Greatest Simplest Dishes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmariani/2021/08/10/why-fettuccine-allalfredo-is-one-of-the-worlds-greatest-simplest-dishes/ |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Ristorante Alfredo menu.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|Ristorante Alfredo menu, undated]]
Alfredo's noodles have been extolled in US newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, and guidebooks since as early as the 1920s.<ref name="Newman-1927" /><ref>''Harper's Bazaar'', '''67''', 1933, [https://books.google.com/books?id=95AjAQAAMAAJ&q=noodles+alfredo p. 52]</ref><ref name="Popik-2009">[[Barry Popik]], "Fettuccine Alfredo", February 14, 2009 [https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/fettuccine_alfredo/]</ref> In one of her popular travel guides, ''So You're Going to Rome!'', [[Clara E. Laughlin|Clara Laughlin]] writes, "Most travellers would blush to admit they had been in Rome and had not eaten Alfredo's ''fettuccine al burro''."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laughlin |first=Clara E. |title=So You're Going to Rome! |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Company]] |year=1925 |publication-place=Boston, MA. |pages=351}}</ref> [[Sinclair Lewis]]'s 1922 novel ''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]'' makes reference to "a little trattoria on the Via della Scrofa where you get the best fettuccine in the world".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Sinclair |title=Babbitt |publisher=[[Harcourt, Brace and Company]] |year=1922 |location=New York |pages=196 |language=en}}</ref>

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the American food writer and restaurateur [[George Rector]] wrote about "Alfredo's noodles", describing in detail the restaurateur's elaborate tableside preparation ceremony; he did not give the dish a specific name.<ref name="Rector-1927"/> In a later account, Rector mentions the addition of accompanying violin music and golden tableware.<ref name="Rector-1933">{{Cite book |last=Rector |first=George |url=https://archive.org/stream/larectormiscella00rect#page/38/mode/2up/search/alfredo |title=a la Rector: Unveiling the Culinary Mysteries of the World Famous George Rector |publisher=[[The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company]] |year=1933 |pages=39 |asin=B000NLMFOA |quote=}}</ref> {{quote box|align=right|width=35%|quote=This act of mixing the butter and cheese through the noodles becomes quite a ceremony when performed by Alfredo in his tiny restaurant in Rome. As busy as Alfredo is with other duties, he manages to be at each table when the waiter arrives with the platter of fettuccine to be mixed by him. As a violinist plays inspiring music, Alfredo performs the sacred ceremony with a fork and spoon of solid gold. Alfredo does not cook noodles. He does not make noodles. He ''achieves'' them.|author=— [[George Rector]] (1933)<ref name="Rector-1933" />}} By the 1920s Alfredo was billing himself as ''Il Re delle Fettuccine'' {{gloss|The King of Fettuccine}} (printed on his menus in both Italian and English), although when exactly the "fettuccine Alfredo" appellation came about is unclear. A 1925 Italian guidebook and its English translation uses "''fettuccine al burro''";<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bertarelli |first=Luigi Vittorio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PkIVAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA227 |title=Itália centrale: Roma e dintorni |date=1 May 1925 |publisher=[[Touring Club Italiano]] |page=227 |language=it |trans-title=Rome and surroundings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bertarelli |first=Luigi Vittorio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lWBoAAAAMAAJ |title=Southern Italy: Including Rome, Sicily, and Sardinia |date=1925 |publisher=Macmillan and Company, Limited |language=en|page=4}}</ref> however, a 1927 article by [[Alice Rohe]] mentions "noodles Alfredo".<ref name="Rohe-1927">{{Cite news |last=Rohe |first=Alice |date=6 May 1927 |title=Knighted For His Spaghetti; How Alfredo Mixes Titled Fettuccine |work=Evening Times. Cumberland MD. |at=p. 6, cols. 2–3}}</ref> Throughout this period and beyond, restaurant reviews, advertisements, and recipes for "noodles Alfredo" (1927 and 1929),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rector |first=George |date=8 June 1929 |title=Rector's Recipes |work=[[Modesto News-Herald]] |at=p. 10, col.1}}</ref> "Alfredo's spaghetti" (1939),<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 December 1939 |title=This Week magazine |work=[[New York Herald Tribune]] |at=p. 11, col. 3}}</ref> "''fettuccine all'Alfredo''" (1956),<ref>29 March 1956, Moravia (Iowa) Union, pg. 4, col. 6: Last week we had fettuccine al Alfredo, which was described on some program by a chef just oof [sic] the plane from Rome—he even brought his own cheese—and then we had cherries jubilee for dessert.</ref> and eventually "fettuccine Alfredo" (1957 and 1964)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Owen |first=June |date=26 June 1957 |title=Food; Three Restaurants |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/06/26/91153404.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=48 |quote=Fettuccine Alfredo, originated at the famous Alfredo's in Rome, is another specialty ($1.65).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 April 1964 |title=FETTUCCINE ALFREDO...1.50 |work=Oakland Tribune |department=(advertisement) |at=p. D35, col. 5}}</ref> began to crop up in various publications.

In 1966, the Pennsylvania Dutch Noodle Company started selling their dried "fettuccine egg noodles" with an "Alfredo" recipe on the package. In addition to the traditional Parmesan cheese and butter, this version also included [[Swiss cheese (North America)|Swiss cheese]] and cream.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacAllen |first=Ian |date=2021-11-18 |title=How Pennsylvania Dutch Noodles Americanized Fettuccine Alfredo |url=https://www.redsauceamerica.com/blog/how-pennsylvania-dutch-noodles-americanized-fettuccine-alfredo/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Red Sauce America}}</ref><ref name="Coleman-2009">{{Cite web|url=https://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/The-Real-Alfredo/|title=The Real Alfredo|first=Todd|last=Coleman|date=13 April 2009|website=Saveur}}</ref>

In 1977, Armando Di Lelio (Alfredo's son) and a partner opened a restaurant called "Alfredo's" near [[Rockefeller Center]] in New York, and several years later, another in [[Epcot]] at Disney World—both of which have since closed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-01-13 |title=The Origins Of Fettuccine Alfredo |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-origins-of-fettuccine_b_4590831 |access-date=2020-11-24 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> More recently, Ines Di Lelio (Alfredo's granddaughter) has operated or licensed the "Il Vero Alfredo" name to restaurants in Mexico and Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-02-11 |title=In un'epoca di stagnazione dell'economia, finalmente una luce: Il Vero Alfredo rilancia il food italiano in Arabia Saudita |url=https://www.corrierenazionale.net/2024/02/11/in-unepoca-di-stagnazione-delleconomia-finalmente-una-luce-il-vero-alfredo-rilancia-il-food-italiano-in-arabia-saudita/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=Il Corriere Nazionale |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-06 |title=Le fettuccine al doppio burro e parmigiano volano in Arabia Saudita |url=https://www.ansa.it/canale_lifestyle/notizie/food/2024/02/06/le-fettuccine-al-doppio-burro-e-parmigiano-volano-in-arabia-saudita_58c0ff07-7a84-46a7-8960-580f1d29419d.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Agenzia ANSA |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Alovisi |first=Alberto |date=2024-02-10 |title=Le fettuccine de Il Vero Alfredo volano in Arabia Saudita |url=https://www.terronianmagazine.com/le-fettuccine-de-il-vero-alfredo-volano-in-arabia-saudita-ad-annunciarlo-le-patron-ines-di-lelio-e-chiara-cuomo-in-occasione-del-loro-birthday-part/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Terronian Magazine |language=it-IT}}</ref>

The two largest full-service Italian-American restaurant chains, [[Olive Garden]] and [[Carrabba's Italian Grill]], both serve and advertise the dish widely.<ref>{{cite news | last =Demarest | first =Abigail Abesamis | title =I ordered the same meal from Olive Garden and Carrabba's, and the winner blew me away with generous portions | newspaper =[[Business Insider]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =October 13, 2023 | url =https://www.businessinsider.com/olive-garden-vs-carrabbas-which-is-better-review-2023-10 | access-date = April 21, 2024}}</ref> A smaller chain, [[Il Fornaio]], which says that its goal is, to "provide our guests with the most authentic Italian experience outside of Italy", does not serve fettuccine Alfredo.<ref>{{cite web | url =https://www.ilfornaio.com/about/ | title =About Us | last = | first = | date = | website =Il Fornaio Cucina Italiana | publisher =[[Il Fornaio]] | access-date =April 21, 2024 | quote = }}</ref>

Some American food writers recommend that home cooks follow Di Lelio's three ingredient formula. Writing in ''[[Bon Appétit]]'', the Italian-American chef [[Carla Lalli Music]] notes that "American cooks added heavy cream or [[Half and half#Dairy product|half-and-half]] to thicken and enrich the sauce. To each their own, but no authentic fettuccine Alfredo recipe should include cream (because it dulls the flavor of the cheese)."<ref>{{cite news |last=Music |first=Carla Lalli |date=March 26, 2024 |title=Fettuccine Alfredo |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/fettuccine-alfredo |access-date=April 21, 2024 |newspaper=[[Bon Appétit]] |publisher= |location= |pages= |language=}}</ref>

The dish has its enthusiasts and its detractors. In 2018, the restaurant critic [[Pete Wells]] said of one version, "The Alfredo sauce, sweetly dripping from the fettuccine like rain from a leaf, hit me like a prescription opiate that had been specifically engineered for my opiate receptors. It's been a long time since I'd had fettuccine Alfredo";<ref>{{cite news | last =Wells | first =Pete | title = Can Fancy Chefs Excel at Fast, Cheap Food? Two Case Studies | newspaper = [[New York Time]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =January 23, 2018 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/dining/pasta-flyer-martina-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mU0.2I8H.8kjdfJEovyUG | access-date =April 21, 2024 }}</ref> In 1981, the travel writer Paul Hoffman called the Roman versions "one of the most tempting and at the same time simplest pasta specialties".<ref name="Hoffmann-1981">{{cite news | last =Hoffmann | first =Paul | title =Fettucine – A Food Fit for a Duchess | newspaper =[[New York Times]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =November 1, 1981 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/01/travel/fettucine-a-dish-fit-for-a-duchess.html?unlocked_article_code=1.l00.uvHD.hJ4TpftGBPLi | access-date =April 21, 2024 }}</ref> On the other hand, the food writer [[Gillian Riley]] says that the fettuccine of Rome "hardly need Alfredo's gross sauce of butter, cream [sic], and cheese".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Riley |first=Gillian |title=The Oxford Companion to Italian Food |date=2009-04-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-538710-0 |edition= |pages=376 |language=English}}</ref>

The American nutrition advocate [[Michael F. Jacobson#His activities and views|Michael Jacobson]] described fettuccine Alfredo as a "heart attack on a plate".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shin |first1=Annys |date=28 February 2011 |title=Dinner with Michael Jacobson, 'Chief of the Food Police' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/28/AR2011022803144.html |access-date=6 June 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

== Alfredo sauce ==
[[File:2020-02-17 20 26 35 A serving of Stouffer's Fettuccini Alfredo before heating in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg|thumb|[[Stouffer's]] frozen fettuccine Alfredo pictured with protective plastic film (before heating)]]
In the United States, shelf-stable Alfredo sauce is sold by brands such as [[Ragú]], [[Trader Joe's]], [[Whole Foods Market]], [[Bertolli]], [[Kroger]], [[Heinz#Brands|Classico]], [[Prego]], [[Rao's]], [[Newman's Own]], [[Safeway#Private brands|Signature Select]], and [[Saclà]] in glass jars for home cooks. [[Giovanni Rana]] and [[Buitoni]] sell fresh Alfredo sauces in plastic tubs that must be refrigerated. The Alaska Seasoning Company makes "Alfredo sauce powder", a [[spice mix]] to which, according to the company, one "simply [adds] cream [to] make a restaurant style Alfredo Sauce".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfredo Sauce Powder |url=https://www.alaskaseasoningcompany.com/product-page/alfredo-sauce-powder |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Alaska Seasoning Co |language=en}}</ref> These sauces are marketed at various [[price point]]s and quality levels, and are often reviewed in food related publications.<ref>{{cite news |last=Avasthi |first=Suruchi |date=March 14, 2024 |title=I Tried 9 Grocery Store Alfredo Sauces: This Is the One I'll Always Have in My Pantry |url=https://camillestyles.com/food/best-jar-alfredo-sauce/ |access-date=April 21, 2024 |newspaper=Camille Styles |publisher= |location= |pages= |language=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mattisan |first=Lindsay D. |date=November 29, 2022 |title=14 Jarred Alfredo Sauce Brands To Buy In 2023, Ranked Worst To Best |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1119852/jarred-alfredo-sauce-brands-ranked-worst-to-best/ |access-date=April 21, 2024 |newspaper=TastingTable |publisher= |location= |pages= |language=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Skladany |first=Joey |date=March 17, 2023 |title=I tried 8 jarred alfredo sauces and the winner is a true dairy queen: The winner of this taste test is a creamy, dreamy jar of goodness. |url=https://www.today.com/food/groceries/best-alfredo-sauce-rcna75306 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |newspaper=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]] |publisher= |location= |pages= |language=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thym |first=Jolene |date=2023-08-29 |title=Taste-Off: The best pre-made Alfredo sauces – and the gloopy ones |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/08/29/taste-off-the-best-pre-made-alfredo-sauces-and-the-pasty-ones/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}</ref>

The British retailer [[Asda|ASDA]] sells a version called "New York creamy chicken Alfredo sauce".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Calories in Asda Chosen by You New York Creamy Chicken Alfredo Sauce 350g, Nutrition Information {{!}} Nutracheck |url=https://www.nutracheck.co.uk/CaloriesIn/Product/56/Asda+Chosen+by+You+New+York+Creamy+Chicken+Alfredo+Sauce+350g#url |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.nutracheck.co.uk}}</ref>

Other Alfredo variants and formats such as pre-packaged fresh, [[boil-in-bag]], or [[Frozen meal|frozen meals]] are also widely available in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duda |first=Julia |date=2023-12-25 |title=12 Stouffer's Frozen Entrées, Ranked Worst To Best |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1475310/stouffers-frozen-entrees-ranked-worst-best/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Tasting Table |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Medina |first=Evelina Zaragoza |date=2024-03-11 |title=31 Frozen Dinners Ranked From 'No, Thank You' To 'May I Have Some More, Please?' |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/evelinamedina/best-frozen-dinners |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=[[BuzzFeed]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first1=Travis|last1=Milton|title=The Fettuccine Alfredo at the Wendy's Superbar Turned Me into a Chef |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/chefs/im-a-chef-because-of-the-wendys-superbar |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Food & Wine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli |url=https://michaelangelos.com/product/chicken-alfredo/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Michael Angelo's |language=en-US}}</ref> In the late 1970s, McDonald's experimented with a [[List of McDonald's products#Pizza and pasta|dinner menu]] that included fettuccine Alfredo, pizza, lasagna, and McSpaghetti. These options are no longer available in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite news |title=10 fast foods that have disappeared |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2013/0821/10-fast-foods-that-have-disappeared/McSpaghetti |access-date=2024-05-01 |work=Christian Science Monitor |first1=Schuyler|last1=Velasco|issn=0882-7729}}</ref>

In Italy, Alfredo alla Scrofa began offering its own version of ''salsa Alfredo'' in 2020. Sold in glass jars and promoted as using only the highest quality ingredients, the sauce contains Parmesan (43%), water, butter, rice flour, and sunflower seed oil—but no cream.<ref>"La Salsa Alfredo arriva a casa in barattolo. Idea del mitico ristorante romano delle Fettuccine", ''[[Gambero Rosso]]'', [https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/la-salsa-alfredo-arriva-a-casa-in-barattolo-idea-del-mitico-ristorante-romano-delle-fettuccine/?fbclid=IwAR3yIccWqClcBsruIumY4IO6r1s5lE0s--_2o6K2tm7NDcTEO8573rX3GZM May 9, 2020]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2020 |title=Salsa Alfredo |url=https://www.alfredoallascrofa.com/product-page/salsa-alfredo?lang=en |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418171914/https://www.alfredoallascrofa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/salsa-alfredo.jpg |archive-date=18 April 2021 |website=[[Alfredo alla Scrofa]]}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Italy|United States|Food}}
* [[Italian-American cuisine]]
* [[List of pasta]]
* [[List of pasta dishes]]
* [[List of foods named after people]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Root |first=Waverly |title=The Food of Italy |date=1971}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Carnacina |first1=Luigi |title=Roma in Cucina |last2=Buonassisi |first2=Vincenzo |publisher=Giunti Martello |year=1975 |location=Milano |language=it}}
* {{Cite book |last=Downie |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yvMf8Y4TWSoC |title=Cooking the Roman Way |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2011 |isbn=9780062031099}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mariani |first=John F. |author-link=John F. Mariani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwjpDJTz6G0C |title=How Italian Food Conquered the World |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=2011 |isbn=978-0230112414}}
* {{cite book |last1=Zanini De Vita |first1=Oretta |last2=Fant |first2=Maureen B. |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUczAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA104 |title=Sauces & Shapes: Pasta the Italian Way |location=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-08243-2 }}
* {{Cite book |title=Fettuccine Alfredo. A true love story |publisher=Agra Editrice |year=2017 |isbn=978-88-6140-220-1 |editor-last=Pipola |editor-first=Clementina |location=Roma}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cesari |first=Luca |year=2023 |isbn=978-1639363162 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1m45zwEACAAJ |title=The Discovery of Pasta: A History in Ten Dishes |publisher=Pegasus Books}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.ilveroalfredo.it/en/history/ ''Our History''] (via Il Vero Alfredo)

{{Pasta dishes}}
{{Butter}}

[[Category:American pasta dishes]]
[[Category:Cheese dishes]]
[[Category:Creamy dishes]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Lazio]]
[[Category:Italian-American cuisine]]
[[Category:Italian-American culture in New York City]]
[[Category:Italian pasta dishes]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Rome]]
[[Category:Table-cooked dishes]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Fettuccine Alfredo