Carbonara: 7 Mistakes That Make Italians Cry (Number 3 Is a Crime) If you think you know what real carbonara is, get ready to be proven wrong. Every day, restaurants around the world serve something called "carbonara" that would make any Roman shudder — and it's so common it's now considered "normal". The real recipe Just 5 ingredients: eggs, guanciale, Pecorino Romano, black pepper, pasta. No cream, no onion, no sautéed garlic. The creaminess comes from eggs and pecorino emulsified with the pasta's heat. The 7 most common mistakes 1. Cream — The original sin. 2. Pancetta instead of guanciale — Completely different flavor and texture. 3. Parmesan instead of pecorino — This one really makes purists furious. 4. Scrambled eggs instead of emulsified eggs — The result turns into an omelet. 5. Peas — They have nothing to do with it. 6. Sautéed onions — Another ingredient with no place in the recipe. 7. Cooking the eggs over heat — They must be added off the heat. Bonus: Mushrooms — Very common on international menus, but almost incomprehensible to an Italian: it turns the dish into a creamy mushroom pasta, not carbonara. How to spot the real thing Pale color with the pasta clearly visible → real. Orange, thick, and uniform like a ready-made sauce → probably cream. Ever made one of these mistakes? Confess in the comments! 😄 Giacomo