What's insulting?

I got a really unpleasant comment a little while ago. I chose not to publish it (this is my blog - not some random internet space, and I make the rules) but it's been nagging me so I thought I'd write a little rant about  it. (Again - my space, my rules.)

The post that so upset this anonymous commenter was this one, about creamy beef sauce. A delicious dinner, that we've made several times this last month. It isn't gourmet food in any way, but it's a very satisfying and quick weeknight meal, and both kids love it. Anyway.

Here's the comment:

i cant believe you have made this, it's in no way shape or form decent food Anne! infact is very insulting for you to use italian ingredients in this way. please don't do this anymore if you dont understand italian ingredients!

and since I have comment moderation these days (DAMN you spammers!) he apparently wasn't satisfied that it wasn't published immediately, because he posted a second one:

this is in no way shape or form an italian dish. don't you know your supposed to toss the spaghetti in the sauce? please don't use italian ingredients if you are unsure how to use them it is very insulting! 

Wait, what now? First of all, this is most definitely decent food. It's delicious food, and it's made from top quality ingredients, all nice and clean and free of unnecessary additives, and all that stuff. It's GREAT food.

How can food be an insult? How is that even possible? 

And Italian food. Is all pasta Italian food, just because it's a pasta dish? Always? I personally don't really feel that way. Spaghetti - or whatever pasta - with some kind of a minced meat sauce is a staple in  so many cuisines these days, and there are - rightfully - a thousand variations. 

And what the heck are "italian ingredients", anyway? Let's look at the ingredients list: 

-butter (Swedish) 

-minced beef (Swedish) 

-onion (Swedish) 

-water (Swedish) 

-beef stock cube (doesn't specify, but I'm pretty sure it's not Italian) 

-garlic (again, not sure where this one was from, but certainly not Italy)

-crushed tomatoes (these are indeed Italian) 

-tomato paste (this, too, is Italian) 

-sriracha sauce (very much not Italian)

-mustard (Swedish) 

-basil (Swedish) 

-soy sauce (not Italian) 

-pepper (not Italian) 

-mushrooms (I think mine were from Latvia) 

-cream (Swedish) 

So, the tomato products were indeed Italian, and I guess the spaghetti was, too. I'm sorry if they felt insulted by their inclusion in my dinner. However, I doubt it. 

As for the method - tossing pasta in the sauce. Yes, that's one way to do it. Not a great way if you have a discerning toddler who often wants to have just buttered pasta with a little parmesan, but sure, one way. Frankly, I think there's very little benefit to finishing the pasta in the sauce - certainly not something I bother with on a daily basis. (In this case, it'd mean getting out yet another saucepan, since we made much more sauce than we needed for one dinner.) I do it with some sauces, especially egg based like a Carbonara,  but not at all with a meat sauce. 

But I guess the focus point is, why on earth are people so hateful? What brings someone to post comments like that, on a food blog for goodness sake? Chill out. Food is fun. If it tastes good, who cares about authenticity?