When we talk about food and cooking, the word “bianco” [biàn·co], white, is frequently used in the phrase “in bianco” and it means food without any colored sauces (or additional spices).
- Mangiare in bianco [man·jà·rɛ in biàn·co] to eat simple food, often happens after being sick or after recovering from a malaise. Therefore, having riso in bianco (boiled rice) or pasta in bianco (just pasta, i.e. with butter or oil) is not exactly the best treat for a food lover, yet it’s fast and can be delicious too.
- Carne bianca [càr·nɛ biàn·ca] it’s white meat, (mostly referring to poultry or rabbit) – as opposed to red meat (carne rossa).
- Confetti bianchi [con·fèt·ti biàn·ki] white confetti, the almond candy ones, are used for weddings only. For other colours read here: Did you say confetti?
As it happens for many Italian words and lingo, in bianco too, must be handled with care 😉 Especially when it goes with the verb andare (to go).
- Andare in bianco [an·dà·re in biàn·co] means “not to score” (nor getting laid), and this is perhaps even worse than having a strict diet based on boiled rice 🫣
- The settimana bianca [set·ti·mà·na biàn·ca] (white week), does not mean that you’ll live on rice for seven days, or that your ladykiller charm is worryingly dropping, but simply that you’re spending some days off in a ski resort during winter time.
- Being a mosca bianca [mó·sca biàn·ca] (white fly), means “to be as rare as hen’s teeth”, and
- an assegno in bianco [as·sé·nyo in biàn·co] is a blank cheque.
There are many more idiomatic uses of “(in) bianco” – I don’t want to bore you about it – but the one that I like the most is “beviamoci un bicchiere di bianco” [be·vyà·mo·tchi un bikié·re di biàn·co], let’s have a glass of white wine (or prosecco) 🥂
Cheers to that and to the pitfalls of Italian language: brindiamo, libiamo “alla salute!”
