Be honest — you're not going to Olive Garden for the pasta.
You're going for the unlimited breadsticks.
There's no doubt that these buttery, garlicky sticks are delightful, but have you ever stopped
to think about just what makes them so delicious?
Let's find out.
Breadsticks are so important to the Olive Garden way of life that some locations actually
have dedicated breadstick makers.
Yes, it's apparently true.
According to one Redditor claiming to be an Olive Garden employee, their entire job was
simply to, quote, "make glorious breadsticks."
This does seem to vary by location, as another Reddit expert indicated that their franchise
only used a dedicated breadstick maker on the weekend.
Either way, though, it's good to know that Olive Garden treats their breadsticks as seriously
as we do.
"Ooh, breadsticks!"
According to one dedicated breadstick maker, a typical Olive Garden goes through more than
2,000 breadsticks every night.
But baking them is only the first step.
Perhaps the most important part is painting them with a proprietary concoction.
According to Cosmopolitan, Olive Garden breadsticks are coated with a special topping made primarily
of melted butter.
"Can we have the butter with the breadsticks?
Like a s--tload of butter?"
"Extra butter."
"It actually says that on the menu: s--tload of butter."
Plus, there's garlic salt.
But it's not the kind of garlic salt you can just pick up at Trader Joe's.
No, this is a variety of garlic salt made special just for Olive Garden breadsticks.
And once the concoction is concocted, employees paint it onto the breadsticks using a giant
brush.
The only downside is that dedicated breadstick makers end up smelling like garlic butter
by the end of their shift.
But, is that even really a downside?
Newsflash: eating endless breadsticks slathered in butter is not the healthiest thing you
can do.
First, there's the breadstick itself.
Each stick has 140 calories and 2.5 grams of fat.
That's not so bad… if you can manage to eat just one.
But since they're so yummy, it's hard to eat one, and the numbers can add up quickly.
Especially when it comes to salt.
Thanks to the salt included in the secret concoction, each breadstick has 460 milligrams
of sodium.
If you eat, say, three, that would give you 1380 milligrams of sodium — which is a ton
considering the Amaerican heart Association suggests the average adult should only have
1,500 milligrams of sodium in an entire day.
Yikes!
Breadsticks are, obviously, a shareable appetizer.
What's not so obvious is that this fact actually makes them taste better.
Yes, it's strange, but according to a study at Yale, people who ate food around other
people eating the same thing typically enjoyed it more than if they were the only one eating
a particular dish.
Olive Garden also enhances this experience by making the breadsticks unlimited.
Usually in a communal eating experience, there's a social expectation that you shouldn't eat
the last of the food.
So by removing this barrier, people eat more — and eat happier, because they aren't stressed
about making a faux pas [foh PAH].
It makes for a lovely dining experience.
"Take yesterday, for example.
We were out at the Olive Garden for dinner.
Which was lovely."
Though Olive Garden breadsticks aren't completely authentic Italian cuisine, they do have their
roots in old Italy.
According to Thrillist, there are two traditional Italian foods similar to Olive Garden breadsticks:
taralli, which is a sort of flaky-but-fried bread that's part pretzel, part breadstick,
and Grissini, which was invented in the 17th century as first a royal food, then an affordable
option for on-the-go peasants.
Either way, breadsticks became popular in America thanks to something else: the pizza
that immigrants also brought.
Breadsticks were initially made to use up some of the leftover dough!
Unfortunately, some Olive Garden shareholders think the breadsticks are too popular.
In 2014, one of the company's primary shareholders criticized Olive Garden's practices, including
the distribution of unlimited free breadsticks.
Olive Garden publicly responded, saying,
"Olive Garden's salad and breadsticks have been an icon of brand equity since 1982.
It conveys Italian generosity."
"Dude, we're here - we're family!"
"Yeah, when we're here, we're family!"
"We're here, we're family!
We're here, we're family!
Let's do this!
OLIVE GARDEN!!"
So there you have it.
No need to feel self conscious — Olive Garden wants us to eat more.
And since it would be bad manners to refuse such hospitality, go ahead and pass us the
breadsticks when you're done.
Because your stomach may not be happy, but your mouth will love it.
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