Don’t let the “ch” fool you! Proper bruschetta pronunciation is bru·​sket·​tuh. If you’ve ever wondered how to say bruschetta, you’re not alone. Three aspects of the Italian language often confuse English speakers. Unfortunately, they are all crammed into the word bruschetta!

Hence the quick video of an Italian and an American both pronouncing bruschetta. 

I laugh watching this because Paolo and I have had the exact bruschetta pronunciation “discussion.” At least until I learned in my Italian class how to say bruschetta like the proper dual American Italian citizen I am!

Bruschetta Pronunciation

Today’s post includes three tips from my Italian language class that helped me learn how to say bruschetta correctly. Plus, an explanation of what bruschetta is, what bruschetta means, where it’s from, and even a quick tip to make it at home.

What is Bruschetta?

Bruschetta is an Italian appetizer of grilled or toasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with delicious stuff like extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes, and salt.

The trick to making a good bruschetta is adding just enough wet toppings like tomatoes so that the bread gets soggy but stays crisp.

Now that you know the trick to making bruschetta like an Italian, here’s the first tip to pronouncing it like one.

Bruschetta Pronunciation Tip 1: How to say the CH

Bruschetta is a popular Italian food in America. Yet Americans mispronounce it frequently due to the “ch.” Even though there is no letter K in the Italian language, there is a phonetic K sound. That’s where the “ch” comes in. In Italian, whenever you see the letters CH together, imagine them morphing to make the letter K because that’s how they always sound together. Hence bru·​sket·​tuh is the correct way to say bruschetta.

Bruschetta Pronunciation Tip 2: How to Say the Vowels

One of the biggest difficulties with Italian for native English speakers is the vowels. Similar to English, Italian has five vowels A, E, I, O, and U. However, Italians pronounce them differently. Plus, there are hard and soft sounds for each vowel which can get confusing.

While the U comes naturally to native English speakers the E and A sounds in bruschetta are more difficult. To hear the difference in all Italian vowels watch to the video below.

Watching recipe videos in Italian is a great way to hear proper pronunciation from native Italian speakers! Especially when it comes to hearing the difference between words that end in an -a and those that end in an -e like bruschetta and bruschette.

Now that you know how to say bruschetta, here are a few more fun facts about bruschetta to sink your teeth into.

What Does Bruschetta Mean?

Italian food names tell you a lot about their origins. For instance bruschetta. In Italian, the verb abbrustolire (infinitive form) chiefly means to toast, roast, or char. What’s more is that Italians derived it from the verb bruscare in the Roman dialect. In other words, the name bruschetta hints at its origin.

Where is Bruschetta From?

The name leads us to Ancient Rome. After olive growers harvested their olives, they would bring them to town to have them pressed. They then used bread to sample the fresh olive oil. Fires nearby made for crispier bread, all the better to taste it with.

Poor farmers began to add tomatoes and garlic from their gardens to create a cheap yet tasty meal. In other words, Italians have never wasted bread!

To sum it up, Bruschetta pronounced bru·​sket·​tuh is a popular Italian appetizer made from toasted, charred or grilled bread topped with olive-oil and tomatoes.

While this is considered the classic bruschetta recipe, toppings vary across Italy to incorporate fresh local ingredients like mozzarella, salami, olives.

In Tuscany bruschetta aka crostini are topped with black kale or Paolo’s favorite seen here from our trip chicken liver!

Trust me this simple Italian dish is at it’s best in Italy. Hence it’s important to know how to say bruschetta when you finally get to order it in Italy!

References

• Definition of Bruschetta — Merriam Webster Dictionary
• La Cucina Italiana Glossary Bruschetta