Thread Number: 59126
/ Tag: Recipes, Cooking Accessories
OK... What do you call Tomato Sauce... "Sauce" or "Gravy" ??? |
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Post# 816912   4/1/2015 at 13:14 (3,284 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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Post# 816913 , Reply# 1   4/1/2015 at 13:15 (3,284 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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Post# 816920 , Reply# 2   4/1/2015 at 13:28 (3,284 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
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Post# 816941 , Reply# 5   4/1/2015 at 15:32 (3,284 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)   |   | |
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We generally call long strands and shapes by their name (spaghetti, linguini, angel hair, farfalle, etc). Macaroni was usually elbows. Noodles were usually of the egg variety like for stroganoff. The term pasta for us is usually generic- "Wanna have pasta for dinner?" not referring to anything in particular. Could even be ravioli!
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Post# 816944 , Reply# 6   4/1/2015 at 15:41 (3,284 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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Spaghetti and sauce, except for when my brother was learning to talk and it was skabetti and my cousin Lester called it Pisketti. |
Post# 816957 , Reply# 7   4/1/2015 at 16:42 (3,284 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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I generally refer to most all as “pasta”, i.e. a possible option for dinner. But when I’m cooking for example, I use its specific name (spaghetti, penne, fusilli, etc). I tend to think of any "noodle" with roots going back to Italy as "pasta".
I do not refer to Asian rice based noodles as pasta, for the above reason.
Tomato based (whatever) over/with pasta is a "red sauce" or "pasta sauce".
Gravy to me is served with meat, has meat juices in it, is thickened with flour and is void of tomatoes.
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Tom, funny that you brought up skabetti and pasketti! I remember pronouncing it skabetti and some neighbor kids or friends pronouncing it pasketti.
Kevin
This post was last edited 04/01/2015 at 17:03 |
Post# 816963 , Reply# 8   4/1/2015 at 17:09 (3,284 days old) by turquoisedude (.)   |   | |
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Post# 816983 , Reply# 9   4/1/2015 at 20:01 (3,284 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 816984 , Reply# 10   4/1/2015 at 20:05 (3,284 days old) by joeypete (Concord, NH)   |   | |
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I'm Italian and my family is from NJ. My Gram always called tomato sauce "gravy", though my dad never did. We called pasta "macaroni" for the most part. From watching the "Frugal Gourmet", he discussed this as well. He said gravy is a tomato sauce that is slow cooked for hours. That's what my Gram did!
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Post# 816986 , Reply# 11   4/1/2015 at 20:19 (3,284 days old) by stan (Napa CA)   |   | |
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Post# 816989 , Reply# 12   4/1/2015 at 20:27 (3,284 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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I myself refer to gravy as in Turkey, Chicken, Beef Gravy etc.
I just started this thread to see what different areas of the Country (World as well) called their Tomato Based ... Sauce. I always called it Sauce. From the Culinary Institute of America it is called Tomato Sauce.
Yes, and Chucks description of Pasta, Noodles, Macaroni et al is my same line of thinking. I just find it amusing when some parts of the country, state, neighborhoods called Tomato Sauce "Gravy".
Or when they call any shape Pasta "Macaroni".
Now one step further... What kind of Cheese to you like ?
Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Pecarino, Green Kraft Shaker, Store Brand ???
And do you grate your own or do you buy pre grated/shredded ?
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Post# 816991 , Reply# 13   4/1/2015 at 20:49 (3,284 days old) by luxflairguy (Wilmington NC)   |   | |
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In the NW it's sauce...It's what printed on the label, right? Cheese--parma all the way and I grate my own in the Cuisinart. Have for years. Costco has good parma and I go through quite a bit. |
Post# 816993 , Reply# 14   4/1/2015 at 20:54 (3,284 days old) by abcomatic (Bradford, Illinois)   |   | |
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In the middle of Illinois it is called tomato sauce. Pasta is the over all term and then specific terms such as macaroni etc. Noodles are called noodles. Pasta salad is the term used for that particular dish as opposed to lettuce salad, gelatin salad etc. |
Post# 817004 , Reply# 16   4/1/2015 at 22:16 (3,284 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 817008 , Reply# 17   4/1/2015 at 23:31 (3,284 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 817016 , Reply# 18   4/2/2015 at 00:14 (3,284 days old) by A440 ()   |   | |
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Tomato Sauce Sweety. |
Post# 817023 , Reply# 19   4/2/2015 at 01:31 (3,284 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Post# 817101 , Reply# 20   4/2/2015 at 14:42 (3,283 days old) by brib68 (Central Connecticut)   |   | |
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many, many people call it gravy. And lasagna is served at all holiday meals--Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving...
They also call mozzarella cheese "mootz" and ricotta "rigut". And along the shoreline, the first letter of "pizza" is "A". (Apizza--pronounced uh-PEETZ) I'm from the midwest, so I call the red stuff "sauce" even if I have picked up mootz and rigut in my speech. And I can't throw stones, because I use words like "hamloaf" and "goetta" that have no translation here. And yes, I say "pop" in reference to carbonated soft drinks. |
Post# 817108 , Reply# 21   4/2/2015 at 15:18 (3,283 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room)   |   | |
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Tomato sauce here. I have never heard anyone whom I know use any other label.
I think I use both "pasta" and "noodles". Pasta is probably the "default." But I might sometimes say "spaghetti noodles." I can't say for sure, but I think "noodles" might be the "standard" when I was quite young. As for cheese, I almost never bother these days. Years back, when I was cooking more (and more of a snob), I liked getting parmesan and grating it. The choice of parmesan was possibly influenced by A) commonly called for in one cookbook I liked and B) easy to come by. (This was 20 years ago. I can't recall for sure, but I don't think the variety of cheese was as diverse in the average grocery store as it is now.) |
Post# 817113 , Reply# 22   4/2/2015 at 16:18 (3,283 days old) by perc-o-prince (Southboro, Mass)   |   | |
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I love Pecorino Romano for the sharpness, but Parmagiano Reggiano is my preference for lighter. Rich brought home a big block from Ventimigilia and it's so-o-o good! Chuck |
Post# 817114 , Reply# 23   4/2/2015 at 16:20 (3,283 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)   |   | |
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Post# 817135 , Reply# 25   4/2/2015 at 19:16 (3,283 days old) by Intuitive (Inner West, Sydney Australia. )   |   | |
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Down in Australia; Tomato sauce is our version of Ketchup and pasta sauce or pasetta is the base for all things tomato pasta sauce. PS. Best cheese for pasta is Reggiano J |
Post# 817138 , Reply# 26   4/2/2015 at 19:53 (3,283 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Well I grew up near New Haven and we were basically surrounded by Italian-American families. Never heard any of them refer to spaghetti sauce as gravy. But maybe they were deferring to the non-Italians. I don't know. We left CT when I was 11 years old, so my exposure to alternate word choices may have been age-limited. We moved to San Francisco where the main ethnic fare was Chinese (Cantonese).
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Post# 817139 , Reply# 27   4/2/2015 at 19:55 (3,283 days old) by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts)   |   | |
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Sorry, but whenever I think of gravy, I can't get this video out of my head.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO Blackstone's LINK |
Post# 817142 , Reply# 28   4/2/2015 at 20:10 (3,283 days old) by alr2903 (TN)   |   | |
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www.nolacajun.com/tony-mandina-s-... |
Post# 817161 , Reply# 29   4/2/2015 at 20:59 (3,283 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))   |   | |
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While My red sauce could be technically a gravy: (I fry the meat and then deglaze the pot to release the fond and finish the sauce from there). I still call it pasta sauce.
Any red pasta sauce that does not involve the deglazing of a pan of meat drippings is NOT A GRAVY! To be a gravy it has to contain the drippings/fond from cooking meat. WK78 |
Post# 817166 , Reply# 30   4/2/2015 at 21:28 (3,283 days old) by Joe_in_philly (Philadelphia, PA, USA)   |   | |
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I call it sauce, but my grandparents called it gravy. I grew up in Ohio (nobody said gravy there), but now live in South Philly where some of my grandparents grew up. It is still common to hear older people in my neighborhood speaking Italian, and if someone says they made gravy, it is assumed to be tomato sauce. I have noticed that a lot of Italians from nearby New Jersey will say gravy.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO Joe_in_philly's LINK |
Post# 817177 , Reply# 31   4/2/2015 at 22:54 (3,283 days old) by xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania )   |   | |
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For me anything that is based off of fat thickened with flour/cornstarch is a gravy, anything else is a sauce, such as tomato sauce, pasta sauce.
My cheese of choice is Romano, I like it's sharp and salty taste. Also for us all forms of pasta etc we call noodles. I'm assuming that is mostly from the Eastern European background, all my grandparents call everything noodles. |
Post# 817184 , Reply# 32   4/3/2015 at 01:09 (3,283 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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This all reminds of a time I went with some friends to an Italian restaurant in Monterey. I had arrived a bit late and wasn't really hungry. But I had heard the term "Pasta fazool" and wondered what it was, and asked if I could have some. I think someone asked if I wanted beans with it, which seemed weird to me, and I pictured some baked beans on the side, so I said "no beans". Well, what came out was a bowl of limp macaroni swimming in nothing but plain tomato sauce, like you'd get out of a can. It was awful. I took one spoonful and not more. Years later I looked it up in Google and realized that Pasta Fazool is supposed to have beans in it, that meal in Monterey probably would have been a lot better had I said "yes" to the bean question. It's also possible it wasn't a very good restaurant.
LOL
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Post# 817321 , Reply# 35   4/3/2015 at 17:54 (3,282 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Post# 818450 , Reply# 37   4/10/2015 at 10:51 (3,275 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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For those of you that refer to tomato based pasta / spaghetti / noodle sauce as "gravy"...
Then what do you call "actual" gravy that is poured over meat, mashed potatoes, french fries, etc??
Kevin
BTW.... Fred (Blackstone) that House of Gravy video was VERY funny! Thanks for sharing it!
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Post# 818456 , Reply# 38   4/10/2015 at 11:09 (3,275 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 818828 , Reply# 40   4/11/2015 at 17:05 (3,274 days old) by countryguy (Astorville, ON, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 819500 , Reply# 41   4/16/2015 at 05:40 (3,270 days old) by retro-man (- boston,ma)   |   | |
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Was grocery shopping the other day and for the 1st time there was a small display of jars set up and the label on the front in big letters say Red Gravy. Never saw it before. Its made by a local company called "Ya Mammas'. Jon |
Post# 819628 , Reply# 42   4/17/2015 at 01:53 (3,269 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Post# 819635 , Reply# 43   4/17/2015 at 05:19 (3,269 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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There are some pretty darn good jarred sauces out there.
One of my favorite quick Pasta Dinners is saute some Onions and Garlic in Olive Oil. Add some white wine, a can of Tuna, (Preferably Tonno in Olive Oil), and then some Marinara and a pinch of Crushed Red Pepper. Serve on Fusilli or Rotini. or any Pasta that will hold the sauce. |
Post# 820077 , Reply# 44   4/19/2015 at 20:02 (3,266 days old) by Joe_in_philly (Philadelphia, PA, USA)   |   | |
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Over the weekend I saw this sign outside a restaurant in the Italian Market near me.
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Post# 820089 , Reply# 45   4/19/2015 at 21:14 (3,266 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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Post# 820092 , Reply# 46   4/19/2015 at 21:24 (3,266 days old) by miele_ge (Danbury, Connecticut)   |   | |
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"Assistante del tonno" - Tuna Helper in Italian!
I love it - my partner can't stand the idea of it - reminds him of Tuna Helper when he was a kid.
But I make mine with canned San Marzano tomatoes - no jarred sauce in my house! Found 2 versions of it - one from Marcella Hazan and one from Biba Caggiano which is my preferred one - after all "You Can't Make A Booboo with Biba!"
Green Acres fans will remember my tag line from the episode where Lisa makes a boxed cake mix IN THE BOX. The Brand was "Bibbers" and their slogan was "You Can't Make a Booboo with Bibbers". I guess they were right because Oliver proclaimed in surprise that the cake was good. Of course, anything was better than those Hot Cakes! :-)
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Post# 820117 , Reply# 47   4/20/2015 at 04:06 (3,266 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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When the woman that showed me how to make this Tuna Sauce, she called it "Linguine con Tonno".
The jarred sauce thing... Sometimes when your in the Kitchen (Restaurant) all day and it's busy, you forget to eat sometimes. And after awhile, you get tired of everything that you have in house. In house meaning food at the restaurant. So you get home, have a drink or glass of wine and then it strikes you ... " I haven't eaten a thing all day".... Enter the wonderful world of Pantry Staples. Box of Pasta, Can of Tuna, Jar of Sauce. In the fridge.. That Spanish onion that is beginning to sprout, a wedge of cheese and some garlic. The possibilities are endless. |
Post# 820125 , Reply# 48   4/20/2015 at 08:09 (3,266 days old) by miele_ge (Danbury, Connecticut)   |   | |
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Post# 820195 , Reply# 49   4/20/2015 at 17:45 (3,265 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))   |   | |
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Of course I get it Eddie. There's days where the inmates eat twice before I see more than a cup of coffee. Also there are some days where I get tired of the prison food(although it is fairly good) and just want something else. Coming Home I don't want to do a big meal and then it's pizza night.
WK78 |
Post# 820196 , Reply# 50   4/20/2015 at 18:09 (3,265 days old) by ptcruiser51 (Boynton Beach, FL)   |   | |
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I didn't have many Italian friends as a young child. We always called anything red "tomato sauce" or "spaghetti sauce". We were poor, so all we ever had was actual spaghetti or macaroni. Maybe on rare occasions rotini (spirals). Or for a real treat, "wagon wheels". Gravy for us was always meat-based brown stuff. Served over meat, spuds, or leftovers. Even the greasy spoons/diners referred to your choice of french fries or home fries as a "frenchy gravy". I still order this way, responded by puzzled expressions.
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Post# 820209 , Reply# 51   4/20/2015 at 19:44 (3,265 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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I am surrounded by Fresh Seafood that is not in my cooler more than 36 hours we're so busy and have the ordering down pat.
But when I get home, just a nice simple pasta or Roast Chicken is heaven !!!
Yup. Those days where you jump on the line and it's just busy and it rolls into the dinner rush, you just want to get out. |
Post# 820309 , Reply# 52   4/21/2015 at 11:49 (3,264 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 820358 , Reply# 53   4/21/2015 at 17:50 (3,264 days old) by perc-o-prince (Southboro, Mass)   |   | |
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Oh, but remember when it was in Lisa Douglas-ese it was "hots cakes!" Still love that show, and the best moments were the electrical system that was run on the system of 7! Chuck |
Post# 959936 , Reply# 54   9/30/2017 at 16:20 (2,371 days old) by agiflow2 ()   |   | |
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Being from the NY/NJ area we probably have the highest concentration of Italians in the US. In my neck of the woods it was called making a "pot of gravy". |
Post# 959986 , Reply# 56   10/1/2017 at 01:11 (2,371 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN)   |   | |
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as they say in NOLA. Gravy is made from meat drippings and flour. And the generic term for a soft drink here is "coke". "What kind of coke do you want? Dr. Pepper please." Tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, lasagna sauce. We refer to pasta as the particular noodle that it is...spaghetti, macaroni, rotini, etc. |
Post# 960129 , Reply# 58   10/1/2017 at 23:52 (2,370 days old) by brucelucenta ()   |   | |
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Whadda you crazy? It's sauce of course! |
Post# 960169 , Reply# 60   10/2/2017 at 07:20 (2,370 days old) by joeekaitis (Rialto, California, USA)   |   | |
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Post# 960187 , Reply# 61   10/2/2017 at 09:20 (2,370 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 960214 , Reply# 62   10/2/2017 at 11:05 (2,369 days old) by dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA))   |   | |
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Post# 960219 , Reply# 63   10/2/2017 at 11:38 (2,369 days old) by agiflow2 ()   |   | |
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Technically it is sauce yes, but when it is cooked for a while and thickened up, that I guess is why some folks of Italian ancestry call it gravy. Gravy or sauce it delicious all the same ! |
Post# 960234 , Reply# 64   10/2/2017 at 13:42 (2,369 days old) by washerboy (Little Rock Arkansas)   |   | |
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Never heard it called gravy...it's sauce. Gravy is meat drippings/fat mixed with flour/corn starch, water or milk cooked until thick. To each his own is suppose |
Post# 960244 , Reply# 65   10/2/2017 at 14:57 (2,369 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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I did a quick search and found this. Website says "for those who like marinara but like a smooth texture". Note it also states "pasta sauce" on the lower part of the label.
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Post# 960294 , Reply# 66   10/2/2017 at 20:32 (2,369 days old) by Gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA)   |   | |
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If you have lived in the North East triangle, you get used to people describing sauce as gravy especially in New Joisey. I love it either way and when in Rome---------. |
Post# 960389 , Reply# 68   10/3/2017 at 09:48 (2,368 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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I found this about a vodka sauce:
www.pasta-recipes-by-italians.com... I guess when it comes to gnocchi, it depends on the region what kind of sauce you eat with it. Gnocchi and melted butter and sage is a classic combination, but I know indeed with a tomatoe sauce or so. A lot of the Italian recipes used in the USA are often Americanized recipes like spaghetti and meatballs. AFAIK there is a region (forgot which one) where they first eat pasta with the tomato sauce and in the next course the meatballs with vegetables but never spaghetti in one course with the meatballs. Gennaro Contaldo recently made a video about childhood memories cooking spaghetti and meatballs. He got a lot of comment on that video, that it was not an Italian recipe. Also Anthony Bourdain got a lot of disdain from some Italians when he served them spaghetti and meatballs as Italian food. |
Post# 960397 , Reply# 69   10/3/2017 at 10:18 (2,368 days old) by jkbff (Happy Rock, ND)   |   | |
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I've always understood gravy to be made in a pan that had meat in it, so a tomato gravy was made in a pan that meat was cooked in. Tomato sauce is just that, nothing to do with meat in the cooking process. Then you have your white gravy, brown gravy, chicken gravy, turkey gravy but how about this curve ball?
I have worked around a lot of Indian families (not Native American) and they always make gravy. It is not sauce, I was specifically told this. Generally tomato based, but it is never sauce. |
Post# 960434 , Reply# 71   10/3/2017 at 14:47 (2,368 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 960449 , Reply# 73   10/3/2017 at 15:54 (2,368 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 960462 , Reply# 76   10/3/2017 at 17:12 (2,368 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Paulo,
I'm always willing to learn. What region is your Italian family from? And do you know the Italian name for spaghetti and meatballs? I don't mean the literal translation ofcourse. In no Italian cookbook, including the Culinaria Italia, I have there is a recipe for it and my Italian friend Irene doesn't know about it either. And then Anna del Conte, who covered the history of Italian food mentions that there is only one pasta dish in which meat is accompanied by pasta: Carne alla Genovese, braised beef served with penne. So I did my research, but I may have missed something. Fettuccine Alfredo originates indeed from Italy but it was not made with cream. Half Italy would be running for the bathroom after eating a sauce with cream, so cream sauces are not very popular in Italy. A Carbonara is also often made with cream, but originally cream wasn't used in it. |
Post# 960463 , Reply# 77   10/3/2017 at 17:35 (2,368 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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I've heard the story that Fettuccine Alfedo was originated in Italy expressly for Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Mary Pickford when they were on their honeymoon in the early 1920's. The story goes that they were staying in a hotel somewhere in Italy and when Mary became hungry during the night they requested for the hotel chef to make them a little something, and this is the dish he came up with. His name was Alfredo hence, Fettuccini Alfedo came into the lexicon. But he prepared the dish with freshly grated parmesan and the rich Italian butter that was available to him, no cream. As I heard the story the butter was supposed to have been different than what we are used to, and had some cream in it making it like a cross between butter and fresh cream.
My Mom was raised near an Italian family in Oakland after her family moved here in 1935. Mrs. Bertoli taught my Mom Italian cooking and she was a great cook. One for the dishes that was Mom's specialty was Fettucinni Neapolitan. It starts out as Alfredo, but is then topped with a delcious tomato based sauce made with crushed tomatoes, mild Italian sausage, mushrooms, green onions, garlic, basil and beer, not wine, because thats what Mrs. Bertoli used. It was a spectacular dish! Most all of my parents friends were pure Italian and they all loved Mom's Fettuccini. Many of them had been to Italy and they all said that Moms' was the best they ever tasted. I'm the only one in the family that still knows how to make it, because I watched her and listened, it was never written down. And as far as the gravy vs sauce, I believe that sauce is the West Coast vernacular for Italian tomato based pasta sauces, gravy is East Coast terminology. Either way, whatever you call it Italian food is the best! Eddie |
Post# 960475 , Reply# 79   10/3/2017 at 18:52 (2,368 days old) by vacerator (Macomb, Michigan)   |   | |
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eat and serve meatballs with pasta. To change things up, they also slow simmer an entire beef chuck in the sugo while it is cooking all day. |
Post# 960523 , Reply# 81   10/4/2017 at 01:29 (2,368 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Well until I was eleven we lived in perhaps the most Italian town in the USA: East Haven, Connecticut. Highest percent of population and all that. I'd guess our neighborhood was over 50% Italian. But I never heard anyone refer to tomato based sauce as "gravy". For some reason it seems like a lazy way to refer to a cuisine that has so many fascinating names in Italian.
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Post# 960534 , Reply# 82   10/4/2017 at 05:21 (2,368 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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The spaghetti and meatball thing is an interesting mystery. Perhaps we'll never solve it. Wikipedia has a list of pasta dishes, there it's stated too that it's originally from the USA. I've seen mentioned several times that it was first served in the 1920's
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pa... I mentioned Anna del Conte, what she meant was the combination of pieces of meat and pasta. In a bolognese the meat is part of the sauce, but that is not what she meant. On Wikipedia a few other dishes are mentioned, Anna del Conte must have missed those. The fact that Mike's cousin serves spaghetti and meatballs isn't enough proof I think. This is after WWII, it can be an American influence from the liberation. Paulo's family is more interesting. Especially the combination of meatballs and other pasta, not spaghetti. That could have been originally a pasta dish with the smaller meatballs. What puzzles me too is that in the eyes of Italians spaghetti is not the right type of pasta to go with meatballs because the type of pasta has to fit the sauce. Big chunks, big type of pasta etc. I have noticed that spaghetti and meatballs sometimes is called spaghetti and Sicilian meatballs. If, what I mentioned before, spaghetti served with tomatosauce/pastasauce and in the next course the meatballs with vegetables (perhaps part of the Cucina povera?), is a Sicilian custom, it would agree with the story that Americans were missing meat in a spaghetti and tomato sauce dish and because of that the Italians put the meatballs on top of it. So far my anthropological food research for today. lol |
Post# 960544 , Reply# 83   10/4/2017 at 08:23 (2,368 days old) by vacerator (Macomb, Michigan)   |   | |
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without mysteries? Example; Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and everyone. |
Post# 960546 , Reply# 84   10/4/2017 at 08:51 (2,368 days old) by MrAlex (London, UK)   |   | |
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Post# 960561 , Reply# 85   10/4/2017 at 12:01 (2,367 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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"Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and everyone."
A source is mentioned, so you can check that. Or did you mean to say this particular information is incorrect? Here's an interesting article about pasta. Spaghetti and meatballs is mentioned here too, but there is much more information about pasta etc. www.theatlantic.com/magaz... |
Post# 960625 , Reply# 87   10/4/2017 at 17:24 (2,367 days old) by brucelucenta ()   |   | |
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I think the question is: what do you call someone who asks such a question as this one? |
Post# 960627 , Reply# 88   10/4/2017 at 17:25 (2,367 days old) by brucelucenta ()   |   | |
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I think the question is: what do you call someone who asks such a question as this one? I can think of several things.... This post was last edited 10/04/2017 at 19:58 |
Post# 960645 , Reply# 89   10/4/2017 at 19:57 (2,367 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Gravy derives from an older term for meat fat... by definition gravy is such thickened with flour... you can google gravy and pages and pages of flour thickened fat and broth come up, nothing about tomatoes.
I figure the use of the term gravy for what most call spaghetti sauce was an attempt, unconscious perhaps, of early Italian Americans to better assimilate into the general lexicon that anything poured over a carb dish is gravy. To make something uniquely Italian more Americanized. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. |
Post# 960704 , Reply# 90   10/5/2017 at 05:58 (2,367 days old) by agiflow2 ()   |   | |
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However it came to be known as gravy i am grateful all the same. It is delicious no matter what you call it. |
Post# 960725 , Reply# 91   10/5/2017 at 08:57 (2,367 days old) by vacerator (Macomb, Michigan)   |   | |
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would be ketchup? Some say catsup on the bottle. Tomato, tomoto. Then there is puree, and paste. Why criticize a question? Enough of us found it questionable enough to reply after 970 days. It was rather fun. |
Post# 960758 , Reply# 92   10/5/2017 at 12:35 (2,366 days old) by MrAlex (London, UK)   |   | |
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Post# 960947 , Reply# 94   10/6/2017 at 15:08 (2,365 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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On spaghetti and meatballs: My mom, who hailed from Veroli, Italy, came to the US in 1946. She maintained that meatballs served with spaghetti was an American, not Italian creation---although she eventually served it often, as that's what Americans considered an Italian dish. She tended to serve the meatballs as a separate course. You'd have pasta with sauce served prior to the meatballs.
She also maintained that using a spoon to help spin spaghetti around a fork was for small children and the uncouth. That has been contested by others here, but it must have been the custom in the area she was from. I was weaned off the "guiding spoon" by about first grade. I have no problem with a spoon being used, but it drove her to distraction. She was also a great believer in serving lasagna at every Sunday or holiday meal. Roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, lasagna. At Thanksgiving, turkey with all the trimmings...and lasagna. My sister used to joke that mom considered it a side dish. Aside: My mother's real first name was Rosa Maria. My dad and customs officials convinced her to change it to the more American-sounding 'Rosina' when they arrived on these shores. Mom had her revenge when she named my sister. First name: Maria Teresa. Middle Name: Vanda Valentina. My sister had it legally changed to Maria T. (just the initial for a middle name) in her mid-20's. |
Post# 960974 , Reply# 95   10/6/2017 at 17:06 (2,365 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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I love your story about you Mom serving Lasagna every Sunday and Holiday. Here in Northern California almost all the Italians families I know have this same tradition, but instead of Lasagna its Ravioli. No special Italian family dinner is considered complete unless there are Ravioli, or "Rav's" on the table. And if not Rav's, then it would be Gnooci, which is one of my most favorite things in the world, especially with good, fresh homemade Pesto.
And my family also felt the same way about using a spoon to help wrap the spaghetti around the fork, its just not supposed to be done. I love the Italian culture and their food. I'm married to an Italian too. Eddie |
Post# 961031 , Reply# 96   10/6/2017 at 22:51 (2,365 days old) by earthling177 (Boston, MA)   |   | |
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My family never did the spoon to twirl pasta either, you just spin the fork against the plate and it works just fine. |
Post# 961095 , Reply# 97   10/7/2017 at 09:33 (2,365 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
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Post# 961131 , Reply# 98   10/7/2017 at 13:24 (2,364 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 961156 , Reply# 99   10/7/2017 at 16:24 (2,364 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Petek and Louis: Both breaking spaghetti prior to cooking and cutting it into smaller strands at the table were major violations in my mom's opinion. I saw 'Pot-Sized' short spaghetti (HyVee brand) in the grocery store a few months ago and thought, "Mom would freak." LOL
She would twirl a single strand of spaghetti onto a kid-sized fork for me when I was too young to do it myself, but she'd never, ever cut it. In hindsight the full-length strand would probably be considered a choking hazard for tykes these days. |
Post# 961207 , Reply# 100   10/7/2017 at 18:39 (2,364 days old) by countryguy (Astorville, ON, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 961217 , Reply# 101   10/7/2017 at 19:25 (2,364 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 961226 , Reply# 102   10/7/2017 at 20:32 (2,364 days old) by mtn1584 (USA)   |   | |
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Bronx NY born and bred Italian here... Macaroni always!!! I hate the word p***a! I call it marinara and when there’s meat in it, a meat gravy. Grew up though calling everything gravy. Mike |
Post# 961235 , Reply# 103   10/7/2017 at 21:35 (2,364 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 961265 , Reply# 104   10/8/2017 at 01:25 (2,364 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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I LOVE it, any Italian dish is GOOD! |
Post# 961273 , Reply# 105   10/8/2017 at 01:59 (2,364 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Post# 961276 , Reply# 106   10/8/2017 at 02:53 (2,364 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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Say to rinse, but I never knew anyone who did, I don't, but I do break spaghetti up in pieces....I know, its a no no, but its easier to eat without making a mess. |
Post# 961282 , Reply# 107   10/8/2017 at 04:12 (2,364 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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I could post a whole bunch of cats here! lol
Italians don't rinse their pasta, they even add some starchy pasta water to make the binding between the pasta and the sauce. It's a must for recipes like a puttanesca. But... People with diabetes can get away a bit more when eating pasta when the pasta is cooled off then reheated. Reheating is essential here. That method gives a smaller rise in blood glucose. |
Post# 961375 , Reply# 108   10/8/2017 at 19:11 (2,363 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Pasta is naturally more diabetic friendly than, say, potatoes or refined wheat flour. The reason is that the starch in pasta is more slowly digested than the refined starch in flour, or in potatoes. This means a more gradual rise in blood glucose that diabetics may find easier to handle. I imagine the cooling and reheating of pasta somehow may make the starch even more slow to digest.
I wonder if there are any studies to document the effect? |
Post# 961430 , Reply# 109   10/9/2017 at 02:57 (2,363 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)   |   | |
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Post# 961444 , Reply# 110   10/9/2017 at 05:37 (2,363 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)   |   | |
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My Grandparents were from Italy. My parents were born here.
Every Sunday was dinner with the family at my Grandparents house. Meatballs, Sausage, and Braciole was served separately from the Pasta with "Sauce". We never called it Gravy. Then they would clear the table, put out fruit and bowls of nuts that the "men" snacked on while waiting on desert which was usually something like Ricotta Cheese pie or something like that. Everything was home made including the Pasta. My Grandmother spent the entire day on Saturday cooking for all of us. I can remember playing with all my cousins after dinner while the "men" sat at the table with their pants unbuttoned LOL.
Such great memories. Do families do this anymore? |