Is it sauce or gravy?
- Thread starter Monello
- Start date
Read: how many Italians on this forum?
Larry Gude
Strung Out
sauce.
gravy goes on mashed potatoes
gravy goes on mashed potatoes
Freefaller
Active Member
Have you been watching Soprano's re-runs? On that show, Paulie always called it gravy!
DEEKAYPEE8569
Well-Known Member
Pasta sauce, because you don't use anything from the pasta itself to make the sauce. Gravy on the other hand is usually made using the drippings from meats; beef or pork roasts, poultry that are produced during cooking/roasting.
I cannot remember what our neighbor, whom I called "mamma", used to call it when I helped her cook their mid day meal when I lived in Italy. She spoke little English but showed me how to make things. I cannot remember the Italian word either.
However, my aunt's husband is 3rd generation Italian and they call it (red) gravy.
lucky_bee
RBF expert
Sauce. THE Sauce.
I read one of those Buzzfeed articles...something like 31 ways you know you grew up Italian..... My favorite was "You know you grew up Italian if "GO STIR THE SAUCE" was said in a form of punishment
yup.
The other one was "I'm not yelling, I'm talking!" Out of 31, I've experienced 30. I'll have to find that article.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
Sauce
I was suprised to find a small place that callsHot Dog Chili Hot Dog Sauce instead and will argue with you that it isn't chili because it doesn't have beans in it. Its a town about 15 minutes drive from my hometown and never heard hot dog sauce until I had a job there for the summer.
Hot Dog Sauce just sounds like something I made a lot of when I was a teenager.
I was suprised to find a small place that callsHot Dog Chili Hot Dog Sauce instead and will argue with you that it isn't chili because it doesn't have beans in it. Its a town about 15 minutes drive from my hometown and never heard hot dog sauce until I had a job there for the summer.
Hot Dog Sauce just sounds like something I made a lot of when I was a teenager.
GWguy
*
According to Sheldon Cooper, real chili doesn't have any beans.
Sauce.
I always thought of "gravy" as being thickened with flour or cornstarch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravy
And under the "talk" button:
"In reference to: "Italian-American gravy Within the Italian-American community, tomato based pasta sauces or marinara sauce are commonly referred to as gravy." I think it seems a bit silly to include a statement of how tomato-based sauces (like marinara) are called gravy by Italian-Americans. A common mistake in nomenclature does not a gravy make. Merriam-Webster defines gravy as "a sauce made from the thickened and seasoned juices of cooked meat" m-w.com and OED defines it as "The fat and juices that come out of meat during cooking" or "a sauce made from these juices together with stock and other ingredients." Those definitions seem to imply that a gravy must strongly feature the thickened meat juices or flavor of the meat, not merely have the meat hiding somewhere under a blanket of tomato. Since this isn't really a thickened sauce (unless tomato pulp is now a thickener...) it really isn't a gravy, regardless of what it is called."
I always thought of "gravy" as being thickened with flour or cornstarch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravy
And under the "talk" button:
"In reference to: "Italian-American gravy Within the Italian-American community, tomato based pasta sauces or marinara sauce are commonly referred to as gravy." I think it seems a bit silly to include a statement of how tomato-based sauces (like marinara) are called gravy by Italian-Americans. A common mistake in nomenclature does not a gravy make. Merriam-Webster defines gravy as "a sauce made from the thickened and seasoned juices of cooked meat" m-w.com and OED defines it as "The fat and juices that come out of meat during cooking" or "a sauce made from these juices together with stock and other ingredients." Those definitions seem to imply that a gravy must strongly feature the thickened meat juices or flavor of the meat, not merely have the meat hiding somewhere under a blanket of tomato. Since this isn't really a thickened sauce (unless tomato pulp is now a thickener...) it really isn't a gravy, regardless of what it is called."
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crabcake
But wait, there's more...
1/3 Italian ... I call it sauce, but we have a fab Italian restaurant in Raleigh called "Gravy". When I was in Italy, they referred to it as sauce, but maybe they were just taking pity on the Americano. :shrug:
SO...In the past couple of days, I did some more research on the sauce/gravy debate. Here is what I've found
I reported here that my aunt's husband's family was from Italy (southern Italy region). My uncle was born and raised in New Orleans, but his mother was born in Italy, so I wrong about his being 3rd generation. My aunt/uncle refer to it as "gravy", specifically, red gravy. I am waiting to hear back from her about whether my uncle's mother has always called it that.
Foxhound's family (his father's father) was FROM Italy, about 40 minutes from Naples, where his grandfather was born. They left Italy and ended up in CT and FH reports that his grandfather/father have always called it "sauce".
Foxhound has a BIL whose family is from Sicily - not sure what generation came from there, (I think his BIL's mother was born in Italy) but they live here in MD now. THEY have always called it "gravy" and FH said the whole family on that side has.
I am lifelong friends with an Italian family that MY family was close to when I lived in Naples, Italy. Their son and youngest daughter are friends of mine on FB. In a twist of serendipity, the youngest daughter lives in Maryland. She manages an Italian restaurant. So, I messaged her today on FB and asked her what SHE called it in her family. (sauce or gravy) She replied "saucccce!- NOT gravy"! I asked her for HER Italian word for it and she replied "salsa". She said gravy was an "Americano" word.
The little bit of Googling I did on the topic turned up some interesting tidbits. It seems as though most of the families who call it "gravy" began doing so when they immigrated, for various reasons. Not sure how accurate this is. Anyhoo - it is very interesting to hear everyone's version of these words and reading about the family customs and stories!
I reported here that my aunt's husband's family was from Italy (southern Italy region). My uncle was born and raised in New Orleans, but his mother was born in Italy, so I wrong about his being 3rd generation. My aunt/uncle refer to it as "gravy", specifically, red gravy. I am waiting to hear back from her about whether my uncle's mother has always called it that.
Foxhound's family (his father's father) was FROM Italy, about 40 minutes from Naples, where his grandfather was born. They left Italy and ended up in CT and FH reports that his grandfather/father have always called it "sauce".
Foxhound has a BIL whose family is from Sicily - not sure what generation came from there, (I think his BIL's mother was born in Italy) but they live here in MD now. THEY have always called it "gravy" and FH said the whole family on that side has.
I am lifelong friends with an Italian family that MY family was close to when I lived in Naples, Italy. Their son and youngest daughter are friends of mine on FB. In a twist of serendipity, the youngest daughter lives in Maryland. She manages an Italian restaurant. So, I messaged her today on FB and asked her what SHE called it in her family. (sauce or gravy) She replied "saucccce!- NOT gravy"! I asked her for HER Italian word for it and she replied "salsa". She said gravy was an "Americano" word.
The little bit of Googling I did on the topic turned up some interesting tidbits. It seems as though most of the families who call it "gravy" began doing so when they immigrated, for various reasons. Not sure how accurate this is. Anyhoo - it is very interesting to hear everyone's version of these words and reading about the family customs and stories!
