Sauce Vs. Gravy: The Great Italian-American Debate
About the long-standing debate over calling your pasta topping sauce or gravy?
As Italian immigrants flooded The United States in the 20th Century, clashes of the new and old world were inevitable. All aspects of the culture, including cooking and language would be altered in order to assimilate to the new American life but as the Italians settled, first on the east coast and then throughout the rest of the country, debates about words and references in Italian culture have surfaced. One bone of contention that seems to always stir up some controversy is the Sauce Vs. Gravy debate. How could such a minor detail become such a major issue amongst Italian Americans? The answer lies within the origin of both words, their counterparts in the Italian language.
Gravy for most Americans has a strong association with Thanksgiving turkey and roast beef. It’s usually a thick, dark sauce derived from meat. I imagine that if I were to entire a diner in certain parts of the country and ordered pasta with gravy, I would receive a plate of noodles smothered in a brown sauce, and served with equal parts befuddlement and disgust by the waitress. With each passing generation, the argument has become more and more heated but the origin of the words goes back to the Italian language and the words succo(juice),salsa(sauce)and ragu(meat sauce).
This explains a lot of the confusion, and yet still creates more. Words like succo and salsa were most likely changed into sauce and ragu is most likely the origin of gravy. Webster’s Dictionary defines gravy as “The juices that drip from cooking meat”, and defines sauce as “A flavorful seasoning or relish served as an accompaniment to food, especially a liquid dressing or topping for food.” The two definitions are pretty general and are open to a number of different interpretations. It seems that the truth behind the argument has been buried since our Italian ancestors first arrived in the USA. Regardless of which side of the battle lines you are on, that fact is, we may never be able to decipher which word is correct.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a sauce by any other name would taste as sweet.” -William Shakespeare(Italian Style)
I was hoping to find a definitive answer as to the correct usage of Sauce and Gravy but I have come to what I feel is a satisfying conclusion: Who Cares? You can call it whatever you like, I’m only truly interested in how it tastes. If you find yourself still heated about the argument then direct your attention to the little bit of Shakespeare above. I know, I know, the quote has been altered a bit, call it my Italian re-imagining. My only advice is that you have a good meal- whether it’s pasta and tomato sauce or macaroni and gravy.
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Published in: Cooking
Comments: 19 | Post a CommentPost a Comment
Gerri Kingsmith | Feb 22, 2009 | Reply
Great article to tell my parents about, they always had this ‘discussion’ with those back in the old neighborhood.
Jerseybornandbred | Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
If meat was added to the tomato sauce, it was called gravy, if it was strictly vegetable, it was called sauce.
Tina | Sep 28, 2009 | Reply
The word for a tomato-based sauce that you put on pasta in Italian is ’sugo.’ A sauce with meat in it is often called ‘ragu.’ ‘Gravy’ seems like it is an Italian-American bastardization. The Italian word for ‘gravy’ is ‘intingolo,’ which is like the American gravy that goes on turkey at Thanksgiving but is a very infrequently used word–many Italians wouldn’t even know what ‘intingolo’ is.
kc | Jun 6, 2010 | Reply
I can’t stand when people say “gravy” for italian sauce. Typically these people have never even been to Italy because if they had, they’d know “gravy” isn’t even an italian word.
kc | Jun 6, 2010 | Reply
If meat is added to a sauce, it is called ragu… it is never ever ever called Gravy. No REAL italian calls it gravy. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out
Daria D'Ippolito Bartolucci | Sep 2, 2010 | Reply
—therefore, as a third generation American of Italian (Neapollitan and Sicilian) heritage I would define sauce as Marinara which would be the incredible stewed plum tomato with Italian herbs. This same Marinara “sauce” would transform into “gravy” (c’mon we live in America) when one or more of the following such as braciole, meatballs and pork are added to the stewing process. It’s elementary my dear culinarians
LOL
D Agnone | Dec 2, 2010 | Reply
I like to think of it this way – if it gets poured over pasta it’s “Sauce”. If it gets poured over meat it’s “Gravy”. But hey, what do I know, my father was only born in Italy! LMAO
Mary | Dec 16, 2010 | Reply
Gosh! Those who are so rude about the gravy argument and “more italian” because they don’t say gravy…my sicilian grandmother Lily Battaglia said “gravy”. I doubt she was any less ” real” Italian than any other Italian American.
goodfella | Dec 29, 2010 | Reply
are you italian because i don\’t think you are! im 100% Sicilian and we call it GRAVY!!!!! clown
allan paglia | Feb 22, 2011 | Reply
All of my grandparents emigrated from Abruzzi/Abruzzo in the 1880s. The red sauce put on pasta was called “gravy”. My Sicilian friends called it “pasta sugo”. Red sauce without any meat was “a la marinara” and pizza was only made white with a little olive oil, oregano/basil and anchovy. The juice put over “acini di pepe” or “rosa marina” or “pastina” was called either chicken soup or beef soup.
allan paglia | Feb 22, 2011 | Reply
By the way, my Paglia grandmother’s name was Maria Liberata.
Seccia | Jun 13, 2011 | Reply
This is interesting … our family came from Abruzzo (L’Aquila) as well, and I have honestly NEVER heard a soul refer to it as gravy. It’s always “the sauce is going” … there aren’t many of us left to ask!
peady | Aug 16, 2011 | Reply
I’ve been to Italy more than once…I called it gravy there (among family) and still call it that today. When I’m at the supper table and someone wants to call it sauce…hey no problem, the important thing I’m breaking bread, enjoying a delicious meal with friends /family…in the back of my mind I’ll enjoy my gravy.
Keith Sarson | Jan 9, 2012 | Reply
I asked my 1st generation Italian-American grandmother (parents from Naples, husband direct from Sicily) why she called her sauce gravy (or in Italian ragu-pronounced more like raw-you, not the commerical sauce pronuciation of ray-GU). She said she would show me the next time she made sauce.
She made the meatballs and put them in a pan to fry using only the meat and a little water on the bottom of the pan. When they were done, she cooked the italian sausage again adding just a little water to the bottom of the pan.
As a kid I was a little impatient, and said yes, you fried the meat, but why do you call it gravy?
She pointed to the drippings and juice in the pan from the meat, and she said the secret to making good gravy was cooking everything in one pan.
She then cut up the onions, added some virgin olive oil to the pan and sauteed the onions and garlic. The onions and garlic picked up the juices from the pan, and a rich brown gravy developed. She pointed to the pan and said see the gravy?
She then dumped the onions into the pot and cooked her other vegetables in the same pan. After she put them in the pot, she put her tomatoes into the pan and cooked them. She used a spatula to put the cooked tomatoes into the pot and the pan was nearly clean.
Add spices to the sauce/gravy and let cook for several hours (at least half a day)…
The italian word for it is ragu, but it translates into meat sauce, which is a clunky two word translation, I am guessing the Italian-Americans in the northeast wanted a short one word description of the ragu and went with gravy. Tomato sauces without meat like marinara and seafood fra diablos were called sauce.
My mother always called it sauce, and I do also…but that is why my grandmother called it gravy…
Daniela | Feb 16, 2012 | Reply
I never heard of a real Italian calling it ragu….sorry. We call it gravy. Americans call it sauce. Yes, sugo is the word in Italian. Both my parents were born there, still have my family there, been there countless summers, speak it at home…gravy train all the way! And while we’re at it….it’s open / close the light not turn on / off the light. It comes from apri / chiudi which literally mean the former.
D | Feb 16, 2012 | Reply
Btw the author may want to fix the typo…it’s “enter” the diner not “entire”
Anthony Zillo | Mar 27, 2012 | Reply
Daniela that is BS, I will say this NO ONE IN ITALY OR SICILY CALLS SALSA GRAVY NO ONE!!!! Anyone from Italy would laugh . There is NO such word as gravy in Italian, this is a made up Italian American word from New York. Its either sauce or ragu thats it. Gravy is for turkey’s on Thanksgiving day. anyone who say’s they are from Italy and call it gravy is FLAT OUT lieying.
Sicilian man | Mar 27, 2012 | Reply
Daniela that is BS, I will say this NO ONE IN ITALY OR SICILY CALLS SALSA GRAVY NO ONE!!!! Anyone from Italy would laugh . There is NO such word as gravy in Italian, this is a made up Italian American word from New York. Its either sauce or ragu thats it. Gravy is for turkey\’s on Thanksgiving day. anyone who say\’s they are from Italy and call it gravy is FLAT OUT lieying.
rosemarie | Apr 4, 2012 | Reply
it was always macaroni and gravy in our house,moms house.and grandmas house.