Silly question for those with Italian moms & grandmas...

[L&Lfan]

My mom is 100% as was her mom (duh!) and she lived with us. Picked tomatoes the end of August and she canned her gravy. There is still one jar, she died 15 years ago and lived in a nursing home for about 10 years so that jar is an antique! My uncle was going to have it tested to see what she put in it but he died...

Anyways, no meat, meatballs yes and she made me a "special" read <gag> one with raisins. Yuck yuck yuck! Always hated that little meatball. Also sausage and sometimes brasole (can't spell it).

My grandmothers family is from Naples.

Actually meatballs with raisins and pignoli nuts is a Neapolitan tradition.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm not Italian, but my kids are. My mom would make meat sauce with ground beef - she wasn't that great of a cook (Irish). Lots of people I know can their tomatoes at the end of summer. Sauce/gravy (always a debate) is made with tomatoes, onion, garlic, with meat simmered in it (meatballs, sausage, bracciole, pork...).

 

[Sandy1892]

My family is from Tuscany but we have travelled widely in Italy and each area has their own variation of a ragu or bolognase sauce served with varying types of pasta. The typical spaghetti bolognase as photo doesn't feature much outside of tourist hot spots. For me sauce is sauce and gravy is put on potatoes meatballs never really featured in family recipes

 

[QueenIsabella]

There are lots of different Italian dishes, depending on the region. My dad was born in Italy--obviously, his mom was, too, so anything she cooked was authentic Italian, by definition. But, my "authentic" is different from the experiences of others.

We never did cream sauces of any kind. I still don't care for them. I remember sauce with meat cooked so long, it fell apart. It's typical to use three kinds of meat--beef, pork, and chicken (or some other combination, using sausage, veal, etc.) I also remember the pasta course being a tomato sauce (NEVER gravy!) that was lighter, with handmade gemelli. And I just love, love love veal meatballs. I refuse to make them, but sometimes when I have an authentic source, I eat them and then hate myself.

My gramma liked eels, she ate them every Christmas. The rest of us didn't. We didn't do Italian seafood much in general, although I like it now, as an adult. We also didn't do much in the way of dessert--we'd have little Italian nougats in boxes, and Gramma would make these fried strips of dough with a simple glaze and nonpariels on them. But, there was always so much food, it's not like we needed desserts.

Even now, I occasionally make my own sauce, and even my own pasta, sometimes. We eat a lot of pasta, so everyone has their favorite shape.

 

[Minnesota!]

My mom made the meat sauce. My dad made the smooth sauce with the meatballs. I love both - depends on how much time I have.

No Italian in me, but damn they were still good!

Mine is a smooth sauce cooked all day with meatballs (combo beef/pork). It's so good.

 

[tzolkin]

Growing up, we usually ate spaghetti with clam sauce or something like that, not a red sauce. I always thought of "spaghetti and meatballs/meat sauce" as a more American thing.

I'm fairly particular about what pasta shapes go with what meal. This was a big annoyance for me when I moved to the south and they only had spaghetti, ziti, and elbows and people were like "What do you mean there are other types?"

We never had meat sauce like a Bolognese but our sauce (gravy) was always made with meatballs, sausage, pork and sometimes brachiole. So anytime we had gravy (once a week usually), it always involved meat but I would not consider it a "meat sauce" if that makes any sense at all. LOL

This was how our Sunday sauce was as well. Some combination of meatballs, sausage, pork (would fall apart a bit in the sauce), occasionally braciole.

Never had the ground beef "meat sauce" version.

Actually meatballs with raisins and pignoli nuts is a Neapolitan tradition.

My grandmother was Sicilian, but she made meatballs like this because my grandfather was Neapolitan. Most of us were not a fan of the raisins, so usually she just added the pignoli.

 

[Vijoge]

DH's Italian grandmother, from L'Aquila in Abruzzo, only made gravy and meatballs. .

 

[PollyannaMom]

I am half Italian and we never referred to tomato sauce as gravy. Gravy to me is something different like mashed potatoes and gravy.

Oh, that's what it was in my house growing up too! ...But then I met DH's grandmother.
His aunt still sometimes calls her red sauce "gravy". (And I don't complain, because it's delicious!!)

This was a big annoyance for me when I moved to the south and they only had spaghetti, ziti, and elbows and people were like "What do you mean there are other types?"

- We just went out for Italian a couple of weeks ago, and DS was asking me what all the different types meant!

 

[Disneychix]

75% Italian with 1 great grandma "off the boat". Never called it gravy (called sauce no matter what type of pasta were used), never had meat sauce, always had meatballs and sausage, always cooked all day!

Clam sauce or any other type of "meat" sauce wasn't considered the Sunday/Holiday sauce.

My husband gets very confused when I tell him we're having sauce for dinner, he always wants to know exactly what!

 

[Vicki926]

my household growing up including my straight off the boat Italian (northern Italy) grandma and whenever we had spaghetti, it was always with meat sauce.
That said, my grandma was a terrible cook(great baker, though!)and my mom did all the cooking. And she never made her own sauce. Lol

My non Italian mother in law, married to my Sicilian father in law generally made sauce(from scratch) and meatballs. Often threw sausage and sometimes pork in he sauce as well.
if there was no meat in there, the pasta was just the first course before the roast/potatoes/veg.

I do meat sauce if I'm pressed for time, meatballs if I have more time.

My husband will take pasta any time, anywhere, with meat, meatballs, no meat, he doesn't care. He even likes a first course of lasagna before Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

DH's grandmother who was born in Italy only made meat sauce and as above it was sauce not gravy. They do not make meatballs, DH's grandmother said that's more of an American thing to do.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I'm fairly particular about what pasta shapes go with what meal. This was a big annoyance for me when I moved to the south and they only had spaghetti, ziti, and elbows and people were like "What do you mean there are other types?"

This is such a problem! I moved to NC last year, and although I can find some different shapes, it's not the selection I was "spoiled" with when I lived in the Northeast. There are a couple Italian bakeries, and one Italian deli/restaurant/imported food store. I almost cried when I found fusilli! In the regular grocery store, we have more of a variety than you describe, like penne and farfelle, but I'll be making a special trip now and again for my fusilli. And stellini.

 

[bcla]

I'm fairly particular about what pasta shapes go with what meal. This was a big annoyance for me when I moved to the south and they only had spaghetti, ziti, and elbows and people were like "What do you mean there are other types?"

Really? Even the big national discount stores tend to have boxes and boxes of different shape pasta.

I think there's also a disconnect between those from the "old country" and Italian-Americans. I made the mistake of referring to a famous Italian-American actor as "Italian" and was promptly corrected.

You talk about certain foods, they're simplified and not recognizable. Stuff like chop suey, California rolls, spaghetti with meat sauce, corned beef and cabbage, etc aren't really recognized by those from their alleged place of origin. Corned beef was a substitute for pork. Chop suey came from a regional Cantonese dish but became though of as Chinese because it was easy to make for railroad workers and other laborers. California rolls are simplified for American tastes.

It's like the character Pascal from Big Night, who runs a successful restaurant as opposed to the authentic but less successful restaurant of the protagonist.

Give people what they want, then later you can give them what you want.

A guy works all day, he don't want to look at his plate and ask, "What the **** is this?" He wants to look at his plate, see a steak, and say "I like steak!"​

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am part Italian on my father's side. His father was from Italy. He had an Italian food business, and the sauce we ate growing up came from there - which he made, but at work, lol. Sauce came either meatless or with meat. The area I grew up in has a large Italian-American population. Some of my friends called sauce "gravy". There is a lot of variation.

My MIL was 100% Italian, but her Italian mother wouldn't allow anyone in her kitchen, so MIL only learned to cook from her own English/Scottish MIL. My MIL threw anything in a sauce that was leftover, DH says you never knew what you were going to get.

DH and I learned to make sauce from a coworker who was from Italy, more than thirty years ago now. She would make if for us, and taught us how. It's very simple, and no meat. So we try to make sauce ourselves most of the time. Generally no meat, but once in a while, like this past Sunday, we had chicken we wanted to use up so DH put it in the sauce he made, and it was really good. We also started making our own pizza sauce, too.

 

[tzolkin]

Really? Even the big national discount stores tend to have boxes and boxes of different shape pasta.

I have found that most stores in the south carry a variety now, but years ago they did not.

Even two years ago when I moved to NC and went into a Food Lion the selection was incredibly limited. (Other chains have a better variety.) I was just standing in the aisle trying to find at least one type that I wanted (they don't carry any of the shapes I normally use). The man stocking the shelves struck up a conversation with me and he genuinely had no idea that other types/shapes of pasta existed. He was shocked when he realized that the # on the Barilla pastas were the number of types they made-- over 100, but they only carried 5.

This is such a problem! I moved to NC last year, and although I can find some different shapes, it's not the selection I was "spoiled" with when I lived in the Northeast. There are a couple Italian bakeries, and one Italian deli/restaurant/imported food store. I almost cried when I found fusilli! In the regular grocery store, we have more of a variety than you describe, like penne and farfelle, but I'll be making a special trip now and again for my fusilli. And stellini.

Stellini-- totally bizarre, but check the Mexican food section at Walmart. They have little 7oz bags for like 50 cents. I have not found it anywhere else.

If you have Harris Teeter near you, they seem to have the best selection, but there are still several types that I have been unable to find anywhere in NC.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

My family is from southern Italy and we've never had bolognese. We have all day sauce with meat in it once a year at christmas, and sometimes have sausage in our quick sauce other times of the year.

 

[bcla]

Stellini-- totally bizarre, but check the Mexican food section at Walmart. They have little 7oz bags for like 50 cents. I have not found it anywhere else.

If you have Harris Teeter near you, they seem to have the best selection, but there are still several types that I have been unable to find anywhere in NC.

De Cecco stelette No. 75 or Barilla pastini.

https://www.barilla.com/en-us/produ...rillapastina&gclid=CImcoO3Xo84CFRWRfgodW40COQ

 

[QueenIsabella]

I have found that most stores in the south carry a variety now, but years ago they did not.

Even two years ago when I moved to NC and went into a Food Lion the selection was incredibly limited. (Other chains have a better variety.) I was just standing in the aisle trying to find at least one type that I wanted (they don't carry any of the shapes I normally use). The man stocking the shelves struck up a conversation with me and he genuinely had no idea that other types/shapes of pasta existed. He was shocked when he realized that the # on the Barilla pastas were the number of types they made-- over 100, but they only carried 5.



Stellini-- totally bizarre, but check the Mexican food section at Walmart. They have little 7oz bags for like 50 cents. I have not found it anywhere else.

If you have Harris Teeter near you, they seem to have the best selection, but there are still several types that I have been unable to find anywhere in NC.

I do find some stuff in Food Lion, but actually have better luck in the Super Walmart--go figure! I will definitely check the Mexican section.

We do have Harris teeter here, and a Publix coming in a couple months. I don't usually hit H-T, too expensive for me, but I will have to see their pasta selection. Thanks!

 

[All American]

My husband's mom and grandma are 100% Italian. They both have intricate sauce recipes that take all day to cook. My husband's favorite is their spaghetti and clam sauce. His great-grandpa was a fisherman from Ischia, so the sauce has, according to his Grandma, "Whatever and however much seafood they can afford at the time." This one Christmas, there was shrimp, squid, fish, clams, and all sorts of smelly stuff.

When I first met his Grandma, she asked me what kind of sauce I "make for her Jimmy." Not being a cook, I responded, "Ragu." She didn't know what that was, so I explained it was Ragu. You buy a can, pop off the top, and heat it over the stove. She clutched her chest and, in dramatic, Italian grandmotherly fashion, lamented that her grandson had to ragu. It's one of my favorite memories of her.

 

[antmaril]

My paternal grandparents came from Sicily in the early 1900's. My father made his meat sauce once a week, with the best meatballs I have ever had in my life. I kick myself because I took those meatballs for granted and never really paid attention when he made them.

As we speak, I am on a trip with one of my best friends who is the 81 year old matriarch of a large Italian family. She makes a meat sauce with meatballs similar to my dad's. We do not refer to sauce as gravy.

This thread is making me hungry.