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# 80 JUNE 20 , 2016
the Italian Americans put
more ingredients in our
pastas, in our sauces, in
our dishes. Most of them
do so, but there are plenty
of Italian Americans families that keep on the tradition of simple and fresh,
too.
Which
products
are best for the Italian American cuisine: original Italian
ones or American?
In the late 1800’s,
when the immigrants came, of
course they didn’t have imported products so
they had to go to
the local markets
in the big cities
and find whatever
they could cook to
make their dinner.
But today Americans get more Italian products than ever
before like DOP labelled
San Marzano tomatoes, or
real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, or Extra Virgin
Olive Oil or pastas from
Napoli. We would always
prefer to get the products
from Italy.
# 80 june 20 , 2016
We’ve been talking to
thousands of passionate
Italian Americans through
the years, and there’s something that divides the
community in two: “Sauce or gravy?”. Why is this
so important to so many
people, and what’s to you,
sauce or gravy?
for about five hours with
meatballs, sausages, ribs,
braciole: they called it
“Sunday gravy”. And when
you made a quick, fresh
tomato sauce and you put
shrimps or clams, that was
called “Tomato sauce”. But
the all-day cooking traditional sauce on the stove
for about five hours
on the Sunday, that’s
what we call the
“Sunday Gravy”.
Italian fellows why it is made the most they could
good and we should give with what was available.
Pasta was inexpensive,
it a chance
and the absolute favourite
Well, first of all let me tell was spaghetti and meayou that I really love Ita- tballs.
lian food! But because
of the tradition of my hu- I love both cuisines and
sband’s family I still love I had Italian friends from
Italian American food and Positano come to our houmy children were brought se and they loved the traup on it. It’s a cuisine that ditional Italian American
evolved out of necessi- food I cooked; and we
ty and Italian Americans would tradeoff, because
my daughter was married to an Italian cook from
Positano and he would
cook for us too. So, I think
that the Italian American
cuisine is something that
shows how the Italians became Americans, through many difficulties, but
without losing their love
for Italy. That’s why I think
that the Italians should try
to appreciate the Italian
American cuisine.
But this is just about
my experience. I
know of other families that call it “Sauce”, and I don’t know
if there’s one right
and one wrong: it’s
just that people grew
up with this important traditional part
of the lunch or dinner, calling it either
“Gravy” or “Sauce”
… as it’s something
related to family traditions, something almost
Well, I read a lot of Italian sacred, some of us are
American pages and I see very strongly opinionated
many people post their about this.
comments about this: “No,
in our family it’s sauce” or Italian American cuisine
“No, in my family it’s gra- is not very well known in
vy”. So, in my husband’s Italy: but those who talk
family, Sunday’s tomato about it are not enthusauce is cooked in stove siast. Please, convince our
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