Is it Sauce or Gravy?
Pasta with marinara... or gravy?
If I had a dime every time someone asked me this, I could stop slingin’ sauce for a living. It’s that many, and it only ever happens here in the USA.
This is a really hot topic for a lot of people, particularly Italian-Americans (myself not included). Even Facebook and Instagram have groups and reels created around this heated debate and has no sign of ever slowing down. People just love to debate this topic that never seems to fall on a clear answer (I mean, there is a clear translation but people choose to ignore it for their own personal reasons).
The only two ways Italians (north, south, east and west) say “sauce” in the Italian language are salsa or sugo. That’s it. Both words translate as “sauce” and never as “gravy”.
Ragù doesn’t even translate as “gravy” but comes close enough since it involves meat which is what people really mean when they say “gravy” (my personal observation). Also, the word “gravy” is really, really English. Let’s get real, Italians wanted to assimilate when they came to the USA so adopting English words was a recipe for survival in a new English speaking country.
I am confused as to how the word “gravy” overpowered the word “sauce” here in the USA. My guess is it’s mostly generational and assimilation plays a big part too, because Italian immigrants wanted to sound more American. From there, I think it just stuck and created the modern day gravy-sauce divide. Especially here in the North East. This doesn’t seem to be a big deal in the rest of the country. “what we eat is [also] shaped by different forces and contexts” according to gastronomic professore Simone Cinotto so it does make sense considering the historical context of Italian-immigration here in New York City where this debate more than likely originates.
Look, whether you identify as “gravy” or “sauce”, that’s your personal experience and no one has the right to take that away from you. I sincerely mean this and have no issues with you calling it either but my personal experience will always be sauce and never, ever, gravy.
The “gravy” in this 1950’s Chef Boyardee product is closer to a meatloaf gravy, not a tomato-based sauce. Founded by Italian immigrant Hector Boiardi, the company was sold to American Home Foods in 1946, which was purchased in 2000 by ConAgra Foods, which continues to produce Chef Boyardee canned pastas bearing Boiardi's likeness.
Franco-American Food Company was founded by Alphonse Biardot, who immigrated to the United States from France in 1880. In 1886, he and his two sons opened a commercial kitchen in Jersey City, New Jersey, featuring the foods of his native country. The company proved a success, particularly with its line of canned soup and pasta, and it was acquired by Campbell's in 1915. As of 2008, the Campbell Soup Company continues to sell gravy under the Franco-American name.
As a child of Italian immigrants, and a full-time saucier, I do sincerely mean this. You do you, but please don’t ever tell me I should call my business City “Gravery”, because that would be dumb. Sauce all day, every day, including Sunday!
Check out some of our products:
Mushroom Ragù
We use four kinds of mushrooms: oyster, shiitake, porcini and portobello all paired with overly ripe ugly tomatoes creating a delicious ragu-ish flavor that can only be achieved in small batches. Mix with pasta, cook up a chicken marsala or make a delicious soup.