Spaghetti and meatballs
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Spaghetti and meatballs
OR:
Spaghetti and meatballs on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Spaghetti and meatballs is an
Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
dish consisting of
spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridg ...
,
tomato sauce Tomato sauce (also known as ''salsa roja'' in Spanish or ''salsa di pomodoro'' in Italian) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are c ...
and
meatball A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many type ...
s. Originally inspired by similar dishes from southern Italy, the modern version of spaghetti and meatballs was developed by Italian immigrants in the USA. However, combinations of pasta with meat date back at least to the Middle Ages, and pasta (including long pasta) dishes with tomato sauce and different kinds of meatballs are documented in certain Italian regions and in modern Italian cookbooks as ''maccheroni alle polpette'' (translated as "spaghetti with meatballs") and ''maccheroni alla chitarra con polpette'', though these dishes are often found only in particular regions and towns. They are especially popular in certain areas of Southern Italy, from where most
Italian immigrants , image = Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg , image_caption = Map of the Italian diaspora in the world , population = worldwide , popplace = Brazil, Argentina, United States, France, Colombia, Canada, P ...
to the United States emigrated, though generally the version served in Southern Italy features smaller meatballs than the current Italian-American and Italian immigrant version.


History

Spaghetti and meatballs was popular among
Italian immigrants , image = Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg , image_caption = Map of the Italian diaspora in the world , population = worldwide , popplace = Brazil, Argentina, United States, France, Colombia, Canada, P ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, who had access to a more plentiful meat supply than in Italy. * In 1888, Juliet Corson of New York published a recipe for pasta with meatballs and tomato sauce. * In 1909 a recipe for "Beef Balls with Spaghetti" appeared in American Cookery, Volume 13. * The
National Pasta Association The National Pasta Association (NPA) is a trade association of professionals in the United States pasta industry. The NPA originally formed as The National Association of Macaroni and Noodle Manufacturers of America in 1904, making it one of the ...
(originally named the National Macaroni Manufacturers Association) published a recipe for spaghetti with meatballs in the 1920s. * In 1931 Venice Maid in New Jersey was selling canned "spaghetti with meatballs in sauce". * In 1938 the exact phrase "spaghetti and meatballs" appeared in a list of canned foods produced by Ettore Boiardi, later known as Chef Boyardee, in Milton, Pa. Italian writers and chefs often mock the dish as pseudo-Italian or non-Italian, because in Italy meatballs are smaller and are only served with egg-based, baked pasta. However, various kinds of pasta with meat are part of the culinary tradition of Abruzzo, Apulia,
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, and other parts of southern Italy. A recipe for rigatoni with meatballs is in ''
Il cucchiaio d'argento ''Il cucchiaio d'argento'' (), or ''The Silver Spoon'' in English, is a major Italian cookbook and kitchen reference work originally published in 1950 by the design and architecture magazine ''Domus''. It contains about 2000 recipes drawn from all ...
'' (''The Silver Spoon''), a comprehensive Italian cookbook. In Abruzzo, ''chitarra alla teramana'' is a standard first course made with '' spaghetti alla chitarra'', small meatballs (''polpettine'' or ''pallottine''), and a meat or vegetable ragù. Other dishes that have similarities to spaghetti and meatballs include ''pasta seduta'' 'seated pasta' and ''maccaroni azzese'' in Apulia. Some baked pasta dishes from Apulia combine pasta and meat where meatballs, mortadella, or
salami Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days ...
are baked with rigatoni, tomato sauce, and
mozzarella Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method. Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...
, then covered with a pastry top."Pasta asciutta alla pugliese", in Touring Club of Italy, ''La cucina del Bel Paese'', p. 292 Other pasta recipes include slices of meat rolled up with cheese, cured meats and herbs (''involtini'' in Italian) and braciole ("bra'zhul" in Italian-American and Italian-Australian slang) that are cooked within sauce but pulled out to be served as a second course. File:Spicy Meatballs and Spaghetti.jpg, Spaghetti and spicy meatballs, homemade File:Spaghetti and meatballs (cropped).jpg, Restaurant presentation of spaghetti and meatballs with
Parmesan cheese Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' ...
.


See also

* Bolognese sauce *
Italian-American cuisine Italian-American cuisine is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans. As immigrants ...
*
List of meatball dishes This is a list of notable meatball dishes. A meatball is ground or minced meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, bak ...
*
List of pasta dishes Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, with the first reference dating to 1154 in Sicily. It is also commonly used to refer to the variety of pasta dishes. Pasta is typically a noodle traditionally made from an unleavened d ...
* Meatball sandwich * Spaghetti alla chitarra


References


Further reading


Origins of spaghetti and meatballs in the ''Atlantic''


External links


Spaghetti and meatballs recipe on All Recipes.com
{{Pasta dishes Spaghetti dishes Meatballs Italian-American cuisine Cuisine of New York City Italian-American culture in New York City