On 9/6/2011 2:22 PM, Dimitri wrote:
> I was watching Lidia the other day & I have a tendency to agree with her.
>
> If the meat in the sauce is served separately then it's gravy.
> If the meat is an integral part of the sauce and is not separated out or
> served separately then it's sauce.
>
> Thoughts
>
> Dimitri

I think the term "gravy" for tomato-based sauce is something coined by
Sicilian immigrants to the US. Having grown up with many
Italian-Americans and having traveled in Italy, I have never heard the
term "gravy" used by any group other than Sicilian-Americans.

Maybe someone didn't know the term for tomato sauce in English and
thought "gravy" suited well enough. Or maybe it was an English-speaker
who couldn't understand the Italian cook and misused the term "gravy"

Whatever the origin, it stuck.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.