Spaghetti and meatballs is an

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

pasta dish made with

spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Una ...

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

, and

meatballs A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, egg (food), eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. ...

. Originally inspired by similar dishes from

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

, the modern version of spaghetti and meatballs was developed by Italian immigrants in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It grew in popularity during the first half of the 20th century and is today considered a classic in Italian American cuisine both in New York City and the rest of the U.S.

History

When arriving in America, Italian immigrants brought their food traditions with them, but the availability of new ingredients and a better economy meant that traditional peasant foods from southern Italy evolved. This often included the addition of more expensive ingredients and a higher meat content, creating more plentiful meals. This way, spaghetti and meatballs soon became a popular dish among Italian immigrants in New York City. Early references to the dish include: * In 1888, Juliet Corson of New York published a recipe for pasta and meatballs and tomato sauce. * In 1909, a recipe for "Beef Balls with Spaghetti" appeared in American Cookery, Volume 13. * The National Pasta Association (originally named the National Macaroni Manufacturers Association) published a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs in the 1920s. * In 1931, Venice Maid in New Jersey was selling canned "spaghetti with meatballs in sauce".

In Italy

The dish is widely popular in the United States albeit practically unheard of in Italy. Italian writers and chefs often mock the dish, together with many other popular examples of Italian-American cuisine such as

chicken parmesan Chicken parmesan or chicken parmigiana () is a dish that consists of breaded chicken breast covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, Parmesan or provolone. Ham or bacon is sometimes added. The dish originated in the Italian diaspora in the ...

and

Caesar salad A Caesar salad (also spelled Cesar, César and Cesare), also known as Caesar's salad, is a green salad of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with lemon juice (or lime juice), olive oil, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, garlic, Dijon ...

, as pseudo-Italian or non-Italian.

References

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

History

In Italy

See also

References

Further reading

External links