“Marinara” Mostly a Misnomer

in Pasta

(Say that quickly 5 times!)

Growing up, we called it spaghetti sauce. Perhaps it’s because next to lasagna and mac & cheese, spaghetti was the only pasta that we ate. But it goes by many names…

  • Marinara sauce
  • Red Sauce
  • Tomato sauce (but not to be confused by the stuff in the little can)
  • Pasta sauce
  • Meat sauce (the preferred terminology in our home)
  • Spaghetti sauce

Marinara is Italian for seafaring, or of the sea. What in my sauce is of the sea? Nothing. No clams, anchovies, oysters, tuna, etc. It seems that marinara has become generic, or interchangable at least in the US, for red sauce that is served with pasta 🙂

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