From Red Sauce to Cioppino: How Italian American Food Became Synonymous with America’s — and the Bay Area’s — Cuisine

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Italian food many Americans grew up with — often called “red sauce” cuisine — is influenced by Italian traditions, “but it is not Italian food,” writes Ian MacAllen, author of “Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American.” This distinction between Italian and Italian American food evolved from the story of Italian immigration to America — one where pizza and pasta ended up becoming synonymous with American food itself. The Bay Area’s own wine, tomato sauce and cioppino stems from the legacies of the Italian American immigrants who brought their old-world tastes to California’s vineyards and tomato fields. We’ll talk about the legacy and culture of Italian Americans in the Bay Area today, from North Beach to Temescal’s Colombo Club to San Jose’s Chiaramonte's Deli. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. Did you know that
0:05.7	SFO has a world-class museum? Get ready to be wowed by art, history, science, and cultural exhibitions
0:12.3	throughout the terminals. Learn more at flysfo.com slash museum. Greetings boomtown. The Xfinity
0:20.6	Wi-Fi is booming.
0:22.4	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:25.5	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go.
0:29.1	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
0:31.0	Restrictions apply.
0:31.7	Xfinity internet required.
0:32.8	Actual speeds vary.
0:34.7	From KQED.
0:48.0	The Very. From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:52.1	Picture the restaurant, checkered tablecloth, the steaming bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, a bottle of Kianti.
0:58.0	It's a classic red sauce joint.
1:01.0	That's where we're going today, using the new book Red Sauce, How Italian Food Became American,
1:05.0	to explore the history behind your pizza and pastas and discuss the cultural and culinary adaptations of Italian immigrants
1:13.6	and their descendants nationwide and right here in the Bay Area. From Temescal's Colombo Club
1:19.6	to San Jose's Cura Monte Deli and from Napa's vineyards to North Beach. That's all coming up next.
1:43.6	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. The Italian food many Americans grew up with.
1:49.0	Spaghetti with meatballs, manicotti, lasagna, is influenced by Italian traditions. But it is not Italian food, writes Ian McCallan, author of Red Sauce, how Italian food became American.
1:56.0	Rather, it's a creation of immigrants, mostly from southern Italy, who adapted the tastes of their ancestors
2:00.9	to the new opportunities and constraints of life in the United States. Over time, pizza and pasta
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.