# What are the most traditional Italian pasta sauces?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-traditional-italian-pasta-sauces/976758>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** food-cooking\
**Created:** [December 19, 2022, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-traditional-italian-pasta-sauces/976758 "2022-12-19T01:26:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-traditional-italian-pasta-sauces/976758/21 "2022-12-20T15:06:23Z")

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> [@Dr.Drake](#):
>
> My relatives in Calabria certainly cooked with meatballs: I remember having this [Pasta al forno con polpettine - economica facile e veloce](https://blog.giallozafferano.it/dolcemela/pasta-al-forno-con-polpettine/). I don’t know how “traditional” it is, but it was certainly made in an Italian home by Italian people without any feeling that it was remarkable or exotic.
> 
> The only think I’d say is that while I’ve seen many a meatball and also meatloaf, I don’t think I’ve every seen the giant Italian-American meatballs in Italy. Theirs are always a good deal smaller, in my experience, and I don’t think anyone in my family ever made meatballs larger than maybe an inch in diameter. I always perceive anything larger as inauthentic, though I really like them.

My grandparents were all from Calabria too. The meatballs were never ball shaped but egg-shaped and just slightly smaller than an average egg. They were never fried or baked first either. They were plopped raw into the pot of simmering sauce.

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