Spaghetti Bolognese

A Bite of the Bolognese

by Wade Vellky

The first time I ever attempted to cook my uncle’s variant of the spaghetti bolognese, my seven-year-old self was immediately rewarded with first-degree burns. As I leaned over the ancient stool I was standing on, I slipped and flew off the stool, smothering my arms in the boiling pan of sauce. Yeah, that was unpleasant. One might think that I was immediately traumatized by such a painful experience. Instead, I decided to cook it again the next day (with my parents' mandatory supervision that time). Fortunately, no tragic accident occurred.

Spaghetti bolognese, November 26 2023, by Wade Vellky

Photo of me in the beginning stages of preparing and cooking the bolognese sauce, November 26 2023, by Wade Vellky

The spaghetti bolognese is one of my go-to meals whenever I can't think of anything else to cook or when I need a meal before an athletic event. It has a deep Italian heritage, which might make my affection for the dish seem slightly strange as I have little to no Italian ancestry. However, my uncle is almost entirely of Italian heritage, and immediately upon marrying my aunt, he introduced our family to numerous Italian dishes at family reunions and gatherings. Soon enough, their house became the primary gathering spot for our family, where I was introduced to my uncle's spaghetti bolognese, and the sweet and savory aroma of the bolognese sauce immediately piqued my interest. While my uncle made many phenomenal Italian dishes that made me hungry enough to eat semi-truck packed to the brim with food, spaghetti bolognese ignited my taste buds more than any other.

The exact origins of spaghetti bolognese are unknown. Most people believe the origins of the dish are from Bologna, Italy. However, the mayor has firmly rejected this assertion, as there is a lack of evidence linking spaghetti bolognese to Bologna (Oakeley). Although the bolognese sauce can be traced back to the 1700s, spaghetti bolognese sprouted into cookbooks in the late 1800s, with its first presence in any cookbook being in 1891 (Prezzo). According to that cookbook, the bolognese sauce was wildly different from what most consumers are now accustomed to. Pellegrino Artusi, the author of this 1891 cookbook, listed the bolognese sauce as having veal, carrots, butter, onion, pancetta, celery, nutmeg, and a few other spices (Gwinner). While this is undoubtedly different from the current variation of the bolognese sauce, as most modern interpretations of the sauce don't include nutmeg, pancetta, or carrots, this can also be attributed to the fact that the bolognese sauce sees heavy variety across regions and restaurants (Prezzo).

Close-up photo of the bolognese sauce with ground beef, shaved carrots, oregano, and parsley. Photo taken after ingredients were stirred into the sauce, November 26 2023, by Wade Vellky.

During and after World War II, spaghetti bolognese rapidly increased in popularity, spreading to the Americas, Europe, and some African, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries. As immigrants from Italy and neighboring countries began migrating to other countries after World War II, many would find new homes in places like the United States and France (Oakeley). Italian immigrants would bring some aspects of their culture, including authentic Italian cuisine. Spaghetti bolognese quickly became one of the most famous Italian cuisines due to the variety and ease of creating the dish, and quickly found its way onto menus in restaurants across the United States (Gwinner). The introduction of spaghetti bolognese led to numerous interpretations, including unusual ingredients such as red peppers and shredded turkey (Prezzo). This level of variation has continued into what we call modern "bolognese" sauce recipes.

Much like the variations one will see today, I frequently incorporate different ingredients in the bolognese sauce whenever I make the dish. Whether it is the inclusion of bell peppers, smoked sausage, or different spices to add a mild kick to the sauce that'll make your tongue tingle ever so slightly, spaghetti bolognese allows for all kinds of creativity. The dish continues to achieve high levels of popularity. It is now one of the two most popular dishes in the United Kingdom and a fixture in restaurants across the United States (Mitchell). The dish quickly became a fixture in my diet, and although my bolognese likely will never rise to the level of my uncle's bolognese sauce, I'll certainly keep trying.

Works Cited

Gwinner, Thomas. "The origin and evolution of ragù bolognese (Bolognese Sauce)." International Journal of Arts and Humanities 4.3 (2018): 16-28.

Mitchell, Janet. "Food acceptance and acculturation." Journal of Foodservice 17.2 (2006): 77-83.

“What Is Bolognese? History of Spaghetti Bolognese | Prezzo Italian Restaurant.” Www.prezzo.co.uk, www.prezzo.co.uk/blog/what-is-bolognese-history-of-

spaghetti-bolognese/.

Oakeley, Lucas. “The Tangled History of Spaghetti Bolognese.” The Economist, 19 Sept. 2019, www.economist.com/1843/2019/09/19/the-tangled-history-of-spaghetti-bolognese.

‌Vellky, Wade. Photograph of bolognese sauce in Pan in Background. 26 November 2023. Author's personal collection.

Vellky, Wade. Close-up photograph of bolognese sauce on spoon. 26 November 2023. Author's personal collection.

Vellky, Wade. The final product of Spaghetti Bolognese sauce on a plate with a close-up of the spaghetti on a fork. 26 November 2023. Author's personal collection.

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