Why do Italians cook their food to death?

Question

All the Italian people I know add nice meatballs and sausage to their sauce and then proceed to simmer it for what seems like 12 hours. It results in all the meatballs and sausage reduced to a mush.......cooking it through is one thing, but this is ........gross

Answer 1

mizbiskit is absolutely correct: I'm Italian, living in Italy, and I never heard about that... 12 hours is a long long time even when talking about marinading something, let alone simmering...

Answer 2

I'm not Italian, but have had alot of authentic Italian sauces (including a month in Italy).  Meat sauces would be simmered, and meatballs would be cooked and added to the sauce about 1/2 hr. before it's done ........  I find your question very insulting though.  I certainly hope you're not someone who eats canned vegetables, or boils vegetables until they're over-cooked and mushy!

Answer 3

it may seem like 12 hours, but italians take great pride in their cooking.  everything is added in stages so that the flavors meld together.  italian cooking is a labor of love when done the correct way.

Answer 4

One Italian I know said it's best not to simmer. He preferred that it set a long time. The whole idea behind it is to get the onion, and garlic to liquidate and to get all the tastes working together to give it special taste.  That's why leftovers taste so good. 12 hours to simmer is a bit extreme though!

Answer 5

I don't know how many Italian homes you've eaten at, but I've never had food the way you describe it.  I don't know of any long-simmered dish that cooks meatballs that long or "to a mush", like you described.  Some stews do take time to prepare, with slow simmering, but those usually use whole cuts of meat that require long simmering, not 12 hours though!

If what you say is true, then I can only guess that the person who did the cooking in the home where you ate is not a very good cook.  It happens.  But it's certainly *not* the way Italian food should be cooked.