Ragú
Encyclopedia
Ragú is a brand name, for an Italian-style sauce. It is not directly related to the Italian sauce ragù
, which is meat based. The Ragú brand was first sold in 1937 - and is currently one of many consumer brands in the portfolio of Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever
. It is the best selling U.S. brand of pasta sauce. Ragú was acquired by the Lipton
and Bestfoods companies before merging with the Unilever portfolio. It has a sister brand under the Knorr trademark in the UK
.
The Ragú pasta sauce line consists of smooth Old World Style sauces, Chunky sauces, bold Robusto! sauces, as well as organic
and light
pasta sauces. While most well known for selling jar packaged pasta
sauce, Ragú also has a line of pizza
sauces.
In its first several decades, Ragú advertising and sales broadened the appeal of Italian-American food in the United States, with slogans like "That's Italian!" and "Ragú brings the Italian out in you!" Americanized Italian cuisine is now the most common "ethnic" cuisine served in U.S. households, followed by variations of Americanized Mexican cuisine.
Current advertising highlights the natural ingredients and "full serving of veggies" found in the sauce. Cooked tomato foods, including Ragú, are highlighted as containing the antioxidant lycopene
, which is claimed to be a cancer fighting agent.
while the Italian word ragù
(an Italian sauce typically used for dressing pasta) is spelled with a grave accent
.
Ragú had its beginnings in Rochester, New York. The Cantisano family founded the Ragu Packing Company in their home in Rochester, New York, in 1937. Much of the early activity was in Rochester, N.Y. After the Ragu name was sold, the facility in Rochester still manufactured products under the Cantisano name brand. Some of the original facility still exists and produces products for other labels (including Newman's Own) as Private Label Foods.
The Cantisano family left to create Cantisano Foods (now LiDestri Foods), and would invent Francesco Rinaldi brand of pasta sauce. The quotations "As I got older, I got better" and "Ciao Francesco Rinaldi" have gained popularity since their use in commercials for Francesco Rinaldi.
Ragù
In Italian cookery, a ragù is a meat-based sauce, which is traditionally served with pasta.Typical Italian ragù include ragù alla bolognese , ragù alla napoletana , and ragù alla Barese...
, which is meat based. The Ragú brand was first sold in 1937 - and is currently one of many consumer brands in the portfolio of Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
. It is the best selling U.S. brand of pasta sauce. Ragú was acquired by the Lipton
Lipton
Lipton is a brand of tea currently owned by Unilever.-History of Lipton Tea:Lipton was created at the end of the 19th century by a grocer, Sir Thomas Lipton, in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1893, he established the Thomas J. Lipton Co., a tea packing company with its headquarters and factory in Hobo ken,...
and Bestfoods companies before merging with the Unilever portfolio. It has a sister brand under the Knorr trademark in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The Ragú pasta sauce line consists of smooth Old World Style sauces, Chunky sauces, bold Robusto! sauces, as well as organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
and light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
pasta sauces. While most well known for selling jar packaged pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
sauce, Ragú also has a line of pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
sauces.
In its first several decades, Ragú advertising and sales broadened the appeal of Italian-American food in the United States, with slogans like "That's Italian!" and "Ragú brings the Italian out in you!" Americanized Italian cuisine is now the most common "ethnic" cuisine served in U.S. households, followed by variations of Americanized Mexican cuisine.
Current advertising highlights the natural ingredients and "full serving of veggies" found in the sauce. Cooked tomato foods, including Ragú, are highlighted as containing the antioxidant lycopene
Lycopene
Lycopene is a bright red carotene and carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons and papayas...
, which is claimed to be a cancer fighting agent.
Etymology
The brand name Ragú is spelled with an acute accentAcute accent
The acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
while the Italian word ragù
Ragù
In Italian cookery, a ragù is a meat-based sauce, which is traditionally served with pasta.Typical Italian ragù include ragù alla bolognese , ragù alla napoletana , and ragù alla Barese...
(an Italian sauce typically used for dressing pasta) is spelled with a grave accent
Grave accent
The grave accent is a diacritical mark used in written Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Dutch, French, Greek , Italian, Mohawk, Norwegian, Occitan, Portuguese, Scottish Gaelic, Vietnamese, Welsh, Romansh, and other languages.-Greek:The grave accent was first used in the polytonic orthography of Ancient...
.
Ragú had its beginnings in Rochester, New York. The Cantisano family founded the Ragu Packing Company in their home in Rochester, New York, in 1937. Much of the early activity was in Rochester, N.Y. After the Ragu name was sold, the facility in Rochester still manufactured products under the Cantisano name brand. Some of the original facility still exists and produces products for other labels (including Newman's Own) as Private Label Foods.
The Cantisano family left to create Cantisano Foods (now LiDestri Foods), and would invent Francesco Rinaldi brand of pasta sauce. The quotations "As I got older, I got better" and "Ciao Francesco Rinaldi" have gained popularity since their use in commercials for Francesco Rinaldi.