What is Bolognese Sauce?

In his role as the president of Insmax Insurance Brokerage, Philadelphia resident and business consultant Lawrence “Larry” Koresko works professionally with a wide range of insurance carriers and financial professionals. Outside of his professional work, Lawrence Koresko enjoys travel and his favorite food: spaghetti and meat sauce.

One of the more traditional meat sauces found today is Bolognese, an Italian sauce that originated in the Bologna region. A variety of recipes exist for the sauce that include ingredients such as celery, carrots, tomatoes, and onions. However, meat is the main ingredient in Bolognese. The sauce can be made with beef, pork, bacon, pancetta, or any combination of meats, and this causes it to differ in flavor that other tomato-based sauces. 

This difference is due in part to the presence of other simmering liquids such as milk or some form of dairy, cooking wine, and stock. However, Bolognese also incorporates fewer tomato products and features a larger proportion of meat compared to other sauces. Instead of a light, acidic flavor found in tomato-based sauces such as marinara, Bolognese has a very rich and complex flavor profile.