FOOD NEWS
How Did The Ohio Pasta Dish Johnny Marzetti Receive Its Name?
By John Segura
A casserole with ground beef, cheese, pasta, and tomatoes is known by many names, such as goulash or American Chop Suey. However, in Ohio, it's known as a Johnny Marzetti.
The story goes that Teresa Marzetti, an Italian immigrant who came to Columbus in 1896, was the first person to serve the casserole. She named the dish after her brother-in-law.
However, according to the T. Marzetti Co., the dish was never actually on the menu itself, and the business can't guarantee that Teresa developed it.
There is one probable explanation for Johnny Marzetti's moniker. During research for Columbus Monthly, Eric Lyttle found a 1916 recipe within The Columbus Dispatch with the name.
However, the ingredient list called for pork rather than beef and included other components not commonly considered the norm, such as onions, cayenne pepper, and chili powder.
The food editor of The Columbus Dispatch, Mary Pegg, found no connection to the Marzetti family. The name only really refers to the meal's two main components — noodles and meat.
Monica Kass Rogers of The Chicago Tribune says, "'making a Marzetti' has become synonymous ... with making a casserole."
As a result, there's no concrete answer to the name's origin other than, perhaps, it's just a regional term for the dish that somehow gained traction.