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Breakdown of Aggiungi un pizzico di sale grosso al sugo di pomodoro.
tu
you
di
of
aggiungere
to add
il pomodoro
the tomato
al
to
il pizzico
the pinch
il sale
the salt
grosso
coarse
il sugo
the sauce
Questions & Answers about Aggiungi un pizzico di sale grosso al sugo di pomodoro.
What does pizzico mean in this context?
In cooking, pizzico literally means “pinch,” i.e. the small amount you can pick up between your thumb and forefinger.
Why is it un pizzico di sale grosso instead of just pizzico sale?
Italian requires an article before singular countable nouns, so you need un. The structure un [noun] di [substance] expresses “a [noun] of [something]” – here, “a pinch of salt.”
Why do we use di before sale but al before sugo?
Di indicates the content (“of”): un pizzico di sale = “a pinch of salt.” Al is a contraction of a + il, meaning “to the”: aggiungi ... al sugo = “add ... to the sauce.”
What exactly does al stand for in al sugo di pomodoro?
Al = a (to) + il (the) before a masculine singular noun. So al sugo means “to the sauce.”
What’s the difference between sale grosso and sale fino?
Sale grosso is coarse salt with larger crystals, often used for brining or slow seasoning. Sale fino is fine-grained table salt that dissolves quickly.
Why does grosso come after sale? In English we say “coarse salt.”
In Italian, descriptive adjectives typically follow the noun. So sale grosso is the standard word order. Putting grosso before sale would sound poetic or emphatic, not neutral.
Why is the verb aggiungi used here, and which form is it?
Aggiungi is the informal second-person singular imperative of aggiungere (“to add”). It means “you add” when giving a direct instruction to someone you address as tu.
How is sugo different from salsa when talking about tomato sauce?
Sugo usually refers to a cooked, often oil-based sauce you mix with pasta. Salsa is a more general term for any sauce (sometimes served cold, like salsa verde). In recipes, sugo di pomodoro implies a simple tomato sauce for pasta.
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