It’s such a simple word: just four letters. And, yet, defining it is not so simple. What, exactly, is ragu? Is it a tomato sauce? A meat sauce? A brand name? The quickest answer is yes. But the true answer, like the sauce itself, is more complex. True ragu is not something you pour out of a jar.

It cannot be thrown together with ground beef and tomatoes on a Tuesday night. Making ragu is an artful, deliberate exercise that takes hours. It is among the most iconic Italian dishes, and it is not an exaggeration to say that throughout Italy it is the measure of a good home cook.