Another good convenience food turns to crap

[zoe b]

I just finished doing the prep for a pizza I'm making for dinner. I make the dough, but usually use Barilla jarred sauce unless I have a little extra red sauce in the freezer.

I've adopted Barilla sauce as one of the good quality prepared foods I'm pleased to have in the pantry.

Well, tonight I popped the lid and had a little taste of the sauce--Marinara-- before putting it on the pizza=--

DANG--IT"S SWEET!! What happened--ok, look on the label, and there it is--sugar--now it's like all the other sauces--sweet and awful.

This is so disappointing--I'm assuming it was modified to suit the American palate--we do have to have sugar in every freaking thing....

[dockhl]

I HATE sweet tomato sauces, and Barilla was one of the better ones. What a disappointment.

Classico's Spicy Red Pepper and Trader Giotto's Traditional Marinara are both sugarless.

[Jaymes]

Mom's makes what I think is the best bottled pasta sauce on the market, also without sugar. But it's thin, and probably wouldn't hold up well on a pizza.

[K8memphis]

Sorry about your go to sauce going down the sugar tube.

No no no no no. Thee best 'sauce' for pizzas is skinned sliced fresh tomatoes laid out like a mosaic side by side allll over the crust. Y'know blanch them in boiling water for like 45 seconds and dip in ice water and the tomato peel just peels off easy peasy. Slice two slices off and with your softest finger, scoop out the seedy juju stuff and discard that. Slice away. It makes perfect pizza! It's not too much sauce it's not too little. It doesn't drip on yah. It's not too sweet or acidic. The finished pizza cuts perfect, the slices bite nice where the tomatoes are not glopping all over your face like a runaway onion flying out of an onion ring.

I always order pizza with light sauce because it pools in spots under the cheese and it's too acidic and I just don't like that. My husband likes all that goop. When I make the pizza with the tomatoes the planets align, birds sing, bells ring and we are in complete harmony. It doesn't last long though.

And then you can wax eloquent with all kinds of basil and garlic and oregano and onions and salt & pepper etc.

It might sound like a big deal to do but it's really not. And it's so worth it.

Just a pizza thought for yah.

[dockhl]

Mom's makes what I think is the best bottled pasta sauce on the market, also without sugar.  But it's thin, and probably wouldn't hold up well on a pizza.

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Jaymes~

I agree, it IS the best (for pasta) ! I used to be able to get it at CostCo but cannot now. Where do you find it?

[hjshorter]

I can usually find Mom's at Whole Foods. And bummer about Barilla - I always look for sauce with no sugar and it used to be one of the better ones.

Tomatoes on pizza is great, but only if they are great tomatoes. We won't have great tomatoes for another month at least.

Edited June 15, 2007 by hjshorter (log)

[K8memphis]

I can usually find Mom's at Whole Foods.  And bummer about Barilla - I always look for sauce with no sugar and it used to be one of the better ones.

Tomatoes on pizza is great, but only if they are great tomatoes.  We won't have great tomatoes for another month at least.

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Not exactly true. I've used scary winter tomatoes and you just have to try it. Slices. It all melds into somthing else.

[zoe b]

oh, good, so all is not dark--now I have some alternates!

dockhl said--

Classico's Spicy Red Pepper and Trader Giotto's Traditional Marinara are both sugarless.

I used to buy Classico before Barilla and I like it. I assume the Giotto's is Trader Joe's brand--will try it.

Jaymes--I'll try the Moms, too--there just isn't a Whole Foods very close to me.

K8--ok, I'll do the tomato thing--I even have a whole window sill full of sort of tomatoes as the hub keeps buying them--he just can't wait til his tomatoes are ready.

And I just made delish baked tomatoes out of a few of them the other night--the kind with garlic and bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and olive oil--so i agree that they will work on pizza--the idea about poking the goo out is genius!

By the way, I tried a new pizza dough out--with semolina flour--and it was great--I got the little crispy bubbles on the crust--I've never gotten that out of my oven before.

Zoe

[Jaymes]

I can find Mom's easily at regular supermarkets all over Texas, but agree it can be difficult to find elsewhere. Here in Springfield, MO, there is a health food store that carries it, but it's kind of expensive, so when I go back to Texas, I stock up.

[GlorifiedRice]

Honestly? The best pizza sauce is 2-4 tablespoons tomato paste, olive oil, oregano and a little water...

[DTBarton]

I like the Rao's line of jarred pasta sauce. http://www.raos.com/ Simple good ingredients, you can taste nice tomatoes and olive oil, not sweet, I can't stand sweet! Comes in basic marinara and several flavors. I can get it locally (central Maryland) at Whole Foods and Safeway. One of those special items that is a couple bucks less expensive at Whole Foods.

[melkor]

Why not just make a huge batch of sauce and freeze it? The stuff in jars in nasty no matter how you look at it.

[hjshorter]

Why not just make a huge batch of sauce and freeze it?  The stuff in jars in nasty no matter how you look at it.

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In what way? I have a jar Mom's Special Marinara right here. Ingredients are tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, butter, fresh basil, sea salt, black pepper. That's not too different from my own sauce.

What about home canning? Is that "nasty" too? I'd love to be able to can enough sauce every August to last for an entire year. I'd also love to have a freezer big enough to hold a year's worth of spaghetti sauce. But I can't and I don't, so when I run out I choose the highest quality jarred sauce with the fewest ingredients.

[melkor]

Why not just make a huge batch of sauce and freeze it?  The stuff in jars in nasty no matter how you look at it.

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In what way? I have a jar Mom's Special Marinara right here. Ingredients are tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, butter, fresh basil, sea salt, black pepper. That's not too different from my own sauce.

What about home canning? Is that "nasty" too? I'd love to be able to can enough sauce every August to last for an entire year. I'd also love to have a freezer big enough to hold a year's worth of spaghetti sauce. But I can't and I don't, so when I run out I choose the highest quality jarred sauce with the fewest ingredients.

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It's nasty in the taste way. Home canning works fine for whole tomatoes or concasse, but not so delicious when it comes to finished sauces. I try and preserve enough tomatoes during the summer to last the winter, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When I run out, I buy canned tomatoes - they produce a better finished product than jarred sauce, but it isn't anywhere near as good as home grown or farmers market tomatoes.

[DTBarton]

I agree that homemade is always better, but Rao's and a couple others I've had lately are pretty good in a pinch. I didn't eat any jarred sauces for years (because they were insipid and sweet) until I saw an article recommending Rao's.

[Christnp]

The Whole Foods '365' store brand marinara is surprisingly good. Not sweet (I HATE sweet sauce). I use it regularly. I haven't tried out all of the different 365 tomato sauces, but I can recommend the regular marinara.

[mrsadm]

Sugar in everything is a topic I have strong opinions about. Glad to hear about Rao's sauce, I will give it a try. One thing I don't need is more sugar in my diet!

[phaelon56]

Why not just make a huge batch of sauce and freeze it?  The stuff in jars in nasty no matter how you look at it.

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Uhhhh.... because I have a small freezer and affordable good quality good tomatoes are available only a few months each year in my area. If I find a good quality jarred sauce it's actually cheaper to buy that on sale and add a bit of onion, garlic etc. as needed.

Barilla Marinara or Tomato and Basil has long been my go to jarred sauce. Nice to have a few on hand in the pantry for those quick "throw it together" meals that end an overly long work day. The addition of sugar ( I assume it's HFCS? ) tells me that either they're adapting to American tastes or they went to a cheaper grade of tomatoes and are compensating by adding sweetness. Regardless - I'll need to search for a new brand.

[K8memphis]

I noticed Mom's brand at Fresh Market on a recent excursion to cop the bourbon salmon, my latest addiction. (Apologies if someone already mentioned FM)

[zoe b]

glorifiedrice said--

"Honestly? The best pizza sauce is 2-4 tablespoons tomato paste, olive oil, oregano and a little water... "

I'll have to try this--I've made a quicky sauce with crushed tomatoes, but the paste might work--I have a tendency to not use it, though, as i think it can be bitter.

[K8memphis]

glorifiedrice said--

"Honestly? The best pizza sauce is 2-4 tablespoons tomato paste, olive oil, oregano and a little water... "

I'll have to try this--I've made a quicky sauce with crushed tomatoes, but the paste might work--I have a tendency to not use it, though, as i think it can be bitter.

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Add a pinch of

SUGAR!!!