Tomato sauce?

[CatPoet]

In American recipes what is tomato sauce?

Is it the same as  tomato pasata  or  tomato ketchup or  the sauce you have over pasta?

 

Google isnt my friend and I am not getting any wiser. 

 

[rotuts]

generally, tomato sauce  USA is a tomato based sauce used mostly on pasta.  a massive industry exists for this :

 

note both in cans and jars 

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/189-5636333-3969704?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=+tomato+sauce

 

http://www.amazon.com/Classico-Traditional-Favorites-tomato-3-pack/dp/B004YLEW0A/ref=sr_1_4/189-5636333-3969704?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1404923408&sr=1-4&keywords=jar+tomato+sauce

[Smithy]

Building further on rotuts' answer: tomato sauce in my experience generally is plainer than pasta sauce or ketchup. It can be used over pizza; it can be the basis for a homemade pasta or pizza sauce or something else altogether. If it has chunks of something added (mushrooms, sausage, cheese, garlic) then it generally is no longer called tomato sauce and is likely to be called pasta sauce instead (as in rotuts' second link) although there are counterexamples. Contadina, for instance, makes Italian-seasoned tomato sauce. Ketchup is generally sweeter and thicker than tomato sauce.

[heidih]

generally, tomato sauce  USA is a tomato based sauce used mostly on pasta.  a massive industry exists for this :

 

note both in cans and jars 

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/189-5636333-3969704?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=+tomato+sauce

 

http://www.amazon.com/Classico-Traditional-Favorites-tomato-3-pack/dp/B004YLEW0A/ref=sr_1_4/189-5636333-3969704?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1404923408&sr=1-4&keywords=jar+tomato+sauce

The images in the first link by rotuts are what I would use if cooking from a US recipe that called for tomato sauce. The second link are products marketed as pasta sauces and generally have various additional ingredients over and above tomatoes.

 

The easiest substitute in a recipe would be tomato puree of a pourable but not watery consistency.

[CatPoet]

Well if it just like tomato pasata, then I use that. I can get flavored which is expensive and  then just natural  which is cheap.  So I stick the  pasata I guess.

 

But isnt tomato puree a thick paste like thing?  At least that is what I get when I look at British pages..  

 

GHA this is confusing!

[heidih]

The market is flooded with so many versions of products. Tomato paste is a thick paste. Puree is in the middle with the "sauce" being the most liquid. To me puree plops off a spoon while sauce flows off a spoon. Paste sticks to a spoon

Edited July 9, 2014 by heidih (log)

[CatPoet]

GHA!  Can I just panic and throw in a tomato?

Edited July 9, 2014 by CatPoet (log)

[heidih]

It is not a raw sauce

[heidih]

CatPoet - I suppose we should have asked - what recipe are you trying to make? Perhaps that will let us help.

[Lisa Shock]

Yeah, we can give you a better recipe than the canned stuff. Like Marcella Hazan's recipe.

[CatPoet]

Oh it is two recipes. One is a  kema curry filling  for  hot pockets  and the other one is a pasta bake.

[JAZ]

Here's a pretty decent explanation of different canned tomato products.

[CatPoet]

That made me a bit wiser, I think I have to experiment a bit with the recipes.

[SobaAddict70]

Are you looking for "tomato paste"?

If you simmer crushed tomatoes long enough so that the liquid nearly evaporates, you'll end up with a concentrated substance that resembles canned tomato paste.

"Tomato sauce" can be anything from any of the mentions above to something like Sunday gravy or marinara sauce.

[CatPoet]

I get Mutti triplo or Mutti  Doppio for tomato paste  if you mean the British  tomato puree.

[FauxPas]

If you have a can of tomato paste, you can use it as a substitute for tomato sauce. You can just add water - for a 156 mL can, I would add about 250 mL water or to your desired thickness. Then just add a bit of extra seasoning to the recipe. Or here are some more precise suggestions:

 

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/dinner-food-facts/substitute-tomato-paste-for-tomato-sauce.htm

 

You could also purée canned tomatoes to make sauce-like. 

 

Depends how fussy your recipe is, really. 

[FauxPas]

I get Mutti triplo or Mutti  Doppio for tomato paste  if you mean the British  tomato puree.

 

The Mutti is a type of tomato paste, Just not sure whether double or triple concentrate is closest to North American. 

[CatPoet]

I  found out that Mutti, which is the only brand of tomatoes I buy,  expensive yes but more tomatoes and less water so it worth the money, has a flavoured tomato sauce like thing, I think I use that in the pasta bake  and then I just keep to  pasata in the  kema.

[SobaAddict70]

David Leite has a recipe for homemade tomato paste here, but it's way more complicated than just using a tomato: http://leitesculinaria.com/87323/recipes-homemade-tomato-paste-conserva-di-pomodori.html

The picture in his blog post looks like what you might expect from canned tomato paste in the U.S.

[FeChef]

Im throwing a monkey wrench into this subject by mentioning on the label of just about every US tomato sauce can it will say ingredients are tomato paste, water and some preservative.

[FauxPas]

Im throwing a monkey wrench into this subject by mentioning on the label of just about every US tomato sauce can it will say ingredients are tomato paste, water and some preservative.

 

So true and one reason why I never buy the stuff. I either use fresh or canned tomatoes and maybe a bit of paste here and there. And occasionally if I need a plain tomato sauce, I just add water to tomato paste. 

[FeChef]

So true and one reason why I never buy the stuff. I either use fresh or canned tomatoes and maybe a bit of paste here and there. And occasionally if I need a plain tomato sauce, I just add water to tomato paste. 

I never buy tomato sauce. Its way too acidic. If im not using fresh, i will use tomato paste and add water till i reach desired consistency. Sometimes i will skip water completely and use cream and vodka, for a vodka cream sauce.

[huiray]

I  found out that Mutti, which is the only brand of tomatoes I buy,  expensive yes but more tomatoes and less water so it worth the money, has a flavoured tomato sauce like thing, I think I use that in the pasta bake  and then I just keep to  pasata in the  kema.

 

Mutti is the only brand of tomatoes you buy?  Does that mean you don't buy fresh tomatoes?  Or just the type of tomatoes-in-a-container?  If the latter, I think there are many good brands - it might be an idea if one thought about stuff other than Mutti - but I don't know what you would have available around you, of course.  That is a Northern/Scandianavian brand, anyway, would that be correct?

 

Keema curry and "tomato sauce" is not exactly the most instinctual pairings in terms of recommending a "tomato sauce" for making such a dish.  I realize that you have certain notions about "curry" and that you need to cater to your husband's ideas of what Scot-Indian curry is (Anglo-Indian cuisine) but perhaps one might think beyond that?.

[Ashen]

Mutti is a very good  Italian brand of canned tomato products.  

 

In my experience,passata is just fine in any recipe calling for tomato sauce, assuming you have a relatively good idea what finished consistency you want.  Most likely adjustment would be to adjust any other liquids if possible or extend simmering time until desired consistency .

[quiet1]

Mutti is a very good  Italian brand of canned tomato products.  

 

In my experience,passata is just fine in any recipe calling for tomato sauce, assuming you have a relatively good idea what finished consistency you want.  Most likely adjustment would be to adjust any other liquids if possible or extend simmering time until desired consistency .

This was my experience when I lived in the UK, as well. I liked to keep a can of tomato paste on hand also, though - in a pinch it helps thicken things up faster and adds a little more richness of flavor if the passata is particularly uninspiring. So I'd start with the passata and only turn to adding tomato paste as needed. (I now cannot remember what on earth I was making with it, I just remember buying it on multiple occasions for various things. Huh. Must've dropped some recipes out of rotation when I moved.)