What's Your Favorite Bottled Pasta Sauce?

[phaelon56]

Yes, but Owen, you're blatantly ignoring the choices you make for your place in the social contract.  You are a high intelligent, driven person.  If tomatoes were higher on your list, you would make room or time for them.

When you state, "I have no time, or access" you are leaving things unsaid.

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It's not that I'm ignoring the chocies I make - I was just choosing to leave that out of the discussion. I think we all do that but priorities being what they are I try to leave time for the actual process of sitting down to eat the meal and then... when the schedule permits it... stay awake to let the food digest for at least an hour before going to sleep.

I also have many other priorities that don't involve cooking or food consumption. And when it comes to some of them... e.g. coffee or espresso.... I'll forego having any rather than take shortcuts.

But even in that area I'll make reasonable compromises when it's appropriate. If I have some espresso blend in my airtight countertop storage container that hits ten days after the roast date I freeze it. And if I wake up some Saturday morning and discover that I forgot to bring home a fresh roasted batch of espresso blend I'll pull out the frozen stuff rather than get dressed, drive ten minutes to the shop, blend a batch and drive home. It's unquestionably a compromise. I have access to free fresh roasted beans that I can blend to my specifications but sometimes the trade-off is worth it (nto to mention that my ten day old deforsted blend is better than anything I can get elsewhere in town in any shops or stores).

I overstate the case when saying that I use red sauce no more than twice per week. It's more like one or twice per month. And for me pasta with red sauce is usually fuel that should taste good rather than being the focal point of a special meal.

[NWKate]

Good point Phaelon. Frankly, the jarred sauce, as much as I dislike it is still better than the stuff I was raised on-shudder. We all make trade offs based on out time, money and energy. Sounds like you have decided what works best for you. (And I'm with you on the fresh ground!)

Kate

[eJulia]

I've been lurking this thread with great interest (and some amusement! )

I usually make my go-to late night/no energy pasta meal with a puttanesca sauce made entirely with pantry/frig/freezer staples, and it comes out pretty good. If I'm not too anal about simmering it down to a really thick sauce, I can put it together in about the time it takes for the pasta water to boil and the pasta to cook.

I use: A good can of already diced tomatoes, frozen onion if I don't have any fresh, fresh garlic (which I usually have on hand), jarred capers, anchovies either from a can or an opened jar stashed in my fridge, dried herbs, olives from the deli of my store, or jarred in the fridge (I usually keep a small can of the boring ripe olives in the pantry for use in a pinch) and of course good olive oil. I usually have a hunk of parm reg in the fridge, but in a pinch, I raid my stash of rinds stored in the freezer for soups. (I can always find a few more grinds off the rinds!)

At any rate, when I moved to Oregon, and gained access to Trader Joe's for the first time in my life, I bought my first jar of tomato sauce in a long, long time based on the recommendation of several posters in the TJ Thread. I got Trader Giotto's Vodka Marinara. No preservatives, artificial color, etc. Interestingly, the second ingredient is listed as cream cheese!

It sat and sat until I started to read this thread. Well last night, I decided it was time for a tasting. I used penne rigatoni and used the sauce straight up, with only the addition of some red pepper flakes. Not bad.... it was easy, minimal clean up, fuel - not really food. (You know what I mean...)

I would have liked it better with some sauted onions and garlic, some tomato chunks for texture, some capers for bite, some olives for interest - in short, a puttanesca sauce!!!!

I'll be looking forward to the results of this taste test, and in the meantime will experiment with the rest of the jar in some more interesting uses - weekday lasagna, addition of meatballs, added to beef braises, etc.

Good luck, all!

[Aileen]

Because I'm a single parent and work full-time with a 45-55 minute commute, and making my own tomato sauce is low on my cooking priority list, I rely almost completely on Barilla. I have many pasta recipes that are simple enough not to need it (like Puttanesca), but if I just want some American spaghetti, Barilla's my favorite.

[Cleo]

And for me pasta with red sauce is usually fuel that should taste good rather than being the focal point of a special meal.

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I completely agree with this. And even though I've said more than once how much I enjoy the Rao's sauce, I wouldn't serve it to guests.

But there's a time and a place for jarred sauce. I work full time at a fairly demanding job, I have an amazingly adventurous toddler, and I am pregnant with my second child. So some nights for dinner, when I just haven't really planned ahead, I like a bowl of pasta with sauce. Gourmet? No. Tasty? Yes.

And priority is part of it for me too. Given the option on a weekend of making sauce from scratch or spending time with my husband and daughter, clearly the latter is more important. If I'm gonna spend time cooking on the weekends (which I sometimes do), it's just not gonna be making tomato sauce.

[I_call_the_duck]

It's not that I'm ignoring the chocies I make - I was just choosing to leave that out of the discussion. I think we all do that but priorities being what they are I try to leave time for the actual process of sitting down to eat the meal and then...  when the schedule permits it...  stay awake to let the food digest for at least an hour before going to sleep.

...

And for me pasta with red sauce is usually fuel that should taste good rather than being the focal point of a special meal.

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Agreed. Jarred tomato sauces have come a long way since the Ragu days. And while we're talking about fresh vs. jarred sauces, what about fresh vs. dried pasta? Yes, I do have jarred (usually Barilla) sauces at home, and I have a stock of DeCecco pasta as well. Would I rather make it fresh? Does it taste better? Yes to both. But do I always have the time or inclination after work to do so? No. Jarred sauce is what it is—convenient, and not meant to be a gourmet meal.

[jgm]

For me, there are about three types of food:

1. The kind that is so prefab and yucky, all I can taste is artificial flavoring. Most mixes, boxed foods, many frozen foods, etc. This category contains foods that are a far cry from what can be made from good ingredients, and ironically, don't really save all that much labor. I almost never eat from this category. These foods also often have more salt than I can deal with, anyway.

2. The kind that is already made, but is of passable quality, and I will use it when I am too tired or frazzled to cook. It's not the best in the world, and certainly not the best I can produce, but it's OK. This category includes food from certain TV chefs and certain chain restaurants that it's not PC for eGulleters to like, so I won't comment any further. It also could include some of the jarred sauces described here.

3. The kind of food that almost always, I spend at least an hour or more in my kitchen to produce, and it has some sort of special fresh flavor, or lovely texture, etc., that makes it obvious it's not "store bought"; and it's why I love to cook, and it's also why life can be so fascinating, challenging, and satisfying.

I haven't bought any jarred tomato sauce in a long time. When in the past I have purchased it, I haven't found it to be very good. But in my area of the country, we have some limitations on the number of brands that are available, and it's entirely possible there's some pretty good stuff out there that I can't get.

I see nothing wrong with eating from category #2, especially when I really don't have the time or the energy to do something really good.

[Chris Amirault]

Though I certainly don't sit in judgment of those who do, I never use jarred pasta sauce. When reading this thread I realized why: it takes my huge pasta pot filled with heavily salted water longer to heat up than it takes for me to make a sauce. So I'm confused. How are those of you who are making pasta with sauce cooking your pasta?

[eJulia]

I'll be looking forward to the results of this taste test, and in the meantime will experiment with the rest of the jar in some more interesting uses - weekday lasagna, addition of meatballs, added to beef braises, etc.

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I'm quoting myself because I think this comment makes me look like I'm trying out for "Sandra Lee Jr."! I'm just a foodie who hates to toss food!

I agree with Chrisamirault... now what to do with this 3/4 full jar of marinara?

[Okanagancook]

Bumping.....

 

Just opened the jar of Rao's Marinara Sauce.  Wow. 

The label says "Rao's Marinara Sauce is the same critically acclaimed recipe that is served at Rao's Restaurant in New York City."

Ingredients:  Italian tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, citric acid, olive oil, fresh onions, salt, fresh garlic, fresh basil, spices.

 $8.99 Cdn for a 680 ml jar.

 

I made some A16 Meatballs and gently simmered them in the sauce.  Best jarred sauce I have ever had.  I bought it because I have the cookbook and wanted to compare the recipe made in my kitchen with this commercial product.  The recipe calls for pork back fat or salt pork as an optional ingredient otherwise it has canned Italian plum tomatoes, olive oil, minced onion, garlic cloves, fresh basil, a pinch of dried oregano.  It all depends on the canned tomatoes so I buy the best that are available in my neck of the woods.  Have to make the sauce this week while all this is fresh in my mind and I still have fresh basil in the garden.

 

Here's a pick of the jar.  Unsure how to get it not backwards, weird.

 

[Shel_B]

Here y'go ...

 

 

 

Edited September 24, 2016 by Shel_B (log)

[KennethT]

I like Rao's sauce also... definitely the best jarred sauce I've ever had.

 

On the photo, did you take the photo in "selfie" mode, or did you use the front facing camera?  Photos taken with the "selfie" camera always come out as mirror images.

[Okanagancook]

I used the 'photo booth' on our main Mac computer. I will check the settings.  Thanks.

[rotuts]

I was in the middle of a movie , not so good movie   so  :

 

[lindag]

I will look for this product, however, there's little luck that I'll be able to find it anywhere around these parts. 

[Okanagancook]

Order it online, here

 

Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce (pack of 4 jars)

 

 

Edited September 25, 2016 by Smithy
Adjusted link to be Amazon-friendly (log)

[rotuts]

Target ?

 

http://www.target.com/p/rao-s-homemade-marinara-sauce-24-oz/-/A-13349580

 

I get free shipping and % % off with their card.

 

Yikes  !  they put Gold in it ?

 

 

or

 

http://www.raos.com/premium-sauce-cases

[suzilightning]

Can find it at Shoprite or, interestingly, in a local liquor store - Bottle King - for about 5.00 US per jar.   Sorry but if I can get Silver Palate on sale with a coupon for around 2.00 US I will take that and buy some backup marinara.

[Okanagancook]

I found mine at a mom and pop and son specialty store...my saviour in our smallish town.  They have really nice stuff.  They are Portguese.  Their cheese and cured meat counter is excellent.  I asked if he could get some piquillo peppers in and sure enough the next week there they were.  I bought six jars as a thank you.

[Okanagancook]

I made the Rao's recipe yesterday.  Very, very easy.  Total cost was about $9 to $10 with a yield of 1200 ml.

Two cans of high quality Italian plum tomatoes.

The yellow centre core removed and the tomatoes squished with your hands.

Saute 3 Tablespoons finely chopped onions for 5 minutes.  Add 1 crushed garlic clove.  After one minute at the tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Simmer for an hour lid off.

If it is the right consistency for you add a pinch of oregano and six torn fresh basil leaves.  Taste for salt and pepper.  That's it.

 

I think it tasted pretty close to the jarred stuff.  I did add a little sugar to my sauce, maybe a teaspoon.

 

[rotuts]

@Okanagancook   

 

nice .  you leave the seed in ?

[Okanagancook]

Yup, seeds are in.  But, the jarred sauce doesn't seem to have as many, hum...

[rustwood]

@Okanagancook, by any chance have you tried the Serious Eats slow cooked recipe?  That has been my favorite of late so I am curious to know how yours compares.  If you can't comment I might have to make up a batch of each.

[Okanagancook]

rustwood.  I have not tried that recipe.  I looked it up and it is a very different sauce compared to Rao's.  Rao's is very 'tomatoeee' and is a bright red colour.  It isn't simmered as long so the tomato flavour is quite 'fresh'.  

 

The Serious Eats recipe looks like it would be a more complex tasting sauce with the vegetables and loads of garlic.  Then finishing with the minced herbs is quite different.  Not that this is bad but different.  

 

Marcella Hazen's tomato sauce made with butter and a whole onion is another different sauce but good.  She tosses the onion after the sauce is cooked also.  So, it is kind of in the middle.

Thanks for sharing.  I will have to try the serious eats recipe.

[rustwood]

2 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

rustwood.  I have not tried that recipe.  I looked it up and it is a very different sauce compared to Rao's.  Rao's is very 'tomatoeee' and is a bright red colour.  It isn't simmered as long so the tomato flavour is quite 'fresh'.  

 

The Serious Eats recipe looks like it would be a more complex tasting sauce with the vegetables and loads of garlic.  Then finishing with the minced herbs is quite different.  Not that this is bad but different. 

 

It definitely has more depth, but note that you hold back 3 cups of the fresh tomatoes to add back in at the end.  Last time I took out some of the cooked down sauce for pizzas before I added the fresh and it ended up a little too fresh for my tastes.  I do like it rich and spicy though.