# Pasta Sauce



## Kgp (Jun 24, 2020)

Probably treading on thin ice here, but I'm curious what others think of pre-made pasta sauce. I can make a pretty good one from scratch, but I have found that several of the pre-made ones are really quite good, especially if I add a few ingredients. Last night, I browned a pound of Italian sausage with sliced onions and green peppers, tossed in a jar of Bertolli tomato and basal sauce, served it over farfalle pasta. Might not impress Gordon Ramsay, but I thought it was pretty damned good for a twenty minute meal. 

After seeing all the amazing dishes prepared by the members here, I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but my religious upbringing taught me that confession is good for the soul. I'll get my sack cloth and ashes prepared.


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## Lars (Jun 24, 2020)

Looking at the ingredients in Bertolli Tomato and Basil sauce I see nothing I wouldn't happily eat, so why not?


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## esoo (Jun 24, 2020)

I don't buy a lot of store bought sauce, but this one is a go to: Florentine Spinach and Cheese - Classico® Pasta Sauce

I think store bought is good if you want to find something that you wouldn't make for yourself.


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## WildBoar (Jun 24, 2020)

Rao's is our go-to for store-bought sauce. The Vodka sauce is great as-is; the others typically need a little doctoring.


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## tostadas (Jun 24, 2020)

I use a jar of the $2 Trader Joes marinara sauce. It's my go-to for half a week of family meals. But I add to it

3lb ground pork (browned)
2 large diced sweet onions
2lb fresh tomatoes
2lb sauteed mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
herbs


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## erickso1 (Jun 24, 2020)

Nothing wrong with it at all. Since I make my pizza sauce from scratch now I usually have some left over. Been adding my left over Raos pizza sauce jars to it and using that on pasta. Kids like it.


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## boomchakabowwow (Jun 24, 2020)

i bought a crap load of jarred sauce when i thought the world was coming to a screeching feverish stop.

i have one jar left i am gonna try to turn into a Cioppino base.


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## Runner_up (Jun 24, 2020)

Like @WildBoar Rao's is go-to for my girlfriend and I. Generally once month I make a giant batch of sauce that I freeze. Probably haven't bought pasta sauce in close to a year now that I think about it


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## TSF415 (Jun 24, 2020)

I have never personally had one that I can remember. I grew up with my mom making sauce almost everyday. If there wasn't sauce and no time to make it we just ate a different pasta dish. 

I feel it takes so little effort that I would never see a reason for using a jarred sauce. I'm sure there are some out there that are good, but like everything, most are probably horrible.


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## Michi (Jun 25, 2020)

I don't use pre-made pasta sauce but, in general, I'm not averse to using pre-made things if they are good. For example, for some of my Indian cooking, I sometimes use Shan spice mixes, which are really good (at least the ones I tried). Fresh pasta from the refrigerator section is another example. Definitely better than dried pasta (if not as good as the fresh pasta that I make myself).


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## idemhj (Jun 25, 2020)

Michi said:


> Fresh pasta from the refrigerator section is another example. Definitely better than dried pasta (if not as good as the fresh pasta that I make myself).


I am a little bit confused by this. If you mean that fresh pasta is always better than dried when fresh pasta is called for, then I agree. But if you mean it as a general rule, I strongly disagree. You cannot make, say aglio e olio with fresh pasta - it simply doesn't come out right


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## The Edge (Jun 25, 2020)

I don't think I know anyone who hasn't used jarred sauce, or doctored it up at least once in their lives. Saying that, I moved away from jarred sauces nearly 10 years ago. I started learning how to make sauces on my own, and I haven't found a jarred sauce that even comes close now. The freshness, and being able to develop flavor by making it myself is a meditation in its own right.

On a side note, both my wife and mother in law used to live by jarred sauces, and doctoring them up. They are both converts now to fresh sauce will always beat out the jarred. 

Not knocking quick and easy, but if you have the time, making fresh sauce is the way to go.


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## lowercasebill (Jun 25, 2020)

Rao's sauces are good. I keep their pizza sauce on hand for when i am lazy.


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## Slim278 (Jun 25, 2020)

I see many people here are saying they use ready made sauces because of the convenience. Why not can your own and have best of the both. Tomato products are some of the easiest to process, as they only need to be processed in a water bath. I like to use pint jars, perfect for two people.


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## RockyBasel (Jun 25, 2020)

Nothing like fresh sauce - and you get to use those J knives. But the quality of tomatoes is key. I just made some sauce yesterday with my brand new and incredible 250 mm Carbon Heiji. I used fresh San Marzano tomatoes that I can get here in Switzerland.

but when I was in the US, it was Rao’s which you can enhance with fresh onions and peppers, etc. also, the quality of the olive oil and sea-salt cannot be underestimated. Again, we border Italy here - where people really fret about what type of olive oil you are using. They care about it as much as wine

there are other bottled sauces that are really good - give Rao a run for the money - Donna Antonia - an Italian brand that is particularly good


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## tomsch (Jun 25, 2020)

I have my typical jar sauce that I doctor up with ground beef, sausage, fennel, oregano, basil, red wine, and browned tomato paste when I'm lazy. These day's I'm making sauce from either fresh tomatoes or canned Italian tomatoes (Cento) with fresh garlic, onion, and basic seasoning. Oh and I'm becoming addicted to stirring in a crap load of freshly grated Parmesan. Marcella Hazan has a simple tomato, onion, and butter sauce that I found in her cookbook which is quick and simple for work nights.


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## Michi (Jun 26, 2020)

idemhj said:


> I am a little bit confused by this. If you mean that fresh pasta is always better than dried when fresh pasta is called for, then I agree.


For most things, I prefer fresh pasta to dried pasta. I guess that's just a personal preference.



> But if you mean it as a general rule, I strongly disagree. You cannot make, say aglio e olio with fresh pasta - it simply doesn't come out right


I'd disagree with that  I made some aglio e olio with fresh linguine just a few days ago, and it was truly nice; absolutely nothing wrong with it.


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## TSF415 (Jun 26, 2020)

Michi said:


> For most things, I prefer fresh pasta to dried pasta. I guess that's just a personal preference.
> 
> 
> I'd disagree with that  I made some agile e olio with fresh linguine just a few days ago, and it was truly nice; absolutely nothing wrong with it.


I think each has their place. Fresh pasta is not an upgrade over dried. It’s just something different.


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## panda (Jun 26, 2020)

i much prefer dried pasta over fresh due to texture.


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## idemhj (Jun 26, 2020)

Michi said:


> I'd disagree with that  I made some agile e olio with fresh linguine just a few days ago, and it was truly nice; absolutely nothing wrong with it.



Okay, let's agree to disagree then


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## M1k3 (Jun 26, 2020)

You all sound like some customers. Not necessarily in a bad way


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## Michi (Jun 26, 2020)

M1k3 said:


> You all sound like some customers. Not necessarily in a bad way


Just tell your customers that they are wrong, so there…


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## M1k3 (Jun 26, 2020)

Michi said:


> Just tell your customers that they are wrong, so there…


That'll be great for the Yelp and social media reviews!


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## TSF415 (Jun 26, 2020)

M1k3 said:


> That'll be great for the Yelp and social media reviews!



I have a few great reviews from customers who I've told, "I don't feel this is the right place for you. Its probably best you leave." lol. oh well


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## M1k3 (Jun 26, 2020)

Some people just....aagghh... Make me feel like that Jackie Chan meme..


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## Michi (Jun 26, 2020)

TSF415 said:


> I have a few great reviews from customers who I've told, "I don't feel this is the right place for you. Its probably best you leave." lol. oh well


Talk to Guinness, you are a candidate for "World's worst diplomat."


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## RockyBasel (Jun 26, 2020)

TSF415 said:


> I think each has their place. Fresh pasta is not an upgrade over dried. It’s just something different.



Having lived in Rome for 4 years, and having visited Italy 3-4 times each year, I can say with confidence that both dry and fresh pasta are great and both have their place. Some dishes call for a dry pasta, not fresh. Other dishes, you should only do with fresh pasta. While you can make some dishes with either dry or fresh, the in-country (Italy) way the pasta is prepared may specify dry or fresh

E.g aglio e olio is prepared with dry pasta - in Italy - not that you cannot make at home with fresh

Tonarelli Cacio e Pepe a typical Roman dish, simple but hard to perfect, - made with fresh tonarelli pasta. But you can make with dry spaghetti and it turns out pretty good, not as good

On the other hand, tajarin or tagliolini tartufo Bianco - I would never be caught eating with dry pasta. Fresh pasta is the only way to enjoy fresh white truffles during white truffle season. You can make it with dry spaghetti - but it would be a sacrilege 

We drive down to Alba each year and truffle out with Barolo each year - it’s a 3.5 hour drive from my house. If I asked for dry spaghetti with my white truffles, the restaurant would ask me to leave or not serve


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## Michi (Jun 26, 2020)

RockyBasel said:


> E.g aglio e olio is prepared with dry pasta - in Italy


Thank you for that bit of background culture, I wasn't aware of that.

I'm wondering whether fresh pasta made with just semolina and water (no eggs, no salt) might come closer to the mark?


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## RockyBasel (Jun 26, 2020)

Michi said:


> Thank you for that bit of background culture, I wasn't aware of that.
> 
> I'm wondering whether fresh pasta made with just semolina and water (no eggs, no salt) might come closer to the mark?


 Fresh pasta without eggs is equally good - these days, hard to tell the difference in less you are an adherent of orthodoxy


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## Michi (Jun 26, 2020)

RockyBasel said:


> hard to tell the difference in less you are an adherent of orthodoxy


So true.

The best pasta I've ever eaten in my entire life was back in 1997, in Rome. I was staying at the Sheraton close to the airport for two weeks. They had spaghetti aglio e olio on the menu. I have never eaten pasta as good as that since, despite numerous other visits to local restaurants (in Rome and many other places in Italy over the years). I think I had that pasta at the hotel five times in two weeks, it was that good.

To boot, they had a bar tender who knew how to make a real Irish Coffee. I've been on a quest for a good Irish Coffee for a little over thirty years. In all that time, I have succeeded only a handful of times. The Sheraton was one of those places. Another great place for Irish coffee is the Buena Vista in San Francisco, close to Fisherman's Wharf. If you happen to be in the area and like Irish Coffee, I highly recommend going there. They know how to do it right.


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## RockyBasel (Jun 26, 2020)

Michi said:


> So true.
> 
> The best pasta I've ever eaten in my entire life was back in 1997, in Rome. I was staying at the Sheraton close to the airport for two weeks. They had spaghetti aglio e olio on the menu. I have never eaten pasta as good as that since, despite numerous other visits to local restaurants (in Rome and many other places in Italy over the years). I think I had that pasta at the hotel five times in two weeks, it was that good.
> 
> To boot, they had a bar tender who knew how to make a real Irish Coffee. I've been on a quest for a good Irish Coffee for a little over thirty years. In all that time, I have succeeded only a handful of times. The Sheraton was one of those places. Another great place for Irish coffee is the Buena Vista in San Francisco, close to Fisherman's Wharf. If you happen to be in the area and like Irish Coffee, I highly recommend going there. They know how to do it right.


It’s always the simple things in life that provide a sense of discovery, connection, and memories

I remember this No-name, off beaten path Etruscan wine bar we ran into - 1 wooden table, two chairs, and then he brought out A hunk of cheese, with honey and black pepper and his grand-dad’s favorite red wine from his Personal cellar.
Simple but delicious and I will never forget


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## Michi (Jun 26, 2020)

RockyBasel said:


> I remember this No-name, off beaten path Etruscan wine bar we ran into - 1 wooden table, two chairs, and then he brought out A hunk of cheese, with honey and black pepper and his grand-dad’s favorite red wine from his Personal cellar.
> Simple but delicious and I will never forget


I had a similar experience, also in Rome. I was prowling around the areas around the centre of Rome. Still in the old parts, but not in the middle of the touristy areas. There were some interesting-looking alleys that were barely wider than my arm span, so I walked around through some of those. I stumbled across this hole-in-the-wall restaurant, with vinyl-covered table cloths, about six small tables, and maybe four or five locals sitting around a table having a chat.

I walked in and smiled, and a classic Italian mama smiled back and gestured me towards one of the tables. I sat down, and they brought the menu. It was a single typewriter-typed sheet of A4 paper in a plastic cover. In Italian. Of course, I couldn't read damn near any of it.

I tried to communicate, but I couldn't speak any Italian, and no-one there could speak either German or English. In the end, I made it clear with my broken Italian that I would like to have dinner and red wine ("Vino Rosso"). I vaguely remember the mama trying to ask me what kind of food I would like, pointing at various lines on the menu. I sort of shrugged my shoulders, smiled, and indicated as best as I could that I'd eat anything.

Ten minutes later, I got two plates of food and a half litre carafe of red wine. I ate all of it, loved the food, loved the wine, and paid all of about $10 for the lot. Before I left, I bowed to the mama for having served me one of the best meals of my life.


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## RockyBasel (Jun 26, 2020)

Amen!!


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## Keith Sinclair (Jun 26, 2020)

Used jar sauces add ingredients. Most premade sauces are not that good.

Say what you may about Walmart, but they have Cento tomato products, paste, peeled, & crushed. Grow fresh basil. Also sweet cherry tomatoes.. both go well in homemade pasta sauce. It's all about the tomatoes. Don't use jar sauce at all these days, Nothing wrong with it just found making my own with Cento products can season how I like over premade sauces. We use dry whole wheat pasta it's actually pretty good.

For stir fried noodles Asian style get fresh from noodle shop in Chinatown.


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## Hanmak17 (Jun 26, 2020)

Thought I'd chime in on this. I'm an Irish American, that was fortunate to have married into a wonderful Italian family. My mother in laws "gravy" is lights out. Gravy is not marinara, rather that rich, dark dense sauce you will often find in old school Italian restaurants. The secret is over ripe tomatoes that stew (without stirring!) for hours. By letting the tomatoes break down slowly and reduce without interference, there is no need for paste or additives. The tomatoes retain their texture and expose the natural sugars that caramelize slowly. Recipes vary but the basics are the same, garlic, onion, fresh oregano or basil and really good Italian olive oil. Sometimes she might add finely minced carrots and celery, other times not. Can't describe how good this stuff is. Its an all day affair for the whole family. Add some home made raviolis and a rustic Italian red and I'm in heaven.


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## Keith Sinclair (Jun 26, 2020)

Sounds awesome.


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## RockyBasel (Jun 26, 2020)

Hanmak17 said:


> Thought I'd chime in on this. I'm an Irish American, that was fortunate to have married into a wonderful Italian family. My mother in laws "gravy" is lights out. Gravy is not marinara, rather that rich, dark dense sauce you will often find in old school Italian restaurants. The secret is over ripe tomatoes that stew (without stirring!) for hours. By letting the tomatoes break down slowly and reduce without interference, there is no need for paste or additives. The tomatoes retain their texture and expose the natural sugars that caramelize slowly. Recipes vary but the basics are the same, garlic, onion, fresh oregano or basil and really good Italian olive oil. Sometimes she might add finely minced carrots and celery, other times not. Can't describe how good this stuff is. Its an all day affair for the whole family. Add some home made raviolis and a rustic Italian red and I'm in heaven.


I think celery and carrots make for a thicker sauce - really adds something to the sauce. Those Italians, I tell you, they know how to do it right


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## TSF415 (Jun 26, 2020)

Michi said:


> Talk to Guinness, you are a candidate for "World's worst diplomat."



Or maybe world's greatest leader?! I am responsible for my staff and their well being when they're on the clock. I'm not going to let some jackass be abusive or unreasonable just because they are a customer because being a customer, contrary to popular believe, doesn't earn you that right. If someone comes in with unreasonable expectations and aren't willing to accept what is available than they should leave. 

We are very good at what we do. We are professional. We have made a ton of sacrifices to be where we are. We are very accommodating to guests in order to provide the best experience we can. BUT we are who we are and we just might not be for you, and that totally ok.


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