Tomato Sauce

Gabe

Gabe

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Nov 9, 2014
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I wondered if all households in Italy make their own sauce and then store it according to the family recipe? I have to admit I don't have the patience to make huge batches of sauce, but would it be so wrong to see a jar of ready made sauce in the shopping basket of an Italian?
 
Homemade sauce is something you make in summer when tomato price is low and anyway some relative is sending you a quantity for free.
In the other seasons making homemade sauce is less convenient and you buy Passata jars at the market.
 
With regards to making their own tomato sauces, while Italians have a very traditional sense when it comes to cooking, is convenience not taking over now and more and more people are opting to buy instead of make when it comes to cooking?
 
Even though many Italians use Passata di pomodoro to prepare a sauce, it still involves some time to prepare as passata is not cooked.
Passata should not be treated the same as those ready-made sauces that you just add to the pasta and stir.

Making a pasta sauce by using Passata is very common in most Italian households.
 
I think it depends? I know my friends mom just buys store bought for day to day cooking, but she makes everything from scratch for the holidays.
 
Chillout said:
Even though many Italians use Passata di pomodoro to prepare a sauce, it still involves some time to prepare as passata is not cooked.
Passata should not be treated the same as those ready-made sauces that you just add to the pasta and stir.

Making a pasta sauce by using Passata is very common in most Italian households.
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I imagine in cities where kitchens are small this is the case. I use passata for pizza bases because I only need a small amount. In Italy it's cheaper and people can buy in bulk I hope? In the UK it's expensive and is the same price as a ready made jar of sauce, that's why it's a quick and easy option, but never tastes quite the same as homemade.

It's not like the Dolmio adverts here in the UK, where they portray Nonna serving pasta with Dolmio sauce as they would lead to public to believe!
 
Passata is around €0.70 cents a bottle in northern Italy. The ready-made sauces are about €1.70 a bottle. (not the fresh stuff as that usually costs more)

The great thing about Passata is that it is the key ingredient to making any type of tomato based sauce. Of course Passata is just the base, it’s then up to you which type of sauce you wish to create.

Can’t say that I have ever tried this Dolmio sauce even though my roots are from the UK. Is it any good?
 
Chillout said:
Can’t say that I have ever tried this Dolmio sauce even though my roots are from the UK. Is it any good?
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Dolmio, Ragu and all the others are okay for a quick meal, but not as good as a homemade sauce. Trust me don't try it unless you have no choice, even the ones in the pots. None of my Italian friends would ever be seen to have a jar in the home. Tomato puree yes, and I do prefer that (tomato paste for the Americans) because it's more versatile for cooking.

Passata here is about 50 pence or organic for double the price ,and a jar of ready made sauce is about £1.70, but most supermarkets do their own brand for under a pound. In Lidl it's 65 pence and Aldi do a basic tomato and herb one for 39 pence. You can see that sometimes a jar can be cheaper than buying tomatoes or passata. There's so much competition, all brands usually have specials with buy one get one free.
 
I think times are changing and convenience is taking over tradition. I think for every day cooking, people are turning to store bought sauces that are readily available and often cheaper. However, for special occasions I imagine most people like to use traditional family recipes.
 
My inlaws make it every Sunday! They are very old school and she will spend all day in the kitchen Sunday cooking for Sunday dinner. I personally like the homemade sauce better. It tastes so much fresher.
While it does take all day a good idea might be to make a big batch of it on a rainy day and divide into containers and freeze the rest. I know I do this with pesto because it can be very time consuming.
 
Yup, my Nonna would make big batches when the tomatoes were cheap/in season, and then bottle/preserve it. I can't remember a time where she used store bought sauces! I think she felt a certain pride in making her own -- and to me it just always tasted so much better!
 
Juno said:
I think times are changing and convenience is taking over tradition. I think for every day cooking, people are turning to store bought sauces that are readily available and often cheaper. However, for special occasions I imagine most people like to use traditional family recipes.
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I also think that convenience is taking over tradition in the modern world, and even though people know that prepacked sauces and even meals aren't as good, lack of time will often be an issue and some people are willing to sacrifice the traditional way's in order to concentrate on other matters.
 
I have eaten home made tomato sauce and to tell the truth I think every grandma and every family makes it different. Just like pesto, or other traditional meals, the have their own secret, every has their own secret recipes. It's not about which is the best, it's mostly about the taste you used to, the childhood memories.
 
I think every family recipe for Italian sauce is different However, overall I think homemade sauce is so much better than store bought canned sauce. It tastes so much fresher. There are a few canned sauces that I do like especially when I add my own spices and herbs to it.
 
lou93 said:
I have eaten home made tomato sauce and to tell the truth I think every grandma and every family makes it different. Just like pesto, or other traditional meals, the have their own secret, every has their own secret recipes. It's not about which is the best, it's mostly about the taste you used to, the childhood memories.
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I have to agree and there isn't one that's better than the others when it comes to the homemade sauces, like you say people just use slightly different ingredients.

The basics will probably always be the same but each person will then have their own 'magic' ingredients that have been passed down from one generation to the next.
 
Zhen25 said:
I think anything homemade is the best but sometimes you do have to get the store bought one due to lack of time and resources.
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Convenience can often play a big part in deciding if you make your own or go for a shop bought variety of something.

A lot of the time the shop bought item is good enough, but it's still not the same as homemade and even though a lot of people say they can't tell the difference, I'm sure they can but just won't admit it.
 
pwarbi said:
Convenience can often play a big part in deciding if you make your own or go for a shop bought variety of something.

A lot of the time the shop bought item is good enough, but it's still not the same as homemade and even though a lot of people say they can't tell the difference, I'm sure they can but just won't admit it.
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Lol exactly, a lot of persons tend to take the easy way out even when they have the time to do it homemade. Not gona lie though there are some things that I thinks taste better store bought than when I try to make it myself. Probably just need to perfect the recipe.
 
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I'm definitely with you on that one, and while I can cook a number of various dishes, there are some that I just can't do. When that's the case, the shop bought one is the way to go, and it's not just for convenience, it a also a matter of taste aswell!
 
My parents spent one Sunday a month preparing marinara tomato sauce and then put it in the freezer for the next four weeks. They spent hours selecting the best tomatoes, and even though my Mom liked a sweet tomato sauce and my Dad preferred a more sour tasting tomato sauce, when the batch was finished they both agreed it was perfect! This event took many hours, and my Dad would sing to my Mom while it was being made! My Mom prepared one or two meals a week using the tomato sauce. We'd have Spanish Rice (she called it Italian Rice), spaghetti or other kinds of pasta for a nutritious and inexpensive meal.
 
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