Fawnridge I love your story, and am laughing at you getting smacked on the back of your head!

I've always wondered how to make real tomato sauce, talk about a labour of Love!

I found that our local Costco carries San Marzano tomatoes and I'm thrilled!

The details are a little different, but your mom's recipe is very similar to the Italian lady who taught my mom's recipe. :) Hers is all one long cook, where you bring it up then reduce to simmer low for a long time, then bring it up to hot again, etc. Same idea. :)

I get where she's coming from with the brands. When I use packaged items, I always specify brands on recipes, because it can make a big difference, especially to someone who hasn't seen it made all her life.

For several years I have been taste testing canned tomatoes with 6 in 1 brand as the control...thanks to JessyF for putting us (CF) on to these. I am up to 23 brands tested; I'll put together my results and post them soon.

Sprtphntc, That was intentional.

What's the brand of canned tomatoes that comes in a yellow can with red tomatoes on the paper label? That's the one Sophia Loren uses. Or is that sauce?

The only one I've ever used.

We always referred to any sauce that contained meat as "gravy". If it didn't have meat, then it was just "sauce".

Cathy - Is Mutti on your list? I bought a case recently, used it and found my sauce very "fresh" tasting. Unfortunately I can't recommend them at this point due to the condition in which they arrived. I'll be filing a complaint with Amazon.

Wow, that was easy! A few clicks and "your account has been credited, no need to return." Kudos to you, Amazon.

Ok so DiCicco's sauce was meant to be blurry, now I feel better. I've looked through every square millimeter of my progressive lenses for two days now trying to make out the recipe, and it really makes my eyes ache!

Calling tomato sauce "gravy" is a recent change. I never heard the term used until about 10 years ago. Having grown up in the NY/NJ metro area, I spent lots of time in NYC's Little Italy and never heard it used, never saw it on a menu.

I don't know, fawnridge, I dated an Italian girl from Whitestone, Queens 25 years or so ago and I'm quite sure she called it gravy. I'll have to ask her to confirm.

FOAS, Sorry to have "made you look". I know...it goes against AnnT's "Recipes are meant to be shared" motto. I haven't come across Mutti brand tomatoes; I will certainly give it a try.

As far as the "gravy" thing I never heard that term applied to spaghetti sauce from any of my family members. I thought it was NY Italian thing.

This post was edited by mustangs on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 9:48

I married an Italian from South Philly whose grandparents came from Italy, and all of South Philly has been calling it "gravy" for at least, the last 100 years. So it may be a regional thing, but not limited to NY nor is it a new thing.

I'm not sure that "gravy" is a regional thing. Some of my summer neighbors are Chicago Italian, and they call tomato sauce "gravy" as well, and apparently have for generations.

Kind of confused me at first when the gal told me she always had a pot of gravy on the stove till I figured out she meant tomato sauce. Now when people say gravy I ask them if they mean tomato gravy or another kind of gravy- just to be sure.

Cathy, can I ask why you don't want to share your recipe?

Just curious as I am always flattered and honored when someone asks me for a recipe that I have made and they enjoy.

Linda

Especially when a picture of it is posted but people can't make it out...doesn't make sense to me either. Why be on a cooking forum if you aren't willing to share

I, for one, enjoyed the picture even though I couldn't read it.

I agree we're here to share, and have always liked Ann's quote, "recipes are meant to be shared." I can also understand the reluctance of sharing and old family recipe, esp one for something that tends to get people all opinionated. I mean, God forbid there's garlic powder in it!

Just my opinion, for the sake of letting her know that there's at least one person here ok with it!

Fawnridge, sorry this led to highjacking your interesting and informative thread. I just wanted to share what I did aesthetically with my "old fashion tomato sauce".

Thanks FOAS.

Two things, 1) my brother doesn't want me to share the recipe outside the family; I didn't ask his rational. 2) Over the years on the CF "my" recipes have not gone over well which is okay as I'm not the greatest cook. But I would be hurt if I shared my 3 decades old family recipe and it was picked apart.

Mustangs/Cathy
Do you also feel the same if asked privately for your recipe?? I can see posting it web-wide, but what if it were shared with select people/private messages. And for those people (like me) NOT to share it world wide.

I'd love to find an authentic, flavourful tomato sauce recipe. We often buy bushels or 1/2 bushels of Roma tomatoes in the fall.

Mustangs/Cathy
Do you also feel the same if asked privately for your recipe?? I can see posting it web-wide, but what if it were shared with select people/private messages. And for those people (like me) NOT to share it world wide.

I'd love to find an authentic, flavourful tomato sauce recipe. We often buy bushels or 1/2 bushels of Roma tomatoes in the fall.

okay, mustangs, I understand. I'm making Fawnridges recipe as I type this. Does anyone know what she meant by "equal proportions" of tomatoes and paste? I know she means to add the tomatoes and the paste, but does she also mean to add equal proportions of water? I'm looking at my sauce and it looks kind of odd.

Well as I see it, Fawnridge explained what she meant by "equal proportions" (which aren't really, but it's awkward saying what she meant succinctly)-
" (1 large can of Tuttorosso to 1 small can of Contadina)".
So I guess enough cans of the Tuttorosso tomatoes to make the meat sauce-y, then as many small cans of the Contadina tomato paste as you used cans of tomatoes.

deleted duplicate post

This post was edited by jasdip on Thu, Feb 5, 15 at 12:33

For each 28oz can of crushed, one 6oz can of paste.

I, too, was thinking there must be some water added with all that cooking. I'd probably add some to thin it down, and add more periodically as needed.

Edit - oops, sorry Colleen, cross post. At least we said the same thing. :)

This post was edited by foodonastump on Thu, Feb 5, 15 at 12:34

Thanks for changing my gender, kids. But I'm the man of the house around here.

Yes, it's one 28 ounce can of Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes to one 6 ounce can of Contadina tomato paste.

No, do not add water! Cook the sauce covered. It will thin down on it's own.

Not guilty on the gender thing but sorry about the water!

By the way fawnridge - not sure how long you've been lurking here, but my mention of garlic powder was in reference to some heated debates folks had a few years ago.

In re-reading your recipe I see yours calls for it, so I don't want you to think that was directed at you!

Justsaying - please be sure to report back!

I've been on the Florida Gardening forum for nearly 15 years. I didn't even know there were other forums here until several months ago.

I'm a house-husband of some 36 years of training. I've worked from home for nearly 25 years, so I have lots of time to putter around the kitchen. Fortunately, I learned to cook at a very young age. My grandmother on my mother's side let me cook Thanksgiving dinner - everything including a 24 lb turkey - when I was nine years old.

I've been a competitive barbecue cook and a competitive Jamaican jerk cook and done well in both. I spent nearly 3 years learning to cook Sicilian with a former girlfriend's mother, the rest is self-taught.

I tell people I'm a cook, not a chef. I make the same stuff over and over again with minor variations. If you want fancy presentation or meals with unpronounceable names, get a chef. 'Round here we often use throwaway plates and food is served from an aluminum pan - buffet style.

I think I will start a fight here. I am bored with shuffling snow everyday. :-)

No such thing as "Authentic tomato sauce". Tomato is not a native Italian fruit/vegetable. If you buy "made in Italy" or "imported from Italy" tomato sauce, there is a very good chance that the tomatoes are grown in China, and the sauce is made in china, but packaged in italy.

"---Under EU regulations, it is legal to describe Chinese tomato puree as "produced in Italy" if it was processed there into a different form. Prosecutor Roberto Lenza, who was in charge of the investigation, said: "Antonino Russo hasn't denied having used Chinese tomato. Russo defended himself by saying that, because he did process the Chinese concentrate in his plant, he could label it and sell it as Italian."---"

It's perfectly legal.

No garlic power? I use garlic powder and tomato powder to make my authentic tomato sauce.

I heard from Lou (Hawk) He is an authentic Italian, You can Google/search for his many authentic recipes.

dcarch

This post was edited by dcarch on Thu, Feb 5, 15 at 15:34

Sorry, Fawnridge, didn't mean to change your gender - that what I get for just assuming!

I thought you meant 1 can tomatoes and 1 can paste but the "equal proportions" got me to wondering if I read it right or something was omitted.

When I first started the sauce it looked kind of odd, sort of slightly gray and muddy looking is the only way I can think to explain it. And very, very thick. But low and behold, after 3 hours of cooking, it looks fantastic. It is ready to go into the fridge for the night but it tastes delicious already so I can only imagine the deliciousness coming our way in a few days. I might have to add a little water or beef broth though, we will see. I'm really hoping I have found "the one" because I have tried so many recipes and this one is so very easy - just have to plan a few days in advance. I did go get the Tuttorosso tomatoes and Contadina paste so this is "authentic".

justsaying - Trust me, you don't have to add anything besides sugar tomorrow. Get it hot and taste it. You'll probably add a bit of sugar to cut the sharp taste. Go easy.

It will get thinner and less gray as the meat breaks down. By Saturday, you'll have perfect sauce.

Fawnridge,

I'm off and on in the Cooking Forum, though have been on again for the better part of a year, so if no one else has said it, I'll do it: Welcome! You fit right in. Some here are only interested in chefy food. Some only in home food from scratch (as in first you grow a chicken). Some are big on the throw three national brand products and two fresh produce items together and call it dinner. And some just want to eat. :)

Most of the people who post, who aren't asking questions while they learn to cook, are good and knowledgeable cooks in their own niches. A few can cook and like to stir the pot (i.e., get squabbles going). Some can't cook and like to stir the pot anyway.

I'm totally with you on that point where the meat breaks down. That's when the sauce starts to get good. :) Though I do usually buy Muir Glen tomato products. They're local and good. :) And since I don't grow my own tomatoes, I see absolutely no need to make my own tomato puree. :)

The biggest difference in my sauce recipe is that it also includes whatever vegetables are wilting in the fridge (just that line), and gets its sweet from carrots (and a little sugar if it's still too acid). The thing it needs to be "right" is a green bell pepper. And since I like vegetables, I also put in onions, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes. And whatever's wilting in the fridge. But that's ad hoc. It's not in the actual recipe. :) The original Italian version is a bunch of canned and dried things and "whatever vegetables are wilting". I made it low FODMAP once with turnips, and it was very good. :)

While I really respect the long cooked family recipes, I currently find myself drawn to the faster cooked sauces. We're getting good tomatoes in FL and the fresh taste is tingling the taste buds.

By the way, I did cut and paste and doctored Mustangs recipe. Got it so I could read it. Not interested at all. Too much meat and just not what I want. Fresh marinara is all I want now. With really good pasta from Whole Foods (in Jax, about 90 mi from home) I'm set after I go to the farmers market this Saturday. Can't grow tomatoes in my yard--they don't like salt air plus salt water from the sprinklers. Too bad, I love them.

Thanks plllog.

re: Vegetables

Vegetables are not food. Vegetables are what food eats. :o)

Welcome Fawnridge!

Let us see some of your competitive barbecue cook and a competitive Jamaican jerk cook. Sounds impressive.

I have done a few BBQ competitions and have won a few times.

In some free-form BBQ competitions I entered in the beginning, I was stupid. I made lamb recipes, thinking that lamb was more difficult, and therefore more impressive. Didn't realize that there are many people who simply didn't like lamb.

That's why lamb is not one of the meats in most competitions.

dcarch

dcarch - With barbecue it's all about the dry rub in the beginning and the sauce in the end. Here are my secrets. I'm going to start a brisket thread to give away some more secrets. I've already posted my jerk rub here on another thread.

As far as lamb goes... one of my favorite meats. Here's my favorite lamb recipe.

Fawnridge, very interesting recipes/formulas.

Here are my "secretes". All the ingredients for the rubs go into a coffee grinder to turn into powder. You can have better coverage, and use less rubs using powder.

I just won an electric vacuum drum marinating machine in a competition, it can be very nice to apply rubs on meat.

I have a dehydrator. I make tomato powder, apple powder, etc. to make my "secrete" rubs.

I didn't see five spice in your ingredients, give it a try.

dcarch

dcarch - I use an old food processor to grind up the spices. Your coffee grinder is a great idea, but for the volume of dry rub I make at one time, there just isn't a coffee grinder big enough.

I used Chinese Five Spice powder decades ago. I'll have to fool with it in the future. Thanks for the memory!

sheesh ask one question about garlic; remind me not to ask and cause division again... I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!! Least, I didn't ask about "cornbread" ;)

I miss Lou and LindaC

hi fawnridge!

Thanks Beachlily, you made my point why I don't offer my recipes. BTW, the family Marinara sauce is different and wasn't the subject of the recipe I had put on canvas.

BTW: I've been wanting to reach out for a get together with you since we are geographically close. Guess that's out.

Rob--or grits.

Beachlily, I'm not sure why you had to make the very public statement about being able to view the recipe, and that you don't care for it at all.

Your comment is exactly why Mustangs won't post it on the net.
If it doesn't suit your liking, just don't make it, without stating that it's not for you.

I like both meat sauces and marinara sauces. I've got a couple of jars of Marcella Hazan's butter and onion sauce in the freezer, and am always looking for more meatless sauces.

Welcome Fawnridge! I'm looking forward to more of your postings!
I too miss Lou and LindaC

Here comes the dumbest question ever. But I am NOT a good cook and I really would like to know. OK, canned stewed tomatoes-Ick ! Ack ! Gag ! But do you all mean that those cooked down plus seasonings make your sauce? Or is it that plus whole raw tomatoes or what? Why is sauce so wonderful but those canned tomatoes... Shudder... Also, do you saute tomatoes canned or raw and then add onions and all that? These questions are sincere. Be kind !

Nope, not stewed tomatoes.

Most recipes with fresh veggies will have you sauté them before adding your canned tomatoes. (Not stewed tomatoes.)

Oh, so canned tomatoes and stewed canned tomatoes are two different things?

Basic canned tomatoes types:

Whole tomatoes -- peeled, partially cooked, in tomato juice
Diced tomatoes -- cut up, peeled, packed in crushed tomatoes
Crushed tomatoes -- peeled and squashed
Tomato puree -- peeled, seeded, milled to a totally smooth texture
Tomato sauce -- cooked, about the consistency of slightly thick puree with basic seasoning
Tomato paste -- peeled, seeded, milled, and reduced to remove water and concentrate flavor
Tomato juice -- pressed, lots of tomato water with fine solids
Stewed tomatoes -- peeled but with seeds, cooked with seasonings and vegetables until partially broken up. Come in a variety of flavors.

Not all stores carry all types. Most of the above come in seasoned and/or "fire roasted" (charred) versions as well.

How "ick" canned tomatoes are depends on the quality of the tomatoes and the quality of the can. Poorly canned ones taste like metal. ICK! Good ones just taste like tomatoes. I can make my own, but when I do, they don't taste different from the good canned ones.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am still in the process of taste testing canned tomatoes with 6 in 1 being the control. I taste them right out of the can and I am up to 23 brands. I have 2 new ones to test. I have been doing this for two years; the reason it's taking so long is I only do this when I am making something that requires canned tomatoes. After tasting I wash the can then make notes on the bottom of the empty can.

One reason I am doing this is because my family sauce recipe used tomatoes that grandma and mom canned from their gardens. I don't always have tomatoes in my earth boxes and it's important for me to use really good canned. I never realized how bad canned tomatoes can be as PLLLOG mentioned.

After this sauce experience, I am hesitant to share my findings as they are just that "my findings" and obviously I don't have much credibility in the area.

FOAS, I'm still looking for Mutti. I might go ahead and order on Amazon.

More reason I wish I lived in the States......the incredible vast array of choices of food.

Here we have Unico, Italpasta, Primo, Aylmer, and store brands.
Whole, diced, crushed and pureed and stewed.

I did find San Marzano at Costco and I snatched it up. It's delicious.
A generous Kitchen Table friend sent me 6 cans of RoTel, wow, they're good! LOL

mustangs - What happens after you find the best one, after 2+ years of testing, and the manufacturer has changed to a different source for their tomatoes? While I admire your dedication to this task, it would be more accurate if you could taste them all within a couple of days of each other.

Just curious... did you try Tuttorossa? What did you think?

Fawnridge, I am well aware of a number of things that can affect the product. I have retested several of the contenders to see if there was consistency. This isn't scientific, it's for my own satisfaction so I am not willing to purchase and test all in a week.

Tuttorossa is readily available here and I tested it early on; it's a contender.

Re quality, one thing about Muir Glen is that they don't have preservatives and they really are much better if they don't sit around a long time. I always check them for quality before dumping in the pot and make sure they haven't suffered from neglect.

That may also be true with some of the other brands you're testing. :)

Thank you, Plllog. That was nice of you to explain. OK, now I get it ! I assumed that all canned tomatoes are stewed. So the not stewed ones are just raw tomatoes blanched and canned. Got it !