I suspect it has a lot to do with the fact that pretty much any tomatoe that you buy from a store tastes almost nothing like one you would get off the vine. The farm ones honestly have very little taste at all, they pick them when they are fully green!
I'm in the "make your own sauce" camp too. Can of diced tomatoes, can of paste, Italian sausage, season to taste with fennel, oregano, basil, garlic etc.
Toyman01 wrote: In reply to mtn: That's kind of my point. Why are they adding sugar to something that already has plenty of sugar in it. I like sweets just as much as the next fat guy, but sweet spaghetti? Not for me thanks.
Adding heroin would be illegal. Sugar is a good substitute for getting people addicted to your products. Sugar made from corn is the worst. Might as well take up smoking.
Robbie wrote: In reply to Jerry From LA: Uhhh... isn't spaghetti a (Italian) white people invention?
Spaghetti noodles probably came from China (Marco Polo used to get credit for bringing it to Europe). Tomatoes came from the Americas, so the Aztecs or someone probably made the first sauce. Maybe white people combined them first, who knows?
I just want to point out that I'm learning how to cook on GRM. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
In reply to gearheadE30:
We get a new cooking thread once or twice a month. I'm about to throw some chicken catchitory in my new slow cooker. Although I must admit to using $1/bottle store brand sauce.
gearheadE30 wrote: I just want to point out that I'm learning how to cook on GRM. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Medical advice, cooking, legal, horse blood, we cover it all. Sometimes even cars.
dean1484 wrote: Yep make your own. Can of sauce. Can of past and a can of crushed. Add seasonings to fast simmer for 20 min. But one hour is much better. The next day after sitting in the fridge it is even better.
I do similar. We usually make a very large pot of pasta so we have left overs. I do a can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce, and some tomato paste to get it nice and thick. 20 min or so start to finish.
I usually make my own. Second the addition of carrots to balance acidity--I actually use a mix of onion, celery, carrot and garlic as the veggie base in the bolognese sauce recipe that Tim's family got from the wife of Arnaldo Brighetti, the Italian pinstriper who taught Tim some of that fine art when he was a kid.
Gabriella’s Bolognese: One big onion, 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks, all chopped fine: saute in olive oil until beginning to soften, then throw in a couple cloves minced garlic, give it a minute or two, then add your meats--2 pounds beef and pork mixed 2/3 to 1/3 work well--cook until brown. Add in 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup chicken stock, reduce, then add a cup of milk and your tomatoes (one big can San Marzano, 2 small cans tomato paste, one 15-oz. can tomato sauce). Teaspoon each of salt, basil and oregano, at least 2 bay leaves, several hearty grinds of black pepper. Cook low and slow for hours.
I may be forgetting something, but that's the basic.
When I do buy sauce, I like Rao's Homemade: 3g of sugar, 340mg of sodium per 1/2 cup. It's a nice marinara--very, very fresh tasting. Pricey for a jar of something, cheap with noodles to feed 6 people.
Margie
So.. people usually add sugar to packaged food for consistency's sake. Ragu needs to taste like Ragu in California and New York. Tomatos in the plant packing for Ragu for CA might be different than an East Coast plant.. So they use the sugar and other spices to even it out. Same with Ketchup
1988RedT2 wrote: The Newman's Own Marinara I've been buying pretty regularly has 7 g. in the same size serving. And 460 mg Sodium.
Newman's Own is pretty good at not ruining their sauce with sugar. Or you can whip up your own from a can of tomatoes and some spices (I just use garlic and olive oil). Apparently some people think that sugar is needed to "balance out" the acidity in the tomatoes. I prefer my sauce to be unbalanced, just like me.
And there's more to spaghetti sauce than red sauce. Basil pesto usually doesn't get ruined with sugar. Another one I sometimes make is to steam broccoli and mash it with a fork or throw it in a food processor, using plenty of olive oil. Or you might want to try spaghetti carbonera - the bacon, egg, and cheese of spaghetti sauce.
Her usual sauce is a can of something, with sautéed onions, mushrooms and bell peppers. That is added to well drained ground beef. The sweet flavor has only been a problem for the last 8-9 months. I am wondering if my tastes have changed or they are adding more sugar to the mix.
We will have to look into making our own. I'm pretty sure I can make a large batch and can it for long term storage.
Toyman01 wrote: Her usual sauce is a can of something, with sautéed onions, mushrooms and bell peppers. That is added to well drained ground beef. The sweet flavor has only been a problem for the last 8-9 months. I am wondering if my tastes have changed or they are adding more sugar to the mix. We will have to look into making our own. I'm pretty sure I can make a large batch and can it for long term storage.
I'd think your tastes are changing. Most of the ones that I've seen do add sugar, although I'm not concerned about how the sugar is added (although I AM concerned with what type of sugar), I'm more concerned with the overall sugar content.
FWIW, there was an Italian guy (name was Marco, his dad was Dominic--Marco was a 3rd generation American) that I worked with. He and another Italian guy got in an argument at work about how much sugar to add to their "gravy". Seems like it is a normal thing.
Toyman01 wrote: Her usual sauce is a can of something, with sautéed onions, mushrooms and bell peppers. That is added to well drained ground beef. The sweet flavor has only been a problem for the last 8-9 months. I am wondering if my tastes have changed or they are adding more sugar to the mix. We will have to look into making our own. I'm pretty sure I can make a large batch and can it for long term storage.
If you have been consciously avoiding sugars then it's probably your taste.
I avoid it as much as is possible and I find a lot of things I never thought of as sweet at all to be too sweet to even eat now. Ketchup is a huge one - it's like tomato jelly. And bottled Italian dressing... who thought oil and vinegar needed a couple scoops of sugar? I even have to buy special freakin' peanut butter now.
I prefer the sauces with more sugar. It cuts down the acid in the pasta sauce. That makes it easy on my tummy. I like the TASTE of the less sugary goodness, but there is a strain of DNA in my body from Dad's side that hates the acid from tomato pastes. Dad violently vomits for 3 days. I just get the scoots for 2 days. So sugary sauces it is for me.
Then again, we eat it about once a month at most.
Yeah, it can be pretty ridiculous how much sugar is in foods these days in general. SWMBO is on a medically-monitored weight loss program and has considerable restrictions on what she's allowed to eat, so we're looking a lot more closely at things when shopping and I've been cutting back a lot on the sugars as well (nowhere near the level she is though) and it's nuts just how much sugar (and salt) is added to almost every kind of food.
Bobzilla wrote: I prefer the sauces with more sugar. It cuts down the acid in the pasta sauce. That makes it easy on my tummy. I like the TASTE of the less sugary goodness, but there is a strain of DNA in my body from Dad's side that hates the acid from tomato pastes. Dad violently vomits for 3 days. I just get the scoots for 2 days. So sugary sauces it is for me. Then again, we eat it about once a month at most.
Try making your own with carrots, like margie said. Of course, it is the same thing--it is just a natural sugar. Carrots are among the sweetest vegetables out there.
mtn wrote:Bobzilla wrote: I prefer the sauces with more sugar. It cuts down the acid in the pasta sauce. That makes it easy on my tummy. I like the TASTE of the less sugary goodness, but there is a strain of DNA in my body from Dad's side that hates the acid from tomato pastes. Dad violently vomits for 3 days. I just get the scoots for 2 days. So sugary sauces it is for me. Then again, we eat it about once a month at most.Try making your own with carrots, like margie said. Of course, it is the same thing--it is just a natural sugar. Carrots are among the sweetest vegetables out there.
I prefer the taste of the non-sweetened sauces. My body just can't handle them well. So I just limit my intake of them or go with the sweetened ones and not have the digestive issues.
Bobzilla wrote:mtn wrote:I prefer the taste of the non-sweetened sauces. My body just can't handle them well. So I just limit my intake of them or go with the sweetened ones and not have the digestive issues.Bobzilla wrote: I prefer the sauces with more sugar. It cuts down the acid in the pasta sauce. That makes it easy on my tummy. I like the TASTE of the less sugary goodness, but there is a strain of DNA in my body from Dad's side that hates the acid from tomato pastes. Dad violently vomits for 3 days. I just get the scoots for 2 days. So sugary sauces it is for me. Then again, we eat it about once a month at most.Try making your own with carrots, like margie said. Of course, it is the same thing--it is just a natural sugar. Carrots are among the sweetest vegetables out there.
Even moreso then, try the carrots in there.
Wife has Barrett's esophagus and we can't eat sauce anymore
Robbie wrote: In reply to Jerry From LA: Uhhh... isn't spaghetti a (Italian) white people invention?
Six Roman emperors were black. The Moors were everywhere. Rome was a crossroads. I got enough melanin for me and you. My Scots-Irish wife and stepdaughters just look at me in the summer and laugh. Frankly, they usually don't have to wait until summer to do that but they laugh for a different reason in the summer.
Tonight I made a nice all'oglio with garlic, olive oil (of course), some fresh grape tomatoes, black pepper, and a good piece of parmigiano. Made me feel good watching everybody enjoy it.
tuna55 wrote: Wife has Barrett's esophagus and we can't eat sauce anymore
You can make a nice all' oglio using broccoli instead of tomatoes. Or you can make a nice pasta florentine using spinach and cheese. These are lighter than a cream-based sauce and less rich than a pesto. Takes the same amount of time and makes your house smell like a good Italian restaurant.
This thread inspired me. I'm making tortellini w/tomato sauce tonight. Here's how I'm gonna do the sauce:
Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. NOTE: don't overheat olive oil, it will burn. Onions, garlic & hungarian pepper in. Brown.
Tomatos in. Dry spices & capers in. Let cook for a couple minutes. Olives in. Fresh herbs in, but keep some basil out.
Simmer until most of the water from the tomatos evaporates.
Put the last few leaves of fresh basil in right at the end.
Done. Chopping and prep takes ten minutes, cooking takes another ten. Most of the flavor comes from the spices. I don't know if it's 'authentic' Italian-style but it's tasty. Enjoy.
In reply to Jay:
Tutti i gusti son gusti.
If you're really in a hurry and need something quick to feed hungry kids, cook a pound of pasta al dente, drain, and drop half a stick of real butter in it. Toss with fresh-grated parm or a nice romano cheese. Add some black pepper and serve.
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