Definitely return it. I've got one of those cheap ones that if you grind too long you get black shavings in the sauce. But I've never had a problem with seeds. To me it's unacceptable to sell a product that doesn't do what it should. I'd definitely get my money back if you are using the disk with the smallest holes and still have seeds coming through.

Best wishes

Thanks Kimberly! I went ahead and made the sauce anyway and you're right, it was still great! I did however forget to add the tomato paste to the mir poix (sp?)! I was so mad! Trying to save the situation, I took some onions and garlic I had chopped (as I was making the meatballs at the same time) and sauteed them in a pan, then added the paste and let it cook until it got a shade darker then added it to the pot and stirred until well combined. I'm sure I will never forget that step again!! LOL!

Since then, I've made the pizzas with the sauce....delish! And tonight I'm using the leftover sausage and cornmeal from pizza to make the sausage ragu with soft polenta! I never would have known that cornmeal can easily turn rancid and needs to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge! I wanted to keep it in the pantry as I would flour and sugar!

Tomorrow will most likely be Chicken Parmagiana! ;-)

Thanks a million to Rouxbe for this wonderful online cooking school! I've been cooking ok for awhile, but I'm learning so much everyday! I am looking forward to an expanded curriculum that will hopefully included advanced cooking techniques as well as baking and pastry!

I just made this sauce and it is so tangy or maybe bitter is the word. Is there any way to save it?

I made the basic tomato sauce recipe about a month ago and froze it for later use. The taste of even the basic sauce was fantastic despite only being able to get the San Marzano's with citric acid and salt. I will keep searching for the kind mentioned in the video and I'm sure the results will be even better.

I used the sauce for the first time with the Rouxbe Spaghetti and Meatballs alla Nonna recipe this past weekend and it was phenomenal. I've always thought spaghetti and meatballs was kind of a boring dish, but this had great depth of flavor. The only thing I added to the sauce besides the meatballs was 1/4 cup of EVOO infused with basil, garlic, and red chile flakes (from a Scott Conant article) and some chiffonade of basil. Family gave rave reviews and my 13 year old even ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning (much to my frustration!).

Best tomato sauce ever.

I made this a couple months ago with San Marzano's that had citric acid and salt and the result was very good. I'm planning on a double batch for freezing here shortly and I've continued to look for San Marzano's that did not have the citric acid. I was only able to find jarred ones at the local italian gourmet shop at $13 a jar -- just a bit out of my price range as a base for sauce. The same shop did have imported canned Roma's that did not have the citric acid though.

So here is the question: Which is likely to produce better results -- the San Marzano's with citric acid, or the Roma's without? Thanks in advance for your help.

I can't say for sure Franklin as I would have to taste them to truly know. To be honest, I have made some pretty darn good tomato sauce (using this recipe) with $2 cans of tomatoes (I often buy the brand San Remo). To know for sure which can of tomatoes would be better, you would have to do a taste test (all of us here have done this test for ourselves). There are some that can tell the difference and then there are those that cannot. Cheers!

I have tried every store in my area looking for imported San Marzanos w/o citric acid (DOP label) with no luck. I purchased some domestically produced San Marzanos from Whole Foods & and the Pomi brand crushed tomatoes (with no sugar or salt). The Pomi brand, though it tastes naturally sweet, required a sieve to remove the seeds. I also thought the tomatoes were a bit too dark in color. I prefer a bright color & more rustic texture to my sauce, so using the Pomi brand ( which I think tastes better) than the domestically produced San Marzano's, requires some hefty compromises. I decided to go 1/2 & 1/2 with the sauce. With a little addition of sugar, it turned out nicely.

Any mail order suggestions for the real McCoy?

We have a TON of whole canned tomatoes from last year's harvest. They are great san marzanos and plums. instead of buying tomato paste, i'd prefer to make it......is this possible? any suggestions on how? and i haven't yet tried this yet but it seems simple - in the past i've always dressed up my sauce with lots of spices and my husband will say 'close but not quite perfect'. i'm excited to try the simple approach to see if we can achieve perfection.

We have not made our own tomato paste; however, here is another thread (including a recipe link) on this same subject that you may find helpful. Cheers!

Hey Guys,

You're always so helpful and I know you're busy so no pressure.

You always reference typical oz can sizes with ingredients like canned tomatoes. In the UK typical can sizes are in weights of 400g.

I guess I'm not sure if the .oz on the cans you mention are volume or weight and how your typical can sizes compare to us.

Thanks

The size of cans we are referring to, in this particular recipe, are 28 fl oz cans (fluid ounces) or 796 ml. I have updated the recipe to reflect this. Smaller cans are also available here in North America. In that case, you would just need more of them. Hope that helps. Cheers!

After 18 months of unsuccessfully looking for San Marzano's (without citric acid, salt, etc.) with no luck, I stumbled upon Italbrand DOP San Marzano canned tomatoes in a small local produce market. Ingredients list was just San Marzano tomatoes, tomato puree, basil leaf. And while I had been pretty happy with the tomato sauce I'd made with other canned tomatoes, this (double sized) batch was substantially better.

I would just encourage people to keep looking as you never know where you will find someone who stocks these. My local gourmet markets didn't; Whole Foods didn't; even the local "italian" food boutique didn't (though they did have jarred San Marzano's at $12.99/jar!). I had basically given up when I found these, but the difference is noticeable. Well worth the wait!

I don't have a good local source of tinned San Marzano tomatoes here in the UK, but have managed to lay my hands on some of the fresh article (imported obviously). I've also ordered my first ever food mill and am waiting for it to arrive....

Here's my question - if I'm using the food mill, is it really necessary to blanch and skin the tomatoes (see Tony's comments above) ? Will the mill not do a good enough job of removing undesirable elements (ie skin) ? This may well be an incredibly stupid question, its just that I've never used a food mill before, and I don't want to waste the expensive San Marzanos!

Personally I dont blanch and skin my tomatoes, indeed use chopped tinned tomatoes the same way.
Depending on quantity, I microwave them for a short while until soft, put them in a food processor and blitz them for a few seconds then sieve them. If the tomatoes are a little under ripe I might add a little sugar before microwaving.

Kit B - If you're using canned tomatoes, the skin will likely be removed. But yes, the food mill will 'mill out' the skins, but it will be a bit tougher and take longer to pass through the mill.

Peter c - good idea. Sugar is not necessary if you use the right tomatoes (ripe), but if you can't find ripe, then sweetening is sometimes needed. I would however make sure to remove the seeds (through mill) if possible, as the seeds can add a undesirable bitterness (requiring more sugar).

Cheers, Joe.

I tried this recipe using fresh tomatoes but even after a couple of hours was still really liquid like watery

What can I change?

Thanks
Martine

If the type of tomatoes you used contain a lot of liquid and not much pulp, it will be difficult to get the sauce to a thick consistency. Next time, if using fresh tomatoes, you may want to peel, seed and remove the liquid and only use the pulp to make the sauce. But it might be best to experiment with a different type of tomato.

Reducing the sauce by simmering it will help to thicken it, but by cooking the sauce for several hours, this will likely diminish the tomato flavor. You can try adding a bit of tomato paste, but again, this will diminish the "fresh" flavor. If all else fails, you could always use this batch as a braising liquid or turn it into a soup or ragu.

This practice recipe is part of the lesson on How to Make Tomato Sauce. Under the discussion tab, there are other comments on using fresh vs. canned tomatoes. Hope this helps! Cheers!

What kind/type of fresh tomato will be the best?
Thanks
Martine

It is best if it is garden fresh vine ripe. San Marzano are typically the ideal, but even beefsteak tomatoes make a good sauce. I only make tomato sauce from "fresh" tomatoes when they are in season where I live, which is for about less than one month of the year. I wouldn't use expensive heritage tomatoes for a sauce, but generally speaking the long plum tomatoes work well. But...but the key is that they were picked ripe from the vine, which is what you get from quality canned tomatoes throughout the year.

If the fresh tomato tastes sweet and delicious, you can make sauce with it. If it's bland...

Can this recipe be safely canned using a boiling water canner method, or would a pressure canner be required?

Thank-you.
Matt

Boiling water method works, but make sure to sterilize jars and lids first.

I don't mean to hijack the sauce thread but I was curious about where opinions lay for the following. Being not an expert in canning or making sauce as I am. We have an abundance of tomatoes mostly roma. At first I was going to make this sauce then can it rather than freezing it. Now I am thinking of just canning the whole tomatoes and making sauce when I require it.

Most caning recipes I come across have me adding lemon juice or citric acid to preserve (ie. Botulism). But it can depend on the acidity of the tomatoes used. Is a roma tomato acidic enough that one does not require the addition of an acid?

In the case of canning the tomato sauce I am also confronted with the addition of an acid as well and then adding sugars after the fact to balance out any of the flavour.

Can one safely omit the addition of lemon juice/citric acid when canning the whole tomatoes or the sauce?

Sorry for all the questions. I hope I didnt go overboard.

Roma are the tomatoes of choice for cannning because they do have the sufficient amount of acidity to prevent contamination. Bottom line: it's your option/decision. I've added a link which you may find helpful. http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/livetoeat/volume12/LiveToEat-Volume12-CanningTomatoes.html
Good luck!

Thanks for the link Myles. Now I just need to convince the others to can them whole.

Plum shaped tomatoes, whether Romas or San Marzano, are great for canning. The key is to can RIPE tomatoes. Taste them. If they are sweet-tasting, no acid will be necessary (none in my family ever added acid to their canned tomatoes, and we're talking about a hell of a lot of tomatoes, and a hell of a lot of Italian aunts). However, less than ripe tomatoes will benefit from a touch of acid (balsamic vinegar also works well as it offers a touch of sweetness).