Ca anyone recommend a good recipe for a plum sauce?

Wouldn't tomato concasse work well as a technique to use before running through the mill or strainer? Peeling the tomato would make it that much easier, especially if you were pushing through a strainer. Or am I whack?

Indeed you are whack! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Just kidding of course but I would say that this will create a lot of extra work. That being said, you could always try it for yourself and see if it is worth the extra effort. Cheers!

For the confirmation of my diagnosis. ;-) And thank you for your reply. I cook for two so not a biggie to concasse them.

Living Rouxbe!

I've always been told to add a bit of sugar to tomato sauces to cut the acidity of them. Is this something you would recommend?

Sugar is used to balance out acidity when less than ripe tomatoes are used. For the best tomato sauce, it is important to use quality canned tomatoes, which means that they have been picked only once fully ripened, so they are naturally sweet and do not require any preservatives. Refer to the drill down on How to Choose Quality Canned Tomatoes that is attached to this lesson.

Many tomatoes that are canned have been picked before they are fully ripened and this is why preservatives and other ingredients are added. These tomatoes are usually very tart and may need a bit of help with some sugar. Hope this helps! Cheers!

Any special tips for freezing the sauce?

It can be placed into small containers or freezer bags (just like we show in freezing stock). It depends on how much room you have in your freezer. Cheers!

I would like to purchase a food mill- can you recommend some brands or share what brand was used in the video? Thanks!

I just did a quick search for "food mill" on Rouxbe and found quite a few discussions on this. Here is one in particular that you may find helpful. Cheers!

I have a can of tomato puree just sitting in my cabinet. Can i use this in place of canned tomatoes?

For the best results, we recommend using whole tomatoes and de-seeding them yourself as taught in the lesson. You can certainly try using tomato puree but purees often consist of inferior tomatoes. The best way to learn is to test it out for yourself. Try making sauce with what you have and try it next time with whole, quality canned tomatoes. It is really up to you, the cook, to decide what you want to use and also to have an understanding that different ingredients will produce different results. Cheers!

Long tomatoes are mostly called Roma's if that helps when buying They are sweeter more fleshly and have fewer seeds that brings the name to Roms because they wer developed on the hills of Rome. just like grapes they like sun and good drainage.

I found San Marzano tomatoes at Fresh & Easy Market in Las Vegas. I was very careful to follow the recipe. It was so bitter you could hardly eat it. Is that how it should taste with a bitter bite? Could it be the brand of tomatoes?

No the sauce should not be bitter. In fact, it should taste a bit sweet with just a bit of tartness. But mostly, it should simply taste delicious and tomatoey. And yes, it could be the brand of tomatoes. Cheers!

maybe she forgot to remove seeds? and skin

I used my Jack La Lanne juicer to make the sauce and remove the seeds. I took the pulp and worked it in a strainer to use as much as I could of the fruit. To finish off the sauce I added marinated portabella mushrooms and roasted red peppers, then a chiffanod of basil. wonderful!

sounds wonderful i am going to try some next time i make my monthly supply. I make at a gallon of sauce (marinare) freeze it into quarts then when I use it I can add antyhing I want, meat veggieswhat eve, r I am going to try your portabella mushrooms and roasted peppers very soon sounds great.

Hi I'm new to Rouxbe, but I already love it. Question ....I bought a big crate of like 8 regular round "beefsteak" tomatoes from Sam's Club. How do I prepare those? Reading an earlier post... Do I just bring salt and water to a boil turn it down and place the tomatoes in the pot for like 1-2 minutes. Then drain in a strainer, then peal and seed?
I would like some advice
Thanks
Ken

Here is a drill-down demonstrating how to peel tomatoes. Cheers!

Sounds like I am not the only one having trouble finding Maranzano tomatoes. I checked at several Italian shops, they had The DOP classification but all types had salt and citric acid. I was able to find Pomi strained and chopped tomatoes. Nether had any citric acid, water,salt, artificial colors etc. the Pomi type did not have DOP. The strained type tastes great and is strained. Did I just eliminate the need for a reseeding machine? has anyone had experience with Pomis, they come in a box 26oz for 4.99$.......

I also didnt find san Maranzano tomatoes yet and I used some with no salt but they had citric acid. The sauce looked wonderful but it seems tangy. I am not sure if thats just because I am used to bottled suaces with sugar in them or do you think thats from the citric acid in the tomatoes?

I made tomatoe sauce as instructed in the Rouxbe cooking school recipe. But I used fresh beef steak tomatoes, it was so acidic. What am I doing wrong?

Fresh is not the operative word. Some tomatoes are simply very acidic and tangy and not ideal for making a tomato sauce. That's why you can't use just any rice to make good sushi or good risotto.

The taste of tomato sauce mellows as it rests and cools in the refrigerator and when it is re-heated. But in general, most people are used to something more sweet than tangy.