I, too, made the tomato sauce recipe as it is very close to how I was taught to make it by the Italian women on my husband's side of the family. I was able to find the canned San Maranzano tomatoes in our local Winn Dixie supermarket. While it had the DOP on the can it also had citric acid and salt added. The sauce came out great as I never add sugar to my sauce. The onion serves to sweeten it up a bit. It was a lot fresher tasting. My husband and I loved it.

Followed the receipe exactly and it come out great. My only problem was when I added the sauce to pasta it became a bit watery. Any suggestion?

Theresa O

Perhaps you may have needed to drain the pasta a bit more? Did you use a good extruded pasta? This will help the sauce to stick to it better. Next time, if it's still watery, you could try adding a bit of parmesan cheese at the end to help soak things up up a bit. Cheers!

I would to make a tart sauce any suggestions?

I'm not 100% sure of your question. Was the result you made a tart sauce or are you asking how to make a tart sauce? If it is the latter, I suppose you could use tart-tasting tomatoes or try adding an acid, such as a bit of white wine vinegar? Cheers!

Am I getting the name correct? I cannot find this mill anywhere (under that name)..

Here is a link to the passatutto that we now use. It is light weight, easy to clean and it suctions right onto the counter top. Cheers!

So, today I did a taste test - three batches of sauce:
1. Imported Italian (not San Marzano) whole tomatoes w/out salt, calcium chloride or citric acid
2. Canned tomatoes - diced w/citric acid and calcium chloride (would have been better if they had been whole, but that's what I could find - Trader Joes brand).
3. Pomi strained tomatoes - pure tomato, w/out salt, calcium chloride or citric acid

And lo and behold, the imported tomatoes w/out citric acid, calcium chloride or salt were the winner! The sauce was sweet and fresh tasting. Even opening the can, the tomatoes were brightly colored. The Trader Joes tomatoes were not a bright red when I opened the can. And the sauce with the Trader Joes tomatoes was quite acidic - I feel the need to add sugar to it. Additionally, they did not break down (just like you said!). The Pomi tomatoes were alright - but made a much thicker sauce. I do think they would be perfect for a pizza sauce though!

I realize my test was not perfect, but I still learned a lot. I just wanted to say thanks! I always wondered why I needed to add sugar to my sauce. Now I know! Such a simple solution. I'm just amazed at the difference.

Nice work on doing your own taste test Chris. That is how you truly know how or what works and doesn't work for you. Keep up the good work. Cheers!

I'm having so much fun and success making sauces, having already made the Veloute and Bechamel sauces with variations, I would now like to try the Expagnole (brown) sauce, but do not see it specified as such on the list of sauces. I am guessing that the Tomato sauce is the right match, since it has tomatoes. Is this right?

Espagnole is, in fact, one of the Mother Sauces (see drill down). We do not currently have a lesson on this sauce at the moment. Espagnole is just another variation of a demi glace. Tomato sauce is its own mother sauce and is something completely different. If you search "espagnole" in the search bar at the top right of any page, you will be able to view/filter down to the forum discussions on this topic if you'd like to read a bit more. Cheers!

I do see that I need to complete the lessons on Stocks so I will have some footing on this subject. I also see that a meat stock, preferably a Veal stock, is just one ingredient in an Espagnole, which I do have a recipe for.

I see also that a dark Chicken stock can be used with much savings in time. Because I am just learning, I want to do it both the long way (8 hours total or more for a beginner) and see what I can do to save time by following the excellent advice in the RouxBe school classes.

Thank You,

Ken

I made this basic tomato sauce for dinner tonight. It has a wonderful, fresh flavor. Rave reviews from the family!! I used two 28 oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes (purchased at Fresh Market) so I have enough to freeze for later.

I can find San Marzano tomatoes with preservatives
Or, I can find canned tomatoes (POMI brand) with no preservatives

Which is better?

Most often, the tomatoes without preservatives (salt, citric acid, etc.) are best, but you may want to buy both and make two separate batches. That is the best way to find out what you personally like better and if the price of one justifies the purchase. Cheers!

I have a food mill that I'm not particularly happy with; it only has one blade. I do have a China Cap stainer with holes that are about 2 mm. While I realize it may be a bit more work, do you think I'd get a satisfactory result by pressing the tomatoes through it? I also have a (relic) Vitorio juicer. The separator is a spiral and the juice and pulp pass through a cone shaped strainer. Could this work as well?
I live on tiny Denman Island in BC and San Marzano D.O.P tomatoes have been impossible to find on Vancouver Island outside of Victoria. I finally decided to ask the proprietor of our local general store if he could source and special order some for me. Success! The downside was I had to buy a case of 6 x 100 oz cans, as his wholesaler only sells this type to restaurants. They are Emma brand and the reviews I've read on this one are pretty positive. We shall see.

Either of these things might work but I have not tried them myself, so I dont know for sure what the end results will be. You might just want to try both pieces of equipment and compare them.

I know some people are even happy enough to deseed the tomatoes by hand and then pulse them a few times in their food processor. For me the easiest and most efficient way I have found is this new passatutto that I found at Williams and Sonoma. I like that it is light weight, easy to clean and it suctions right onto the countertop.

As for the D.O.P tomatoes, good score. In the end that is a great way to buy them, if you are lucky enough to find someone that will sell them to you. Nice work on hunting them down. Cheers!

Hi is there a list of brands that do not have citric acid or could someone post a couple Amazon links? does the DOP stamp mean there is always no citric acid? I bought some Cento that didn't list it in the description and behold it's in there. Thanks.

Some tomatoes that are listed as DOP can still contain some citric acid so it is important to read the list of ingredients. It appears that these tomatoes listed in our store do not contain any preservatives or salt. It can be hard to find unadulterated DOP tomatoes outside of Italy. Just try to find ones that do not contain any salt or citric acid or other additives. You'll be miles ahead by making your own sauce, rather than buying it in a jar. Cheers!

:) hi! I live near London. I've searched all the chain supermarkets and kept a lookout at markets for San marzano DOP tomatoes to no avail. I know this topic has been killed to death but I guess I needed a UK spin on it as I was feeling left out! For you other UK members (if there are any) Sainsbury's SO Organic range do 400g (circa 400ml?) tins so I'm guessing 2 per 28fl oz can, that have no sugar salt citric acid or anything extra. Just tomatoes and juice. They do peeled plum tomatoes and ready chopped.

My question?

a) any other UK members find other reliable sources for these tomatoes
b) any moderators recall discussion by any uk members re the above or can point me in their direction

Suggestion: not telling you how to do your stuff because you're great at it but:

Ever thought of grouping students into study groups based on region? a lot of forum discussion, even on this one topic is dispersed throughout the site and I'm just wondering if students from different regions were able to group post they could compare notes on suppliers both in specific locations and online, it wouldst also as a byproduct allow fluent discussion with other members for whom English might be a second language. Any recipe will change profile based on the peculiarities of regional produce and I just think it might help local people compare results from each others' work?

Just a suggestion ;)

The tins I refer to, and the ones in my supermarkets in general seem to have a ratio of circa 60% tomato to juice. This sound about right?

Thanks again

.... might even mean such questions about stockists for kitchen tools and ingredients (which itself completely depends on where you are and your means) would be less focused at rouxbe tutors and give you more time for the good stuff! :)

I have made this sauce with the less desired tomatoes and with the tomatoes that Kimberley provided the link to above. Yes there is a big difference, the first batch with the citric acid went down my kitchen drain, the second went in my refrigerator. I like how this recipe is what it is, a basic tomato sauce. I prefer mine to have a little fennel seed, and more zest, but I can tell I was better off learning this way first before expanding.

Hi Kevin,

Just wanted to let you know that we love your idea. In fact it's been our "to-do" list for some time - to great groups by region. This would be particularly helpful for shopping (e.g. where do I buy, x, y, z...).

Thanks for sharing. For any other suggestions you may want to post them here in the forum called "site feedback" that way it keeps each lesson focused on the subject at hand

And just a side note re: buying canned tomatoes (to expand on what Kimberley already said above). It is worth seeking out the best quality ingredients always, but if you can't find the best tomatoes and you have to purchase canned tomatoes that do contain citric acid, you are still miles ahead from the "fast food" line-ups. We've even used canned tomatoes in a pinch when we needed tomato sauce so don't worry too much. You WILL ABSOLUTELY have a better end product with the best ingredients, but you can still have a great product with canned tomatoes that contain citric acid. Most restaurants buy canned product with citric acid btw.

Cheers,
Joe

Citric acid is a faint organic acid. In its food preservative liquid state (diluted with water) it is formed by heating to 172F/78C. It begins to disintegrate at 174F/79C. 347F/175C will completely decompose citric acid. If you simmer your tomato sauce for an hour the likelihood that any added citric acid remains is barren at best. In addition: If you are using DOP Italian tomatoes with no additives, they most likely say with basil; that is your citric acid. Basil has an abundance of it, its not in there for its good looks or smell. It is added to preserve the tomatoes. Basil is and has been used as a food preservative and for medicinal purposes throughout the world for centuries. Contemplate this: you add a splash of lemon to your pan sauce/gravy to balance the flavor; you do so with low and/or no heat. Why? Well, if you do so at a rolling boil, you will cook out (citric acid) the balance you are trying to achieve. Furthermore, when you add basil, oregano, onion etcetera to your sauce, you are adding citric acid. This one of the many reasons why you simmer, so don’t sweat the small stuff; cook and enjoy. I hope my comment helps.