How to Make Tomato Sauce

I've learned a lot from this lesson. But now I am ready to give it a try and will possibly make the larger version that is on your site so I can freeze and share. Is there a recipe for turning this into spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce, which would be my favourites. Thanks.

For the Pizza Sauce... I'd leave as is. In fact, we made the pizza dough last week after a batch of tomato sauce and only used tomato sauce with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh basil. To die for.

Pizza: http://epitourean.rouxbe.com/recipes/247/preview

For the Spaghetti Sauce, try browning some ground Italian sausage (without the sausage skins) or lean ground beef (or a combination of the two). Mario uses ground pork, veal and Pancetta:

Mario Batali's Ragu: http://epitourean.rouxbe.com/recipes/1145/preview

Don't be afraid to experiment here. Just brown the meat, drain off the fat, and then add the Basic Italian Tomato Sauce. Simmer for a good 45 mins to an hour. Add some chili flakes if you like a bit of heat. Basic Italian cooking.

Let us know how it goes.

I can't seem to find the San Marzano Tomatoes where I live, and I don't like the canned tomatoes that are sold here: way too sour. So my question is, how much fresh tomatoes do I need to make this sauce?

A 16-ounce can of tomatoes is equivalent to 1/2 kilogram or just over a pound of fresh tomatoes. Make sure they are very ripe. You can ripen them at room temperature on a counter covered with a towel for a day or two (NOT in the sun).

You can find the San Marzano tomatoes online too (several results on amazon.com)

The lesson didn’t comment on buying whole vs. crushed tomatoes. I could see it would be a bad choice if the crushed product had seeds in it, but having used crushed San Marzano tomatoes, I don’t recall seeing seeds in the sauce. That was, however, before completing this lesson so it may not have registered with me. Crushed tomatoes make a chunkier sauce, which is nice in some applications and easily transformed into a smooth sauce with a quick zap from an immersion blender right in the pan. Are there other considerations with crushed vs. whole tomatoes?
I did make tomato sauce with whole tomatoes and it was really good. I am also completely converted to émincéd garlic rather than chopped. Thanks for that education, no more burned garlic bits in my sauces!

I have to admit, I have used crushed tomatoes before. They work well, but keep in mind that crushed tomatoes usually do not come from the best harvested tomatoes. Also, they do tend to be a bit concentrated, producing a heavier sauce. However, you make a good point, Carol. They can easily substitute whole tomatoes and can be lightened with a bit of stock and lightly - lightly - processed for a smoother consistency. And if you like it thick and chunky, well the crushed is a good bet. Hope this helps.

Where can you get San Marzano tomatoes that contain no salt or citric acid?

San Marzano tomatoes usually do not contain salt or citric acid, just make sure to check the label. http://epitourean.rouxbe.com/drilldowns/340

As for where to buy San Marzano tomatoes, they are more widely available everyday. Most Italian delis sell them, Wholefoods and many other stores and even some smaller markets.

Whether you buy San Marzano or not, just be sure to check the labels of whatever tomatoes you are buying.

I feel it is very important to take genuine care and love when putting together a classic such as this one.

You guys are totally awesome! Not only stupendious tomato sauce, but marvelous Channa Masala, outrageous omelets, really peachy fried potatos (no recipe, but the picture was enough) and the proper technique for pre-heating a pan. Definitely Bomb Diggity status!!!!

Lynn

FYI- Here is a text recipe for the potatoes http://epitourean.rouxbe.com/recipes/1732

Must be the bit of Irish in me because I ADORE potatoes! I could eat them everyday.

The local stores near me all carry brands that contain citric acid and salt (Cento and a couple others that I forget). When I shopping online the ingredients usually aren't listed.

Does anyone know of any brands that you can purchase online that do not contain citric acid and salt?

I found this link to a site that makes pizza ovens. It also seems that they sell good San Marzano tomatoes.

http://www.fornobravo.com/store/San-Marzano-Tomatoes-p-1-c-254.html

Here is another site.
http://www.pastene.com/san_marzano.html

You could also try phoning around where you live, or check the local Italian Deli they should either sell or know where you can get them.

Hope this helps...good luck!

My grandmother is from southern italy and we always called this gravy (I think that discussion has the potential to digress into Mac vs PC type flame debates). It's funny how many of those techniques i've done because it was what i was taught to do, but never really understood why. Now I understand more, thanks!

Some of my favorite sauces have been either really smokey or sweet. Vincent's in Little Italy (NY) comes to mind. What do people add to the sauce to bring out that really sweet or really smokey flavor in a sauce.

Here is a nice place to buy the tomatoes http://www.cento.com/sanmarzano.html or I buy them at whole foods market.

The de-seeder is what I am looking for.

Have you been able to find the de-seeder yet? Try your local Italian deli.

Well... I found some sources on the internet I can order food mills and other nice cooking items. http://www.creativecookware.com/index.htm
I live in a city next to Las Vegas, my local Italian deli is not so good, however I find the local Whole Foods Market nice but pricey for food ingredients and everything else I can from the internet.

I always make the tomato sauce I use in my kitchen, but use fresh tomatoes and add tomato paste, tomato is very natural sound quality and good taste.
Remove the seeds of tomato, more by instinct than by knowledge, please, I know they affect the seeds in the sauce, well I did not understand the video.
Thanks for the patience and very good lessons.

If I understand what you are asking, you are asking "how do the seeds affect the sauce" - the seeds can add bitterness (amargura?) to the sauce. Sorry I am not sure if this is the right word in Spanish :-)

Yes Dawn is the right word, make the sauce a bit more bitter or sour, is correct expreion.

Thank you very much.

What is the best way to take the seeds out of the tomatoes if you do not have a machine to do this?

How to De-seed tomatoes without a machine...good question.

It is really very simple, you can use a strainer or simply your hands. Watch topic 6 from the lesson on How to Make Tomato Sauce this entire topic will shows you a few ways to de-seed tomatoes. Hope this helps!

Thank you for your response. (I think I got ahead of myself and skipped parts to view other recipes) Just not enough time in one day to cook them all (ha ha)

I picked about 15 pounds of tomatoes this morning so I decided to make a tomato sauce following this lesson and recipe...but substituting an equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes for the canned...beautiful Brandywines and Purple Cherokees, very meaty large tomatoes.

Using a food mill, I pureed about 10 lbs. of whole tomatoes. Of this, more than 2 lbs was waste - skin, seeds, cores. I ended up with somewhat less than 4 qts of sauce from the 10 lbs of tomatoes.

But the sauce was thin...even after an hour of slow simmer. Does this have mostly to do with the type of tomatoes I used? Should I continue to cook it down? Or should I expect it to be fairly thin? It's very flavorful and delicious as it is. But it's more like juice than sauce.

Before processing the fresh tomatoes through a food mill it's vital to first blanch them in boiling salted water for about a minute or two to soften their flesh. Ideally, you also want to peel them, as the peels sometimes prevent the flesh from properly going through the holes of the food mill. I remember being in charge of peeling when we processed our fresh garden tomatoes for sauce. Also, some varieties of tomatoes are best eaten raw rather than stewed into sauce. Typically, long rather than round tomatoes are suited for sauce.

Thanks, Tony. That was very helpful.

Given that it is fairly thin, I think I will use it as a base for tomato/vegetable/pasta soup. I will see what develops...I have plenty of sauce to experiment.

from the way I have made tomato sauce for years, in that I added all the seasonings right from the beginning and always left the seeds in. Blow my mind, why don't you! I never had complaints, but I am willing to try something new and see what the difference is. Always willing to experiment.

The seeds are removed as they can add bitterness to the sauce. For more information on this see Topic 5 of the lesson on How to Make Tomato Sauce.

Ugh! I forgot to add the tomato paste before I adding the puree. However, I did add the tomato paste immediately after adding the puree, hoping that it works out.

The lesson mentions that adding the paste will lend a nice earthy flavour, and that cooking it will take out any bitterness. I wonder: what will happen since it was added late? Do I simply risk a slightly bitter flavour in my sauce?

Don't worry Marcus you will be fine. You likely won't even notice a big difference - unless maybe you had the two side by side to compare.

my supplier sold me san marzano tomatoes with DOP. La Valle, (pomodori pelati italiani) and they had salt and citric acid and basil included.. i called and asked if they had without salt and acid and he said no, needed for preservative.. i knew different from your class.. i thought dop would leave those ingredients out..???
joe

Same problem and to tell you the truth I used it and it was a gooooood lesson to me, I say stay away from it. I actually understood the difference between good and bad tomatoes by doing so ;D .
The first batch of tomato sauce I didn't use san marzano I found organic tomatoes with no salt and acid and used it and it was really wonderful, the next time I started looking for san marzano and found some with citric acid and salt and did two batches with them and I really hated the sauce it was a bit acidic and not sweet !. So now when I'm looking I always choose the good stuff.
thank you rouxbe ;D

THIS IS SOOOO GOOOD !!!

Everyone loved it and wanted some to take home. One recommendation I gotta make is all their "options" of the basil leaves, etc. They really shouldn't be recommendations because without them it wouldn't seem complete.

Also, the San Marzano tomatoes are SO DIFFICULT to find. EVERYTHING has citric acid and salt added at the grocer. You gotta shop at places like Whole Foods for most of these recipes using the proper high quality ingredients.

One last item, when cooking the garlic and onions, make sure they caramelize nicely before dumping everything in. The problem I find is that some of the "cook time" recommendations are off. I say use your best judgement. For me, everything took longer than the recommended cooking time.

Cook on !!

So glad that you liked this tomato sauce Greg. Just wanted to clarify a few things. The basil is optional as this sauce is meant to be used as a base...a base where other ingredients can be added to suit ones personal tastes. For instance if someone was Greek, they may add oregano instead.

You are correct that San Marzano tomatoes can be harder to find, though these days they are becoming more widely available. There are still a few good brands (meaning no salt and citric acid) out there though that are not San Marazno. I also wanted to mention that I do not shop at Whole Foods for these ingredients. Not that I wouldn't, I just don't live near one and I also can usually find the ingredients cheaper elsewhere. May Italian delis and quality grocery stores sell these ingredients. I am only mentioning this as I don't want to scare people off, thinking that if they don't shop at Whole Foods then they can't make this sauce.

Also went cooking the garlic and onions we do not recommend "caramelizing" them. These ingredients are merely meant to be subtle background notes in this particular sauce. The caramelization would add more sweetness and a different flavor profile. That being said, you can certainly do this if you personally want to.

As for the cooking times, these will always vary slightly, depending on your stovetop, the heat and just cooking in general.

Thanks for taking the time to add your comments Greg, much appreciated. Happy Cooking!

I understand why you give the basic recipe as a base so one can add their own flare to it. That's a good idea.

I went to three grocery stores before I ended up at a mega store Whole Foods to find the tomatoes. It really depends on where you live. Since I live in Irvine, we have a lot of chain supermarkets and little if any at all high end markets (because apparently no one cooks from scratch here). I noticed most stores had about 5 brands of tomatoes all with preservatives.

Also, I think I used the wrong term of "caramelizing." I couldn't find a better word to describe when your items stars to become translucent. I guess I should have said translucent, because I cooked them for the recommended time of 1 minute and nothing happened. I ended up cooking them for about 3 minutes for them to even soften.

One other thing. I'm going to try this same recipe tonight but with some ground turkey over a dried pasta. I'll let you know how it turns out !

Thanks again !

You might want to try a "online" Italian Foods Store. "Pastene" is one that comes to mind. Goolge "gourmet italian foods" and you should find a lot of what your looking for. Good luck.

Travelled to a Fortinos some 1 hour away to find elusive San Marzano tomatoes - found them but didn't read the label! Brand was Pastene San Marzano with the all important D.O.P. Paid $3.99 a can (gulp) but wanted to try the best. Got them home and lo and behold - citric acid and salt in the ingredients. Also found Italpasta brand for 1.99 - not San Marzano but just tomatoes and juice in list. I have yet to use San Marzano tomatoes but it will be interesting to see how it compares to cheaper brand.

i found the devils at restaurant depot in cleveland ohio. they are labeled under supremo italiano. the importer is r.d. enterprises in college point n.y. they come in 5 lb 10oz cans. the price for a case of 6 was approx 33.00
the ingredients are san marzano plum peeled tomatoes, san marzano tomato puree, basil leaf.......
r d enterprises is restaurant depot enterprises when i looked them up.. hope this helps......
joe d.

How would you thicken tomato sauce if it came out a bit runny?

I would leave the sauce to slowly simmer and just let the excess moisture evaporate. Just make sure to stir it regularly to ensure it does not scorch on the bottom.

I heard somewhere that tomatoes have some flavors which do not dissolve in water but they do dissolve in alcohol, so wine is used to get those flavors out. Is it true? Do you use wine with the sauce? If so, how?
Thanks:)

I have not heard about "some flavors in tomatoes not dissolving in water"...perhaps this is true, but like I said, I have not heard of this.

This particular tomato sauce is all about simplicity. Letting the flavors of each "simple" ingredient speak for itself. That being said, if you personally want to add or tweak this recipe to your tastes (say adding a bit of wine) then feel free to. That is the great part about cooking, you can change things to suit you.

My advice would be to make this tomato sauce once the way it is here and then taste it and use it in a recipe. Then tweak the recipe to your liking, taste it and try it in a recipe and then compare the results. Hope this helps!

Thank you Dawn.I did make a batch of sauce as per recipee and used it to make chickem parmigiano. It was wonderful. I was just wondering about the wine thing. I believe it was one of Alton Brown's shows that had this information about wine and tomatoes. I'll try to see if I can find it later.
Thank you again

I was always taught that the longer you cooked your sauce and more orange your sauce was, the better it was.
Apparently I am wrong? Or is this true in certain instances?

Unless adding whole meats to your sauce, then longer cooking does not make sense. But on its own too long a cooking will take away from the tomato flavor and simply concentrate the sugars in the sauce. It does become a matter of taste, but a fresh tomato flavor is more often desired, and this means less cooking time.

To make the best tomato sauce for you is to use your own tomatoes, the sauce type: i.e. Roma, Fiaschetto, Amish Paste, Re Umberto, Roma Macero ..etc. Brandywine is not a kind of tomato to make sauce with, it is a very good kind to eat fresh (yum!)
Thanks

Thank you, Professor Tony! That makes sense.

A friend of mine is allergic to onions, any tips for what to replace that with in this sauce to keep the same great flavor?

When onions need to be left out due to allergies I would say you can either just leave them out or maybe try using some leeks instead. Many people who cannot eat onions can still consume leeks, but to be sure I would check with your friend. Cheers!

I'm new to your site and I'm loving it. I made your sauce using my own garden grown beefsteak tomatoes and it was amazing. I used about 15 lbs, let them over-ripen, boiled them for 30 seconds, peeled and ran through a food mill. The sauce came out beautifully, so good I could have just labled it tomato soup. Thank You so much.

This is my first Rouxbe recipe to apply at home! So excited! However, it didn't say how much garlic per 28 oz can of tomatoes. What do you suggest? I used 4 cloves for my 3 cans. It is simmering as I type!

The corresponding text recipe calls for 4 cloves (it's in the first stop of the recipe). Good call of doing 4 cloves - that is close enough. Hope you enjoy the sauce. Cheers!

I went to Whole Foods and found Cento D.O.P. certified, but they have salt and citric acid. I followed the link Dawn T gave in a previous post to Pastene, but that site also lists salt and citric acid. Am I missing something? I can't find a single can that doesn't list salt and citric acid, and I've been searching for a while.

Strange that is so hard for you to find them. Where is it that you live? Have you seen any San Remo or Glen Muir brands? These brands usually sell some that do not contain citric acid. Cheers!

http://muirglen.com/products/product_nutrition.aspx?upc=7-25342-29033-8

http://www.sanremofoods.com/Products/ProductInfoPages/SRW28.html

I live in Baton Rouge, LA. It's not usually hard to find ingredients around here, because cooking is almost an art here. I included the two links above because they seem to indicate the brands you listed above also have salt and citric acid. It's always possible these companies sell more than one type of canned tomoto as well. There's a local Italian grocer I haven't made it to because their hours match my work schedule, so I'll let you know how that goes.

I've searched the net and every DOP can I've found so far lists citric acid and salt, so I could just have really bad luck!

These brands might sell different varieties but it could also be the season in which the tomatoes are canned. If they were not ripe enough at the time of canning they may add other ingredients, such as citric acid.

Really though don't get too hung up on it. Indeed there are better varieties but if you cannot find them, this should not prevent you from making tomato sauce.

Don't tell anyone this but I have made a few tomato sauces in my days using cans that contained both salt and citric acid and I am still alive and my guests were super happy :-) shhhh!!!!

As others mentioned earlier I to assumed from watching the video that the dop label automatically meant no salt or citric acid. I found San Marzanos at Wal Mart of all places with the dop label placed prominetly on the front of the can. I looked no further thinking I fouind what I was looking for. $3.92 a 28oz can OUCH! Now after reading comments here I checked the back of the can and yep, citric acid, salt and basil.

So what can I use these expensive San Marzanos for??

Unfortunately, these days you must always read the label. What companies are "allowed" to say on their packages can sometimes be misleading (to say the least).

The fortunate part is that you can still use them. Use them as you would any other canned tomatoes. That or you could also just return them. Cheers!

I picked up a food mill at my local kitchen supply store and made up some sauce. My question is if on the food mill the pusher thingy that smooshes the tomatoes through the blade is suppose to actually come in contact with the blade. In the video I thought I heard some scraping sounds from the food mill. Is it supposed to touch?

P.S. Forgive the use of the technical jargon.

Yes, the blade needs to touch the disc. This is how it presses the solids through the holes. I had one (an expensive name brand) before that didn't do this and it was always a struggle, so I had to take it back. If it's not easy to mill, then perhaps you could return it. Cheers!

The assembly of the food mill -in my experience- is counter intuitive. I have made this mistake numerous times when putting the disk into the body. I'm sure no one else is as dull as me but for the record - the disk goes in concave side UP. This is the rough side and while its seems that the smooth side should be up - it s the opposite.

That should be "Convex" rough side up.
See,it's not easy being me!

SO IF I DONT HAVE THIS KIND OF TOMATOES,IS NO OTHER OPTIONS? THANKS

NO IF YOU CANNOT FIND SAN MARZANO TOMATOES YOU CAN USE OTHER TYPES OF TOMATOES, JUST TRY TO FIND ONES THAT DO NOT CONTAIN CITRIC ACID. cheers :-)

I made the tomato sauce, added italian meat balls,and served it over whole wheat pasta garnished with parmesan cheese. Cabernet Sauvignon, candle light, and my wife Valerie loved it.

Dr Dean

I too had a bit of a problem with my sauce coming out too thin and a bit watery. Although I do like the flavor of this simple recipe I would like it to stick to the noodles a bit better (I do not oil my noddles). I saw where Tony mentioned that extra cooking time just does not make sense unless using meat in the sauce. Is this sauce just going to be much thinner than I am used to or can I thicken it without ruining the simple fresh taste? Also will pulsing the tomatoes briefly in a food processor hurt any before I process through the food mill? This will make it much easier to process through the mill.

Perhaps it is the type of tomatoes you used as some can be meatier than others; however, that being said, this sauce is not a thick sauce by nature.

As for pulsing the tomatoes before putting them through the food mill seems an extra step that is not necessary if you have a good mill. Pulsing and then using the food mill could also break down the tomatoes too much and potentially make them more liquidy.

If your tomatoes seem to be on the watery side you could always try adding a bit more tomato paste as this will help to thicken the sauce a bit (I have done this in the past). Hope this helps. Cheers!

several questions

1. I typically make my sauce with fresh or canned cherry tomatoes. I find the sauce a bit thicker and sweeter-your thoughts?

2.I like the taste of capers and often add them when I add the tomotoes to the sauce. Is this the best time or should I wait towards the end of cooking and finish with the capers.

thanks!!

We do used canned tomatoes in the video to make our tomato sauce. You can certainly experiment with other types of tomatoes. If you like/prefer the result, that's what it is all about.

Again, I would experiment with adding the capers both before and after and see what you prefer. If you add them with the tomatoes, they will certainly permeate the entire sauce during the cooking process. If finishing the sauce with capers, the flavor will likely be more pronounced here and there. Just depends what you like and what you plan to do with the sauce. Be flexible and test both methods to see which one you prefer. Cheers!

Great recipe but why are you not making it with fresh tomato ? Is it a different recipe?

How to make thick homemade tomato paste from fresh tomato?

Thanks
Martine

Near the top of this thread, there is a discussion about substituting fresh tomatoes. It is a long process to make your own tomato paste. If you find a quality paste as mentioned in the lesson, this is totally acceptable. Here's a recipe for making your own tomato paste from Saveur, which we have not tested out ourselves. Cheers!

Thanks Dawn for the recipe; I will definitively try it.

ok, I will take a look but in fact with all the chemicals in the can (BPA, Aluminium,...) I prefer not to buy it for my health and the health of my familly.

My goal is to eat homemade stuff and so to avoid trans fat, proceed food, heavy metals and chemicals.

Hi all,

I know I can freeze this sauce but how long would it keep in the fridge? Would it last longer if I stored it in an airtight bottle or something?

Thanks

I would keep tomato sauce in the refrigerator for up to about 5 days. Like all foods, they will eventually go off. I'm not sure how long an air-tight bottle will extend its life. Depending on how you store it and how cold your particular fridge is, you would have to test it out for yourself. Tomato sauce freezes extremely well. It is better to make what you plan to use if you don't have storage space in your freezer. Cheers!

Thanks for the advice. Yeah I'll probably end up freezing half of it and then try and use up the rest in the next few days or so.

I made the sauce, added some hot italian sausage links, served over linguine, with fresh garlic bread, and a shamong red wine(local wine from New Jersey.). Everyone loved it!

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.

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!

I wonder why my pork meat turn pink after I reheat? do I need to do something or add sonething to avoid this? please let me know

Could you please give us a bit more information (and post this in a new forum thread or attach it to the recipe you are referring to)? This forum thread is reserved for the lesson on How to Make Tomato Sauce. Thanks!

I am wanting to make a tart sauce. sorry took so long.

If you are referring to a tart tomato sauce, you will need to experiment with different types of tomatoes that you can find. You can also try adding fresh lemon juice or a good red or white wine vinegar to taste. 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!