How Britain fell out of love with pasta sauce

[MypinchofItaly]

Ah, tomato based pasta sauce. I make my own sauces. However, jarred pasta sauces are great for emergency food supplies. Especially when dealing with pesky hurricanes. I use the basics to make a few sauces. Onion, garlic, canned tomatoes and both dry and fresh basil. Sometimes I'll throw some finely diced carrots for sweetness.

For heavy tomato sauces, I'll brown off some tomato paste in the saute pan when the vegetables are soft. I push the vegetables to the side of the pan and drop the paste in the center. When it is "brown" I mix the vegetables together with the paste. Sometimes red wine goes in if I'm making Marinara sauce or Sunday Gravy. Sunday Gravy is basically a marinara that meats are cooked in, Italian sausages, braciole and meatballs. I just might throw a parm bone in this "gravy". The meats are removed and served separately while the "gravy" is served over pasta. I doubt there is a similar dish in Italy as it is a very heavy dish. Maybe in far northern Italy?

An alternative "Red" sauce that we make for lobster or crab ravioli is roasted red bell pepper sauce. I really don't like sun-dried tomatoes, so Karen makes oven-dried tomatoes, using fresh Roma tomatoes, dry basil, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, olive oil, black pepper and very light on salt as the cheese is salty. These are great for a pizza topping, quick pasta sauce, pesto ect.... There are also so many great pasta sauces without tomatoes.

@CraigC With Marinara in Italy we mean a tomato sauce with capers olives and oregano (the basic of Puttanesca sauce)..your Sunday gravy anyway sounds familiar to me: in the south of Italy it's quite common to cook the meat (veal or pork-not together) in tomato sauce, then the meat is removed and served separately and the sauce is served over pasta. Or also without tomato sauce, cooked meats, then separately and gravy on pasta. Generally has put on tagliolini or ravioli with the leftover gravy of arrosto.

 

[Elawin]

Trying to find consistently good quality fresh tomatoes can be quite challenging. I find that canned tomatoes offer more consistency. Plus the two major brands we buy, seem to offer bogo deals, alternately every week.

We love to make homemade spinach pasta with a sweet onion sauce as another alternative to tomato based sauces.

I only buy my tomatoes from two sources (one organic farm co-operative, and one supermarket) and the quality is consistent from both. I find tinned tomatoes are a nightmare - some seem to contain a lot of liquid and others don't - it's not always the expensive ones that are the best either. I get mine from one supermarket usually - their value brand for generally cooking and another cheap own store brand which does not contain quite so much juice and are especially good for lasagne and the like. I still prefer to make my own tomato sauces from fresh tomatoes though.

 

[Yorky]

For curries and chili, I generally use tinned tomatoes. For pizza sauce I use peeled fresh tomatoes blended with a little tomato puree and (depending upon the subsequent topping) fresh chilis. For any other tomato based sauces I use whatever I have available at the time.

 

[Morning Glory]

I only buy my tomatoes from two sources (one organic farm co-operative, and one supermarket) and the quality is consistent from both. I find tinned tomatoes are a nightmare - some seem to contain a lot of liquid and others don't - it's not always the expensive ones that are the best either. I get mine from one supermarket usually - their value brand for generally cooking and another cheap own store brand which does not contain quite so much juice and are especially good for lasagne and the like. I still prefer to make my own tomato sauces from fresh tomatoes though.

I wish I could say the same (about using fresh tomatoes) but I find that if I use them, unless they are the baby tomatoes with deep red colour which are expensive, they lack colour and flavour. The tinned Italian tomatoes do vary in quality. I tend to cook them right down, so the liquid reduces.

 

[Francesca]

I am pleased to hear that bottled or jarred sauces for pastas have fallen off in sales .. The majority have additives, high levels of sugar, salt / sodium and garbage ..

I do not use jarred sauces at all .. I prepare my own from Bio ingredients .. For a quick Marinara, I keep a stash on hand in the freezer ..

 

[MypinchofItaly]

I think I have to clarify about it..I didn't mean I do not use jarred or tinned tomato sauces..I meant I do not use for example ready pesto sauce or ready Bolognese sauce or 4 cheese sauce...it happened only for emergencies or even curiosity or lack of feeling to cook..
About tomato sauce I can't think to make it always on my own even if I like to prepare it homemade.

 

[Morning Glory]

I am pleased to hear that bottled or jarred sauces for pastas have fallen off in sales .. The majority have additives, high levels of sugar, salt / sodium and garbage ..

Its got better in the UK - here are the ingredients for this one:



Chopped Tomato, *Water, Onion, Soya Protein (6.5%), Red Wine, Tomato Puree, Cornflour, Red Miso Paste (*Water, Soya Beans, Rice, *Sea Salt, *Yeast, *Koji Culture), Garlic, *Sea Salt, Oregano, Black Pepper, *Denotes non-organic ingredients. 100% of agricultural ingredients are produced in accordance with the rules of organic production

And here are the ingredients for a sauce by brand leader Dolmio (No added sugar, No artificial colours, flavours or preservatives):




Tomatoes (71%), Tomato Paste (13%), Onion, Mascarpone Cheese (from Milk) (4.0%), Sunflower Oil, Salt, Modified Maize Starch, Onion Powder (Roasted), Garlic, Spices, Herb (Basil (0.1%)), Acid (Citric Acid)

 

[Francesca]

@morning glory

Number 2: Has modified corn starch ( maize ) .. Does it indicate if this is genetically modified corn starch ? Why does a Tomato sauce need corn starch ?

Number 1: Are the soy beans natural ? Why does a Company put soy beans in Tomato Sauce ? Where does it state that this product is in accordance with organic or bio methods and ingredients ? On the back of the package ?

These could be a Gmo products, grown on Gmo plots of land and companies are paid off by Bayer - Monsanto to employ their poisons in the world´s food supply unless clearly marked that the product does not contain Genetically Modified Soy Beans or any thing else ..

 

[Morning Glory]

Number 1: Are the soy beans natural ? Why does a Company put soy beans in Tomato Sauce ? Where does it state that this product is in accordance with organic or bio methods and ingredients ? On the back of the package ?

The soy is for the meat substitute as it is a vegan ragu. All the ingredients are stated as organic. I can't prove it can I!? - but that is what it states on the pack and their website http://www.tidefordorganics.com. They are an organic food company.

 

[Morning Glory]

Number 2: Has modified corn starch ( maize ) .. Does it indicate if this is genetically modified corn starch ? Why does a Tomato sauce need corn starch ?

I don't know if its genetically modified or not. Its used as a thickener and as you say, probably not necessary. But I use cornstarch a lot. It wouldn't occur to me to try to seek out an organic non genetically modified cornstarch. Life really is too short! I completely understand if you see this as important though. I know some feel very strongly about this.

This isn't really a thread about organic food. The point here (in this thread) is that neither products have high salt and sugar levels (see the top post).

 

[MrsDangermouse]

I don't know if its genetically modified or not. Its used as a thickener and as you say, probably not necessary. But I use cornstarch a lot. It wouldn't occur to me to try to seek out an organic non genetically modified cornstarch. Life really is too short! I completely understand if you see this as important though. I know some feel very strongly about this.

This isn't really a thread about organic food. The point here (in this thread) is that neither products have high salt and sugar levels (see the top post).

I also don't like GM food, but in this case I don't think the "modified" referrs to genetically modified, but rather a modification if the properties of the finished product to enhance/change it's properties: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_starch

I believe any foods containing GM ingredients need to be labelled as such in the UK (and the rest of the EU?). Though sadly this doesn't extend to meat or dairy products fed with GM feed.

......And to bring this back on topic.....I don't think I've used a jar of pasta sauce for over a decade. I make my own from tinned tomatoes, except when we have a glut from the greenhouse. I also find using fresh tomatoes doesn't give much depth to the sauce so I roast them in the oven first - usually with some garlic and herbs or chilli.

I think the pre-made fresh sauces are usually much better and I'll occasionally use them for convenience if for example we're away on holiday.

 

[Elawin]

I believe any foods containing GM ingredients need to be labelled as such in the UK (and the rest of the EU?). Though sadly this doesn't extend to meat or dairy products fed with GM feed.

According to the government website, GMO foods are not allowed to be grown commercially in the UK and there are only five GMO items which are allowed to be imported. Of course that does not cover experimental work in the GMO field, but I think we are still pretty safe if we stick to British produced food.

 

[Elawin]

I wish I could say the same (about using fresh tomatoes) but I find that if I use them, unless they are the baby tomatoes with deep red colour which are expensive, they lack colour and flavour. The tinned Italian tomatoes do vary in quality. I tend to cook them right down, so the liquid reduces.

Well you know where I usually get my fresh tomatoes from, but I do buy Tesco or Sainsburys cheap salad tomatoes from time to time (mainly for cooking rather than eating fresh). I find if they are left in the cupboard for a week or so, they ripen up nicely and the flavour improves.

 

[Morning Glory]

Well you know where I usually get my fresh tomatoes from, but I do buy Tesco or Sainsburys cheap salad tomatoes from time to time (mainly for cooking rather than eating fresh). I find if they are left in the cupboard for a week or so, they ripen up nicely and the flavour improves.

Maybe I need to let them ripen. I've used tinned ones for so long I think I'm in a rut. I will try to use fresh and see...

 

[Elawin]

Maybe I need to let them ripen. I've used tinned ones for so long I think I'm in a rut. I will try to use fresh and see...

I always leave them for at least a week before I use them - even the organic ones unless I need some immediately. You just have to keep an eye on them; some ripen up a lot quicker than others, and some seem to take ages. Sometimes green tomatoes will ripen up too, but other green ones just won't.