Comments on: Basic Tomato Sauce

By: Herr Yamamoto

Herr Yamamoto — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 19:21:00 +0000

haha yes i meaned juice not water, my fault. Thanks Mark.

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 06:44:00 +0000

Hi Herr Yamamoto, I use Italian tomatoes so it should be the same, but the can contains tomatoes and is packed with the juices of the tomato (not water). Hope that helps.

By: Herr Yamamoto

Herr Yamamoto — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 05:49:00 +0000

Hi Marc, does a large can Tomatoes in the US contain 800 gram pure tomatoes or also water? In Germany an 800g can of tomatoes got round about 300g water.

By: Willbo17AZ

Willbo17AZ — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 03:30:00 +0000

Gotcha. I just try to plan ahead. And because it's a crock I don't
have to watch it or worry about a stove. To me it's convenient but only
if I plan ahead. If I forget to start the sauce, I just see what I have and make something
else, like that wonderful scratch chicken teriyaki you posted some
months back. We love it... make it all the time. Started keeping mirin
and sake in the house just for that reason. BTW, YOU ROCK! Thx.

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 01:15:00 +0000

Hi Willbo, I agree that simmering a sauce for hours makes a difference, but the thing is most people don't have that much time, especially when they're going to use the sauce in something else. The idea behind my technique is that you can make an amazing sauce that's 95% as good in less than 30 minutes instead of 6 hours.

By: Willbo17AZ

Willbo17AZ — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 04:16:00 +0000

Hi Marc! I also use basically the same ingredients and some sugar (to help knock down the acidity). And I love the big cans of petit diced at COSTCO as they're priced very low compared to a normal grocery store... So I make enough for to meals and freeze half. I think the best way to get consistently good sauce is in a crock pot... Because with sauce, time is Cash Money! On low for 6 hours comes out perfect every time, and it never tastes rushed. Just stir a couple of times during the process. If I'm in a hurry I'll cook on the high setting for about 3.3 hours. After I freeze half of my "basic sauce", I just jazz up the rest depending on what I'm using it with, pasta or protein. Freezes well as long as plastic wrap is touching the surface to prevent burn. Let me know what you think.

By: Esther Crocker

Esther Crocker — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 02:02:00 +0000

For sure - so cheap and quick, it really is one of the foundational must-know recipes. Thanks for this blog!

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 05:36:00 +0000

Great suggestions Osita! That's one of the beauties of a basic tomato sauce it can be morphed into so many other dishes just by adding something to it.

By: Esther Crocker

Esther Crocker — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 05:31:00 +0000

Great article and recipe. A simple tomato sauce is one of the most comforting things in life. I like to eat it spooned over mashed potato (when I can't be bothered making gnocci) and it was one of my favourite hangover cures in my 20's. I like to add red wine vinegar because I think vinegar and tomatoes are best friends that should never be sperated. Other times I add anchovies, depending on mood/level of botherdness. etc.
For a quick vegan spaghetti idea add some red lentils at the start of step two. This freezes really well too.

By: fraidicat

fraidicat — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 04:07:00 +0000

Thanks, Marc, for pointing out that the canned tomatoes will be more consistent year round. Some of the imported Italian Roma Tomatoes are worth the extra cost in flavor, too.