Basic Tomato Sauce

I was SO intrigued when I read about the tomato sauce. I searched out the San Marzano tomatoes and found them at a great price and even found a passoatto (sp), so am set to go!! If this is half as good as described, and makes 3.5 liters it is well worth any expense. I will be making a batch to share with family and will let you know how it turns out, but based on previous Rouxbe experiences, it should be a winner. Another culinary adventure moves out of the starting gate. Thanks for the inspiration. Great writing.

Is it possible to freeze this sauce, since the recipe makes more than 3 litres?

No problem, it does freeze well. When thawed and cooked, however, you'll notice it will be a bit more watery. Simply cook it down a bit.

I LOVE this sauce. Very, very good!

I used it for everything, from breakfast, stews to curries. One of my all time favourite breakfast is poached 2 eggs on the tomato sauce and top it with Gruyere or Emmenthal cheese. Once the eggs are done to your liking, lay on the cheese, turn off the fire, cover until the cheese melts. Goes well with any savoury bread from Terra Breads. Yummm!

I have made this recipe using canned tomatoes with very good results. Now I have a ton of fresh tomatoes and was planning on canning the sauce. Does the recipe need modified for canning? Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Important to first blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds to a minute so the skins easily come off before deseeding. If the skins are left on, the sauce will be chunky and feel slimy (that's due to the skins in the sauce). In other words, you need to do what the growers do before they put the tomatoes in the can, which is exactly what is blanch and skin. Here is a Drill-down showing you just how to

Peel Tomatoes

This was the first recipe I tried from the cooking school. I decided to make it into a tomato soup and it was amazing.

I HAVE ALWAYS USED some wine in my tomato sauce to enhance the sweetness of the sauce. The wine brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes.

Careful when adding wine, as a bad wine, and too much of it, can actually make the sauce more bitter. But if adding a good wine, do it in the beginning, after the paste, before the actual tomato puree...and evaporate as much of the alcohol as possible..this enhances sweetness in the wine. Personally, I prefer to keep my sauce neutral and add wine to the pan when making the specific sauce for my dish, such as deglazing the sauteed mushrooms, or sausage and onions.

I like the idea of the sundried tomato paste instead. Thanks Rouxbe you make my tomato sauce even taste better now.

I have no question today, but i just have to say you guys are really great. I am a good cook and you have helped me improve so much I just love it. Thank you so much!!. Marie

I made some spaghetti sauce keeping in mind these instructions. I have been making this for years, always pretty much the same way and got pretty good results. This time, wow! It was exceptional. I didn't know if it was the extra ingredients I decided to use (wine, fennel root) or your method. But I could detect a slight caramelized tomato flavor in the sauce, which is what I have always liked about good Italian sauce. It must have come from adding the tomato paste the way you showed. Thanks for helping me to make changes in the way I always do things and for the tomato paste hint!

Thanks rouxbe WoooooW. I added this sauce to make chicken parmegiana.

I am looking for a good quality food mill. Can any of you recommend one and where to buy in the Victoria or Vancouver area?

Not sure of the best one but I do know that I had a cuispro one that I was not super happy with. Cuispro generally make excellent products, but I was never happy with my food mill. Try your local Italian store, sometimes they sell cheaper ones that are actually quite good.

I bought mine for something like $30.00 from Renzullo Food Market - here it is on google maps - located on Nanaimo Street. It says Macina-Legumi on the handle (not sure if that is the brand or just the fact that it is a "vegetable mill"). It comes with 3 different-sized discs and I love it for making tomato sauce. Most Italian markets sell them and you don't have to spend a lot for a good one. Just as long as there is good contact between the press and the disc, you're good to go.

Thanks for your feedback! I picked up a food mill by Rosle. The brand had great reviews online, and I was able to source one locally. It's works very well, and is well-made. I definitely recommend it.

So I made this last night and it came out really well, simple but delicious. The biggest difference between my sauce and the video seems to be the consistency (mine was thinner). Going on Cook's Illustrated's taste test for whole tomatoes, I chose a variety packed in juice as opposed ot puree. (Side note: Their blind taste test of many brands of whole tomatoes had very different results; brands with citric acid universallly did better, and actually ranked best to worst from lowest pH to highest pH; held up when compared against much more expensive DOP-certified San Marzanos) When I pressed the tomatoes through the food mill, I included all of the juice, which I think thinned out the sauce a bit too much. Here are some thoughts I had on how to thicken the sauce, that I wanted to pass through you guys: - I could drain the tomatoes before pressing them, and then add some of the packing juice back to the seedless mixture until I achieve the right consistency. ...or... - I could keep cooking beyond the 45 min point to further reduce and thicken the sauce. Thoughts?

Firstly, be weary of taste tests - citric acid fools the palate in thinking the tomatoes are better. The best tomatoes are the ones picked at their prime, and San Marzano tomatoes are intended to be tasted only after they have been cooked, not raw (in fact, they are not ideal tomatoes eaten raw). Bobby, you've solved your consistency issue with your first solution - the one with the most common sense. If you were cooking the sauce for a long period of time, say with browned meats in it, your second solution would then work perfectly. Keep up your problem solving skills. Remember, the best cookbook you'll ever own is the one you write yourself from trial and error in your OWN test kitchen.

I used the sauce in the chicken parmigiana recipe (http://rouxbe.com/recipes/1523-chicken-parmigiana-pollo-alla-parmigiana/text) and it was amazing. After being in the oven and cooking down it was perfect -- a nice thick and delicious sauce. I believe that in this case reducing the sauce itself, before using it in the chicken parm recipe, may have resulted in a sauce that was too thick or even pasty. Just my $0.02.

Thanks so much for the response guys (It's my first post!) I've got a couple more batches of sauce in the freezer but will try the "drain first" method for the next batch and see how that goes. The comment about citric acid and "fooling the palate" is interesting -- on one hand isn't that the measure of success: if it tastes good (chemical additives used within reason, e.g. not high fructose corn syrup)? I suppose I cant fully answer that until I make a batch with cheap $2/can progresso tomatoes and another with $6/can san marzanos and really do a personal taste test. Its great to know that San Marzano's don't come into their own until they are cooked, though. Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated. Time to go review the pizza dough recipes as thats my next big venture :)

Hi everybody. First of all, let me just thanks for offering this website. Like most people, quitting my current job to pursue culinary school full time isn't an option, and this is the best alternative I've found. And I'm loving it. So here is my question: I want to make this sauce tonight, but I'm not sure I want to make 3L worth. Does the recipe work out just the same - specifically, the cooking time - if I use only have the ingredients?

Hi Robert, You can cut this recipe in 1/2, no problem. Cooking time will likely be reduced slightly, but the main thing is to cook the sauce to the proper consistency, so don't worry about times so much. Great to hear you are enjoying the school. Happy cooking!

Kimberley, Thanks for the prompt response. And sorry for the typos (I was writing to you while making sure my students weren't cheating on their final). I have another question about onions. Does it make a difference whether we use white or yellow onions in the first step?

Yellow onions are the most common and become sweet when cooked. Since such a small amount is used, it won't make a big difference in flavor whether you use yellow or white. I am pretty confident that you will make this sauce more than once :-), so experiment to see if you can tell the difference and prefer one over the other. Have fun!

OK, I'm so ready to make this for dinner, but I'm out of Olive Oil! And, the kids can not be convinced to get in the car. The only thing I have in my pantry is White Truffle Oil- can I substitute?

No no no...please don't substitute the olive oil with white truffle oil. You likely won't be able to eat it as the truffle oil would totally overpower the entire sauce. Truffle oil is meant to be used more as a finishing oil and/or in very small amounts. In a pinch, you could use another neutral oil such as grapeseed oil; however, this sauce is best with olive oil. Hope this helps!

I made the tomato sauce, and there is no doubt that it is good tomato sauce. The San Marzano tomatoes, the double concentrate tomato paste, and all of your other techniques/ingredients give it a very distinct and rich "tomato sauce" flavor. However, I think I was expecting something more/else. I was expecting a rich sauce I could put right on top of spaghetti. I was disappointed when I tasted the sauce over spaghetti. It tasted like tomato sauce put over spaghetti. Albeit a good tomato sauce, but still tomato sauce. Is there a recipe, or any ideas, on how I can take the basic tomato sauce and turn it into a rich sauce to put over spaghetti, etc. Maybe I just don't get it, and that is the way it is supposed to be. I have been making "spaghetti sauce" for decades and I was hoping that this sauce would make it even better. As I said, maybe I just don't get it. Will you help/enlighten me? Thanks. David

Some people, especially Italians who love things simple, love tomato sauce simply to taste of tomatoes, and not much else. However, we often expect more. So, add more. Use the sauce as your base and elaborate it with ingredients you like: spicy sausages, peppers, more garlic, chilies, olives, capers, tuna, etc. Remember, cooking starts with a fundamental base, then you can build on that as you please. Some need more building blocks, some need less, depending on taste.

This tomato sauce is my favorite out of all the mother sauces. I think of it as a base to my cooking canvas. Sometimes I just add a little extra seasoning (salt, pepper, fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of good quality olive oil) voila...amazing! In the past, (before I learned how to make this sauce on Rouxbe) I used to add everything but the kitchen sink to my tomato sauce thinking that was what you needed to do to make a successful sauce and indeed many recipes involve a lot of ingredients. I like the simplicity of this because it brings out the true essence of the flavor of tomatoes and I can build from there. Also, when I make this sauce I like to make a big batch and freeze it for later use.

What is the advantage to preparing the garlic as an emince as opposed to crushing it through your garlic press?

The finer garlic is chopped/crushed, the more intense the flavor. We often emince the garlic in many recipes to give a subtle flavor. One clove that is cut emince will be a lot less intense than the equivalent that is crushed. Crushed garlic can easily overpower a dish, so be careful. Ultimately, it's up to you and your personal preference.

I was sharing this recipe with my siste-in-law and she said "What, no fresh tomatoes?" So the question is, fresh vs. canned tomatoes. Is the peeling and dicing worth it? Do the Italian canned tomatoes have something 'extra' that domestic tomatoes cannot match? BTW, Love this web site. Signed up for the lifetime membership and I am hoping you have a long life.

You can definitely used fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes if you have access to them. There are quite a few high-quality, canned tomatoes on the market, so you can make tomato sauce all year round. For more information on this we do cover this in depth in the Cooking School Lesson on How to Make Tomato Sauce. Cheers!

I do not currently own a food mill, and I am not aware of any local stores that carry this item. Is there any way to seed the tomatoes without a food mill, or is that option out of the question? Thanks for your help!

For more information on what to do if you don't have a food mill watch the cooking school lesson on Tomato Sauce, in particular topic 6. The video provides a few different options. Cheers!

I bought a tube of Concentrated Tomato Paste. However, it is only 2.8 oz. Since it is concentrated (although not double concentrated) would it be equivalent to the 5.5 oz tomato paste listed in the recipe? I also noticed that I got "Sun-Dried" Tomato Paste. I won't be going to the store anytime soon. At this point, should I just go with the can of Hunts Tomato Paste I already have, although I realize it may not turn out as well? BTW, I found a food mill like one shown in the video at Bed Bath and Beyond and the San Marzano tomatoes at Whole Foods Market (Southern California).

I would go for the amount listed in the recipe. If you cannot always find concentrated, don't worry, it will still taste great. The sun-dried tomato paste will also taste good, it may just have a slightly richer tomato flavor than regular, which is okay. If you do not have enough you could always use both the concentrated and the regular tomato paste. Cheers!

Great! So don't let the word "concentrated" on the tomato paste tube fool me. It is the same concentration as regular tomato paste. I assume "double concentrated" is also the same. My friends say my biggest problem in learning to cook is that I analyze things too much. I will go with your suggestion of using both the concentrated and the regular tomato paste. It sounds like it will tone down the sun-dried richer tomato flavor. I was able to find plenty of the concentrated, I just should have noted the amount listed in the recipe before shopping. :) Thanks!

I just made a half batch of the sauce and used grapeseed oil instead of the olive (same containers, not paying attention) and it's still good, but I will have to try it again. And BTW those special canned tomatoes are becoming hard to find. I heard there was a problem with last year's crop and there will be a shortage - Bosa's had NONE, so if you see them, grab some.

I just made a batch of sauce using pastene brand san marzano tomatos. I used a great EVO and followed the recipe exactly. I find that my sauce tastes a bit bitter- not sweet and juicy. What do you think went wrong? How can I fix it?

It does not sound like you did anything wrong. Sometimes, if the tomatoes contain citric acid, it's because they weren't picked at their peak and don't contain enough natural sugar to be canned and preserved without any salt or chemical. It's not a really big deal, but depending on the season, it's sometimes harder to find optimal tomatoes in a can. Often the best tomatoes stay at home in Italy or in Europe. If you want to add a bit of sweetness, you can adjust with a pinch of sugar. Even better than adding sugar is to cook the onions further. Next time, taste the tomatoes before you start. If they seem a bit bitter, cook the onions a bit longer to bring out their natural sweetness, rather than relying on adding sugar. Hope this helps!

Excellent recipe. I tried out a couple of variations and do have a question. I started with one 28oz (800g) can. I realizied that the sauce is very thick then. Was the recipe intended to actually include 4 cans (28 x 4 oz) The resulting sauce was very potent and nice, but a little strong for blending it with other dishes.

The recipe does call "4 cans (28 oz) whole tomatoes" (in step 1). Cheers!

Hello everyone, This is my FIRST recipe completed from Rouxbe, and I wasn't sure what to expect.. What I got was some good lessons, and some new ideas. 1. The canned tomatoes, San Marzano, without the additives were incredible! 2. I wasn't able to remove the seeds, it was way too much work, so in they went. Maybe with the proper tool this would work, but I couldn't tell the difference. 3. I did not believe that slicing the garlic instead of mincing it would make a difference, so I tested this. Although I did NOT like biting into slices of garlic in the finished dish, the sauce was obviously less bitter and much more naturally "tomatoey". (this was a very good thing!) 4. The recipe calls for a modest amount of salt. In comparing this tomato sauce with previous ones I had made with regular canned tomatoes, I needed to add more salt to this dish to bring it to my liking. 5. I did one thing different, that I believe makes the sauce much better. I skinned, seeded, and halved 6 very ripe Roma tomatoes, gave them a dash of good olive oil, some salt and pepper and dried basil, and roasted them for 35 minutes at 400F. I rough chopped them when done, and added this to the sauce, and I loved the results. The addition of the roasted tomatoes gives me the freshness I love, and the sweetness of roasting! Yumm! Thanks Rouxbe for my brand new best loved basic tomato sauce! It is created! I am a happy camper!

I make my sauce with puree/whole tomato's and tomato sauce maybe i will try it this way i am thinking this is a thin watery sauce since u have no puree in it *shrug*

How many or what weight is apropriate when using fresh tomato's from my own garden?

I would say roughly the same amount as in one can - 28 to 30 ounces; so, if you're making the whole batch, use about 120 ounces or 7.5-8 pounds. It doesn't have to be exact. Cheers!

I made a simple lasagna with my sauce and it was the BEST lasagna I've ever tasted! My sauce just gave the lasagna the perfect flavor. This sauce is definately going to be a staple in my house.

Frankly, I hate tomato sauce almost as much as the thought of drinking drano. But as far as this tomato sauce goes, this stuff is pretty darn good. I never thought I'd hear myself say that, like ever. My first thought after tasting it was, "Man, this would make a good tomato soup!...huh?" Was that me I just heard saying that inside my head? I did try this sauce before and it was ok. I still can't find the perfect D.O.P San Marzanos, but this time I found some San Marzanos, but still they added salt to them and no D.O.P to be found anywhere on the can. This time, I sweated the onions three times longer than probably necessary, cause I heard somewhere onions can sweeten up the sauce and get rid of that acid taste. Seemed to work. Once long ago, I remember having a sun dried tomato and thought it tasted delightful. I had a bag of those and thought why not? So I tasted one first, (I'm learning to taste everything as I go lately), and thought it was kind of pleasant so I chopped them up into tiny pieces and threw them in the pot. What I've ended up with is a rich, thick, pretty, semi-sweat, very low acidic, and rather perfect tomato sauce, As far as tomato sauces goes, I don't think it gets much better than this. Hum, is this why Italians like tomato sauce so much? Tomorrow, my first Lasagna with this sauce. Wish me luck. Thanks Rouxbe!

of a recipe with only a few, high quality ingredients yeilding outstanding results... Cheers!

Question from Dan and answered by Dawn, and I'm still confused. Are we to use four 28 oz cans of tomatoes which would equal 112 oz total for the basic tomato sauce? Sorry for the dumbness but as a never have cooked before newbie, and as this my first try, I would like to get it right. Thanks a heap. Gordie F

The text recipe says "four 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes", so that means you should be using 4 cans (each 28 ounces) which equals 112 ounces total. Cheers!

I made some tomato sauce this weekend using San Marzano Tomatoes, Wow flavor rich. It comes in whole and chopped, also seen in paste.

If using passata instead of canned tomatos, how much for this recipe? Thanks

You can use the same amount. 112 ounces total. Cheers!

Can this recipe be cut down to one-fourth to use one 28 oz can of tomtatoes?

I suppose it could be cut down but I don't think that I would cut it down that far as it would be so little to cook when it comes to the other ingredients. Besides, if you are going to go to all that effort why not make a bit more - any leftovers can also be frozen. That being said, you can try it if you like just be sure to use an appropriate size pot for the amount you are making. Cheers!

Hi Guys, Our local 4-H club has a Foods project of which I'm the leader. We have 10 kids who love to learn about food, cooking, baking and everything edible so has part of the curriculum I decided to teach them about pasta and how to make a simple tomato sauce using your recipe. However, I was a little dubious to the benefit of using the San Marzano tomato vs.other paste tomatoes (roma) so we had a taste test. I made half the recipe using San Marzano and the other half using an organic roma tomato; the winner, hands down was the sauce with the San Marzanos. Students, parents and leader are all sold. Thanks for your great program; it's amazing.

Hello, I am new to Rouxbe and will be making the tomato sauce tomorrow (looking forward to it!) I did find the San Marzano tomatoes, much to my delight. However, my grocer carries both the whole and the puree. According to the can, the puree is simply crushed whole less the seeds. So it seemed apparent to me that I could buy the puree and sidestep the entire food mill/seeding process. Would you concur? Thank you, I'm really loving this online cooking school!!! I've learned so much in such a short time. Happy Cooking, Lisa

While it would seem logical that you could simply just buy crushed or pureed tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes and get the same results, this is usually not the case. Different brands of crushed or pureed tomatoes vary considerably in consistently and taste - some are thick and/or chunky while others can be watery and thin. If you find a brand that has good flavor and texture then by all means you could try using it. I seem to recall that the organic Glen Muir was pretty good. Here is a link for more information on buying canned tomatoes. To know for sure if there is a difference I would recommend that you do a comparison using different tomatoes. Hope this helps. Cheers!

Thanks for your reply, Dawn. I don't think I made it very clear that I found both the whole and puree in the San Marzano brand, so that is why I was thinking I could save the extra step and purchase the puree since this is a trusted and high quality canned tomato product. Since the puree is San Marzano, I went ahead and took a chance and purchased them. Here's hoping I get a good result! Lisa

I have a lot of trouble finding canned San Marzano tomatoes that do not contain citric acid so I use Pomi tomatoes. The ingredient list simply read "tomatoes". I find they have a great flavor without that sharp edge that canned tomatoes often have. Margaret

Hi, I have made this recipe and others like it (like shredding carrots to sweeten). I have noticed that while the sauce right after preparation tastes good it is also a kind of bland compared to my favorite restaurants. However, the same sauce after being frozen for some time will taste magnitudes more sweet and all around better (this happened with this recipe and some manicotti I used it on, comparing some we had immediately and a dish we stored for about a month in the freezer). Am I crazy here?! What might explain this and, if so, is there any way make my sauce better right after preparation.

A tomato sauce will taste more balanced and full-bodied the next day, so that is a good observation. The same goes with soups, stews, or just about anything cooked with a few ingredients in a somewhat wet preparation.

I thought I had been making the perfect tomato sauce for years until I made this one. Always wondered why my sauce looked so pale and now I know it was the seeds which i lidquidized along with the tomatoes doh..... Got to get a food mill though as cruching up tomatos by hand is a bit messy plus I don't think I got all the juice. I had to simmer for an hour to get the right consistancy but am thinking this might be because I could only squeeze the tomatos by hand which may not have gotten all the fibre from the tomatos?

Good work Glenn, you are learning that most things are not exact in cooking. There is almost always room to improvise. as ingredients are not always the same, temperature may vary etc etc etc. For that same reason the time it takes to cook this sauce to achieve the right consistency will vary. There are times when I have simmered it for well over an hour. The more you cook and practice the more you will understand that cooking is less about times and more about what is happening in the pot. Hope this helps. Cheers!

I managed to find some San mazarno toms recently (ex citric acid) so decided to try 2 batches of sauce- one with good quality italian tin toms that were less than half the price of SM toms. I must say the SM batch was definitely nicer. However, with my unsophisticated pallet The cheaper version was almost as good so will prob not use SM again- unless Gordon Ramsey pops over at some point!!!

Yes, if you can find cheaper tomatoes and can't tell a big difference, by all means, use what you like. It is hard to find true San Marzano tomatoes in many parts of the world. It's just good to be armed with the knowledge. Cheers!

Also, the other day I picked up some tinned Pomodorino D'oro tomatoes (Sweet Yellow). Not sure what they will be like but was curious to how they'd taste. Have you ever used them?

How many times do you put the tomatoes through the food mill? It seems like there is a lot of pulp left. Also wanted to know if you can use fresh home grown tomatoes. Gordon

The tomatoes are usually put through the food mill only once or twice. And as for whether or not you can use fresh tomatoes, the answer is yes you can. See earlier in this thread for a few other discussions and more information on this. Cheers!

I bough a food mill with 3 blades: coarse, medium, and fine. I used the finest one, but many seeds still came thru!! I can't buy another mill right now, but worried my sauce will be bitter because of the seeds. Plus it doesn't look so pretty in such a thin sauce...

Don't worry if a few seeds have fallen through; however, if you aren't happy with the food mill, consider returning it for a different one. Depending on the type of tomatoes used, the texture can vary. Just go ahead and still make the sauce. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Cheers!

Definitely return it. I've got one of those cheap ones that if you grind too long you get black shavings in the sauce. But I've never had a problem with seeds. To me it's unacceptable to sell a product that doesn't do what it should. I'd definitely get my money back if you are using the disk with the smallest holes and still have seeds coming through. Best wishes

Thanks Kimberly! I went ahead and made the sauce anyway and you're right, it was still great! I did however forget to add the tomato paste to the mir poix (sp?)! I was so mad! Trying to save the situation, I took some onions and garlic I had chopped (as I was making the meatballs at the same time) and sauteed them in a pan, then added the paste and let it cook until it got a shade darker then added it to the pot and stirred until well combined. I'm sure I will never forget that step again!! LOL! Since then, I've made the pizzas with the sauce....delish! And tonight I'm using the leftover sausage and cornmeal from pizza to make the sausage ragu with soft polenta! I never would have known that cornmeal can easily turn rancid and needs to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge! I wanted to keep it in the pantry as I would flour and sugar! Tomorrow will most likely be Chicken Parmagiana! ;-) Thanks a million to Rouxbe for this wonderful online cooking school! I've been cooking ok for awhile, but I'm learning so much everyday! I am looking forward to an expanded curriculum that will hopefully included advanced cooking techniques as well as baking and pastry!

I just made this sauce and it is so tangy or maybe bitter is the word. Is there any way to save it?

I made the basic tomato sauce recipe about a month ago and froze it for later use. The taste of even the basic sauce was fantastic despite only being able to get the San Marzano's with citric acid and salt. I will keep searching for the kind mentioned in the video and I'm sure the results will be even better. I used the sauce for the first time with the Rouxbe Spaghetti and Meatballs alla Nonna recipe this past weekend and it was phenomenal. I've always thought spaghetti and meatballs was kind of a boring dish, but this had great depth of flavor. The only thing I added to the sauce besides the meatballs was 1/4 cup of EVOO infused with basil, garlic, and red chile flakes (from a Scott Conant article) and some chiffonade of basil. Family gave rave reviews and my 13 year old even ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning (much to my frustration!). Best tomato sauce ever.

I made this a couple months ago with San Marzano's that had citric acid and salt and the result was very good. I'm planning on a double batch for freezing here shortly and I've continued to look for San Marzano's that did not have the citric acid. I was only able to find jarred ones at the local italian gourmet shop at $13 a jar -- just a bit out of my price range as a base for sauce. The same shop did have imported canned Roma's that did not have the citric acid though. So here is the question: Which is likely to produce better results -- the San Marzano's with citric acid, or the Roma's without? Thanks in advance for your help.

I can't say for sure Franklin as I would have to taste them to truly know. To be honest, I have made some pretty darn good tomato sauce (using this recipe) with $2 cans of tomatoes (I often buy the brand San Remo). To know for sure which can of tomatoes would be better, you would have to do a taste test (all of us here have done this test for ourselves). There are some that can tell the difference and then there are those that cannot. Cheers!

I have tried every store in my area looking for imported San Marzanos w/o citric acid (DOP label) with no luck. I purchased some domestically produced San Marzanos from Whole Foods & and the Pomi brand crushed tomatoes (with no sugar or salt). The Pomi brand, though it tastes naturally sweet, required a sieve to remove the seeds. I also thought the tomatoes were a bit too dark in color. I prefer a bright color & more rustic texture to my sauce, so using the Pomi brand ( which I think tastes better) than the domestically produced San Marzano's, requires some hefty compromises. I decided to go 1/2 & 1/2 with the sauce. With a little addition of sugar, it turned out nicely. Any mail order suggestions for the real McCoy?

We have a TON of whole canned tomatoes from last year's harvest. They are great san marzanos and plums. instead of buying tomato paste, i'd prefer to make it......is this possible? any suggestions on how? and i haven't yet tried this yet but it seems simple - in the past i've always dressed up my sauce with lots of spices and my husband will say 'close but not quite perfect'. i'm excited to try the simple approach to see if we can achieve perfection.

We have not made our own tomato paste; however, here is another thread (including a recipe link) on this same subject that you may find helpful. Cheers!

Hey Guys, You're always so helpful and I know you're busy so no pressure. You always reference typical oz can sizes with ingredients like canned tomatoes. In the UK typical can sizes are in weights of 400g. I guess I'm not sure if the .oz on the cans you mention are volume or weight and how your typical can sizes compare to us. Thanks

The size of cans we are referring to, in this particular recipe, are 28 fl oz cans (fluid ounces) or 796 ml. I have updated the recipe to reflect this. Smaller cans are also available here in North America. In that case, you would just need more of them. Hope that helps. Cheers!

After 18 months of unsuccessfully looking for San Marzano's (without citric acid, salt, etc.) with no luck, I stumbled upon Italbrand DOP San Marzano canned tomatoes in a small local produce market. Ingredients list was just San Marzano tomatoes, tomato puree, basil leaf. And while I had been pretty happy with the tomato sauce I'd made with other canned tomatoes, this (double sized) batch was substantially better. I would just encourage people to keep looking as you never know where you will find someone who stocks these. My local gourmet markets didn't; Whole Foods didn't; even the local "italian" food boutique didn't (though they did have jarred San Marzano's at $12.99/jar!). I had basically given up when I found these, but the difference is noticeable. Well worth the wait!

I don't have a good local source of tinned San Marzano tomatoes here in the UK, but have managed to lay my hands on some of the fresh article (imported obviously). I've also ordered my first ever food mill and am waiting for it to arrive.... Here's my question - if I'm using the food mill, is it really necessary to blanch and skin the tomatoes (see Tony's comments above) ? Will the mill not do a good enough job of removing undesirable elements (ie skin) ? This may well be an incredibly stupid question, its just that I've never used a food mill before, and I don't want to waste the expensive San Marzanos!

Personally I dont blanch and skin my tomatoes, indeed use chopped tinned tomatoes the same way. Depending on quantity, I microwave them for a short while until soft, put them in a food processor and blitz them for a few seconds then sieve them. If the tomatoes are a little under ripe I might add a little sugar before microwaving.

Kit B - If you're using canned tomatoes, the skin will likely be removed. But yes, the food mill will 'mill out' the skins, but it will be a bit tougher and take longer to pass through the mill. Peter c - good idea. Sugar is not necessary if you use the right tomatoes (ripe), but if you can't find ripe, then sweetening is sometimes needed. I would however make sure to remove the seeds (through mill) if possible, as the seeds can add a undesirable bitterness (requiring more sugar). Cheers, Joe.

I tried this recipe using fresh tomatoes but even after a couple of hours was still really liquid like watery What can I change? Thanks Martine

If the type of tomatoes you used contain a lot of liquid and not much pulp, it will be difficult to get the sauce to a thick consistency. Next time, if using fresh tomatoes, you may want to peel, seed and remove the liquid and only use the pulp to make the sauce. But it might be best to experiment with a different type of tomato. Reducing the sauce by simmering it will help to thicken it, but by cooking the sauce for several hours, this will likely diminish the tomato flavor. You can try adding a bit of tomato paste, but again, this will diminish the "fresh" flavor. If all else fails, you could always use this batch as a braising liquid or turn it into a soup or ragu. This practice recipe is part of the lesson on How to Make Tomato Sauce. Under the discussion tab, there are other comments on using fresh vs. canned tomatoes. Hope this helps! Cheers!

What kind/type of fresh tomato will be the best? Thanks Martine

It is best if it is garden fresh vine ripe. San Marzano are typically the ideal, but even beefsteak tomatoes make a good sauce. I only make tomato sauce from "fresh" tomatoes when they are in season where I live, which is for about less than one month of the year. I wouldn't use expensive heritage tomatoes for a sauce, but generally speaking the long plum tomatoes work well. But...but the key is that they were picked ripe from the vine, which is what you get from quality canned tomatoes throughout the year. If the fresh tomato tastes sweet and delicious, you can make sauce with it. If it's bland...

Can this recipe be safely canned using a boiling water canner method, or would a pressure canner be required? Thank-you. Matt

Boiling water method works, but make sure to sterilize jars and lids first.

I don't mean to hijack the sauce thread but I was curious about where opinions lay for the following. Being not an expert in canning or making sauce as I am. We have an abundance of tomatoes mostly roma. At first I was going to make this sauce then can it rather than freezing it. Now I am thinking of just canning the whole tomatoes and making sauce when I require it. Most caning recipes I come across have me adding lemon juice or citric acid to preserve (ie. Botulism). But it can depend on the acidity of the tomatoes used. Is a roma tomato acidic enough that one does not require the addition of an acid? In the case of canning the tomato sauce I am also confronted with the addition of an acid as well and then adding sugars after the fact to balance out any of the flavour. Can one safely omit the addition of lemon juice/citric acid when canning the whole tomatoes or the sauce? Sorry for all the questions. I hope I didnt go overboard.

Roma are the tomatoes of choice for cannning because they do have the sufficient amount of acidity to prevent contamination. Bottom line: it's your option/decision. I've added a link which you may find helpful. http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/livetoeat/volume12/LiveToEat-Volume12-CanningTomatoes.html Good luck!

Thanks for the link Myles. Now I just need to convince the others to can them whole.

Plum shaped tomatoes, whether Romas or San Marzano, are great for canning. The key is to can RIPE tomatoes. Taste them. If they are sweet-tasting, no acid will be necessary (none in my family ever added acid to their canned tomatoes, and we're talking about a hell of a lot of tomatoes, and a hell of a lot of Italian aunts). However, less than ripe tomatoes will benefit from a touch of acid (balsamic vinegar also works well as it offers a touch of sweetness).

Sauce was made. Two batches. 12x500mL jars and canned. About 16 lbs of fresh tomatoes were used. It tastes fantastic. My Mom said she probably wont be able to buy jars of it from the grocery store anymore.

Hi I am from India and the place i live in doesn't have good brands of canned tomatoes or even the tomato paste. Can I use fresh tomatoes instead of the canned ones? And what do I use for the paste then? Thanks in advance.

Hi Nisha, If i remember correctly, all my mom and I used was fresh tomatoes (about 16 pounds worth) we didnt use any tomato paste either. Just fresh ripe tomatoes. We used a food mill to ensure that the tomato seeds were separated and didnt make it into the sauce. we peeled the tomatoes but quickly dunking them in boiling water then into really cold water. Good luck with your sauce!

Wow! Love the sauce... I actually thought I had tomato paste and lo and behold I was all out! But I followed it to a T otherwise and the sauce is amazing. Cannot wait to try it with a sundried tomato paste and take it to a entire new level!! Thanks Rouxbe!

Thanks Geoff R, gonna try it tomorrow finally.

I'm a little confused. The proportion is four 800ml tomato cans to 160ml of tomato paste, is that right? It would be a total of 3200ml tomato purée to 160ml of paste. I just did it wrong, I guess. I used only one 800ml to 160ml and the tomato paste flavor is incredibly strong. I'll try again soon

I think you may have just read the recipe wrong. The amount of tomato paste is 1 - 5.5 oz (162 ml) can tomato paste. I think you may have mistaken the amounts needed with the tomato sauce, which is 4 - 28 oz (796 ml) cans whole tomatoes — but again, that's for the tomatoes, and not for the tomato paste. Hope that helps. Cheers!

We buy our San Marzano tomatoes in whole tomato form (canned) and passato form (bottled) at Costco (Ottawa).

The recipe says for cooking the sauce for about 45 minutes. If one is making only a small portion of the recipe, 1/4 of it for example, will the cooking time be the same? I made this sauce last weekend using only one 28 oz tomato can and a small pan. I noticed the sauce was thick enough after about only 20 minutes, then I stopped the cooking process. Is the purpose of cooking the sauce only for reducing it or there is other reason to do so?

Hi Diogo- Simmering reduces the amount of sauce (and thickens it) as well as adding a depth of flavor. Overall time is less important than the outcome or result that you get. ~Ken

I want to know, is a marinara sauce a tomato sauce; or are they the same?

Hi Ronald, and thank you for your question. These two terms are often used interchangeably. In my experience, however, Marinara sauce reflects an easy to make and "quick-sauce" which is seasoned (typically) with garlic, crushed red pepper, and basil. Many like to use whole or plum tomatoes for this sauce, which are coarsely crushed by hand or using a food mill. From a texture perspective, Marinara sauce can be served chunky; the texture of the finished sauce is fairly loose - reflective of the fresh tomatoes. Tomato sauce (classically refereed to as, Sauce Tomate) on the other hand, is a more complex sauce, starting with pureed tomatoes which feature a traditional Mirepoix (mixture of onion, carrot & celery), along with bay leaf, and left to simmer & reduce until thick. The taste of this sauce is sweeter (ie carrots) and more complex. Sauce Tomate is one of the original, Five Mother Sauces of French Cuisine. Derivatives of this sauce include Spanish Sauce, Creole Sauce, Portuguese Sauce and Provençal Sauce. I hope this helps. Thanks for cooking with Rouxbe! Chef Kirk

I’m new to Rouxbe, I’m LOVING the lessons!! This school and the well made videos, etc are a dream come true. I’m learning so much! This is the first recipe I’ve made and it turned out great! I happen to love basil so I added more like 20 leaves instead of 8. Very tasty!

I have two questions. I read through most of the posts above and I didn't see the answer, but I may have missed it. 1. I prefer not to purchase a food mill, or what other uses are there for one? I need to be convinced to add another gadget to my kitchen and the expense. 2. This recipe uses a lot of oil. I try to eat oil free, but I am sure the recipe will not turn out nearly the same. Can I use less oil?

Hi Wendy! I totally understand. I have a kitchen full of gadgets and try to keep things simple when I can. I grew up in my Italian grandmother's kitchen and she used her hand to seed and crush the whole tomatoes. That is what I have done since and I think it works pretty well. As you pull a whole, peeled tomato out of the can you can just squeeze it in your hand and sort any seeds or cores. I do not mind that some slip through. If this is not sufficient for you, then you can look into a food mill. In terms of oil, if you are willing to have some oil in your diet, a bit of high quality olive oil increases the texture and taste of this sauce significantly. You can certainly reduce it by half with good results. Lauren

Fantastic - out of this world... process IS everything because we had to compromise on both the tomatoes and the paste yet still, it was one of the best sauces I’ve tasted... I had to add just a little bit of brown sugar to take off a little tartness but still maintain the brightness of the flavour and oh what complex layers of flavour that roll around in your mouth - comparable to appreciating chocolate... have used it on the sides of omelets and chicken parm and tonight it’s sausage ragu w/polenta... thank you rouxbe!

My Good Grips food mill is my (current) favorite kitchen tool after making this sauce. My days of bitter, dry herb laden, tomato sauce are over as this made making a quality sauce so simple. I did, after searching 5 stores in my smaller city, find cans of San Marzano tomatoes, which were the 2nd key. It was like taking my tomato sauce from a crappy Pinot Noir to a rounded Merlot.

Tried this sauce as I needed tomato sauce for the Cornbread Brunch recipe. I have never made my own tomato sauce before. It turned out fantastic. I put the San Marzano tomatoes through a food mill (on finest setting) and did not add the extra liquid (for a ticker sauce). I too, like some others needed to add about 1 TBSP of sugar to help balance everything out. I finished with the olive oil, basil and salt/pepper. Fantastic! So happy this freezes well too, hopefully, I won't have to buy canned tomato sauce anymore!

Can you tell me how much oil is used in ml

Hello Riaz: The answer is: 60 cc/ml. A cup equals 240 cc, and this recipe is for 1/4 cup. Hope this helps. And, I hope you loved the tomato sauce recipe. Thanks so much for writing. -Char

Thank you so much.can you give me some guidelines on the water to pasta ratio and also the sauce to pasta ratio.thank u if you could answer this.

Hi Riaz: Thanks for writing. You will need to rely on the instructions on the pasta package for preparing the pasta. It depends upon the amount of pasta you are preparing. For a pound of pasta, you generally need between 5-6 quarts of water to prepare the pasta. As for the sauce, it may be a matter of personal preference, however, 1/2 cup of pasta per serving (one cooked cup). Hope this helps. Enjoy making the sauce. Cheers, Char

First off, this place is AMAZING. It has taught me so much that it’s hard to eat out anymore! My question is about canning this recipe. Should I use a pressure canner or a water bath? And also, every canning site I go to says I have to add citric acid when I can or it will give me botulism. What confuses me is the D.O.P. Doesn’t use any acid. If prepared and immediately canned, will this recipe work or do I still need acid? I will be using homegrown San Marzano’s from my wife’s garden. I will also make this again from canned tomatoes if we run out in the winter and home can it as well.

Hi Brandon, I am so happy to hear you are learning and growing! Pressure canner or water bath is mostly a matter of personal choice, or of time, as the pressure canner will get the job done more quickly. As far as acid is concerned, it depends, first on type and ripeness of tomato (as acidity will vary), but secondly on how they are handled... When cooking (as in this sauce) some of the volatile acidity will dissipate into the air, lowering the natural acid level in the sauce. When it comes to canning, the best advice I have is, better safe than sorry, and a bit of citric acid (or lemon juice) won't do much to change the overall flavor. I hope that helps. Best of luck, Sandy

Why do we deseed the tomatos?

Hi Riaz, The seeds of the tomatoes tend to add a bitterness and an unpleasant texture to the finished sauce. That being said, some like the seeds. Removing them just creates a sauce that is a bit more refined. Cheers, Sandy

Hi, I have made this sauce three times before. Each batch was terrific until I made it last night. It tasted metallic. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Hi Dan, Taking a shot in the dark, since I don't know the details that may have varied between your other tries and this..., Did you, maybe, use a different brand of canned tomatoes or tomato paste? Often I find that can be an issue. Hope this helps. Cheers, Sandy

I found some canned marzano tomatoes which had citric acid added then I found some organic canned tomatoes that had nothing added so I thought the organic ones would be better? Is there a way to get to this site without going back to the particular site that has the link? For all the recipes with comments and questions. I find this very helpful

I have made this sauce many times now and it is wonderful!

How much salt is suggest to use please .thank u.

Hi Dal, the recipe calls for a "pinch," which is akin to adding salt "to taste." Add a little bit of salt and taste the sauce. Then, make further adjustments, as desired.

how often should i stir this sauce as i left it for 10 mins to cook at start and it scorched at the bottom?would it be safer to use the in direct heat of the oven once up to a simmer?

Hi Jack—you might want to make sure you have the flame/heat set at the right level, and are using a heavy-bottomed pan. Stirring occasionally means to “stir about every minute.” That is a method used to prevent scorching. You could braise in the oven at about 150°C, also stirring. It all boils down to (no pun) keeping a watchful eye on your recipe. Take care. Char

what is the total weight of the strained de pulped tomatoes in total please?thank you Char

Hi Jack--based on the volume of the canned items--you might yield about two quarts (2000 cc) of strained tomatoes. The total number of ounces in the recipe equals 104 ounces, which equals about 13 cups--but remember, a good deal of that will evaporate. Hope this helps. Let me know your final total. Thanks, Char

What could I add to add a hint of bitterness to balance the flavours and if so what should I use and how much?thank you

Hi Riaz, For adding bitterness in tomato sauce, use sparingly fish sauce (tiny splash), Worcestershire sauce, coffee, citrus zest, turmeric, beer. All in small amounts to taste. Onions and carrots can give the tomato sauce sweetness, but be careful when adding bitter elements because you can't go backwards after you added too much. Cheers, Chef Randall

I made this using tomatoes from the garden… delicious! Thanks!

What consistency should I be looking for in the finished sauce?

HI Jodi- Simmering the sauce for 45 minutes will reduce the sauce to a medium consistency, but if you pass the tomatoes passed through a food mill you will create a more thick sauce. The difference is in the amount of liquid. Both are appropriate, just be sure your sauce has consistent texture; be sure to mash the tomatoes while cooking if not using a food mill.

when i make this satisfying tomato sauce for pasta there never seems to be enough salt in it then it then i end up oversalt salting the whole dish when im makind the penne arrabiata from this site(i use 75 g dry penne then cooked,120ml/g this tomato sauce and 30 ml reserved pasta water)where am i going wrong as surely i shouldt have to sprinkle on so much additional salt for the final dish to be properly seasoned?

Hi Riaz, when salting, do so in stages and allow the salt to dissolve and penetrate the food. Otherwise, practice is required. Salting is simple, but not necessarily easy. ~Eric

eric there is no such thing as tomato paste in the uk we either have tomato puree,tinnned tomatoes or out of season unproccesed whole tomatoes on the vine.how can i use best the produce i have and make the best of it for this recipe?

Hi Riaz: I would do two things--look for "tomato concentrate." And, the famous Italian brand called "Mutti," is now available in the UK and their website states that they do sell tomato paste (concentrate). You could also ask a shop keeper--they know all of the answers. The paste is used to act as a thickening agent for the sauce. Hope this helps. Char

alergic to tomatos any ideas to make this cause i need it

My pee has been coming out in a similar color and consistency to this any docs in the chat?

i have tried to eat this for days now but i keep throwing it up, can anyone help me keep it down?