Is Tomato Sauce Just Blended Up Tomatoes?

While we may not agree on how to pronounce tomato or whether it’s a fruit or vegetable, we agree that tomatoes have essential nutritional value, are versatile, taste great, and are good for your health. From salads to curries and stews, tomatoes have 101 uses and more, but today, we want to look at tomato sauce. Be it Italian tomato sauce or marinara, it is trendy and has various uses. What is tomato sauce? Is it just about blending tomatoes, or is there more that goes into tomato sauce?

Popular Types of Tomato Sauce

Different types of tomato sauce are available on the market, from the organic homemade kind to ready-to-use. Here are a few popular types you can experiment with in your next spaghetti bolognese or keep as an Italian tomato sauce ready to use anytime.

• Marinara Sauce
• Bolognese
• Arrabbiata
• Pomodoro
• Vodka Sauce

Making Tomato Sauce (Tips & Tricks)

The basics of making tomato sauce is blending tomatoes, and the variations depend on the sauce you want to make. For a San Marzano tomato sauce, you need San Marzano tomatoes, and if you want a redder sauce, you should hand crush your tomatoes.

To make a Sugo di Pomodoro (authentic Italian tomato sauce), stick to tomatoes such as cherry tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes. These tomatoes give a deep, rich red color, so you won’t have to add paste. They also have low water content, which makes for a thick, tasty sauce.

Cook your sauce on low heat and longer, which is valid for fresh tomato sauces and those using canned tomatoes. The slow simmer lets the ingredients blend well, giving you a more complex flavor.

Many chefs swear by roasting tomatoes before using them in the sauce. The roasting process preserves the tomatoes and ensures a sweeter sauce with less acidity. It’s pretty simple to roast tomatoes. Just drizzle some olive oil and season with your choice of seasoning.

Deciding between chopped or diced tomatoes can be tricky, so here are a few things to remember. Whole peeled tomatoes make for an incredible Bolognese sauce; slow cooking thickens the sauce and releases the flavors. For a traditional Italian tomato sauce, crush the tomatoes by hand rather than using a food processor.

Why We Love Tomato Sauce

With refrigeration, homemade tomato sauce can last up to three days, so one batch of fresh tomato sauce can be used for a stew and a pizza. You can freeze tomato sauce for up to three months. Frozen sauce can stay in the freezer for up to three months. You can season your tomato sauce any way you like; even making an Italian tomato sauce, you can add thyme or leave out the oregano.

Lastly

As you can see, making tomato sauce is about more than just blending tomatoes; there is a method to it. You can have a thick sauce or one with different flavors and garnishes, no two sauces can be the same. Making tomato sauce is about creativity and enjoying good wholesome food.