I was somewhat surprised by how few pizza sauces are available in a regular grocery store. There are multiple brands in a variety of sizes of spaghetti/pasta sauce, but pizza sauce is limited.
I'll write Vitale's in Grand Rapids, MI and let them know that they need to put their sauce on the market. If they won't go country-wide straight away, they can do a test-market in So-Cal. My input MIGHT bias the test a little. Still, it'll go viral. Trust, it's that good.
Anyway, I comparison shopped between the three jars available and selected the one with the least amount of HFCS and ingredients overall, leaving me with the Ralph's brand.
Segue:
I've worked in the food industry and realize how it works.
More commercials means more sales even with higher-priced products;
prices, in turn, is adjusted to accomodate the cost of the commercials!
Please comparison shop,
not just by name-brands,
or commercials,
or price,
but by ingredient statements.
Just because you can sing the cute song
doesn't mean it's the best price per unit,
or more important,
quality per unit.
This is the ingredient statement of the Ralph's brand Pizza Sauce:
Tomato puree (water, tomato paste), soybean oil, salt, spices, dehydrated parsley, natural garlic flavor, citric acid.
Pretty basic, not a bunch of preservative garbage, which is nice.
Available at Ralph's in a 14-oz jar for $1.59.
5 comments:
What's the difference between pizza sauce and pasta sauce? I always thought they were pretty much the same thing. Then again, I usually just take crushed/diced tomatoes and make my own...
I'm no expert on this particular topic. After all, I'm one-half Korean and the other half French-Canadian descent/mixed breed.
It seems to me that typical pizza sauces are smoother in texture and less spiced/herbed than pasta sauces. After all, pizza tends to rely on toppings for flavor where pastas rely on sauce.
However, that said, the best pizza sauce in the US, in my humble opinion, is from Vitale's Pizza at 834 Leonard NE, Grand Rapids, MI, and that sauce is not "bland" by any means. It's a kick-you-in-the-tastebuds sort of sauce that holds it's own against the delicious and generous toppings.
My point in mentioning the lack of pizza sauces was simply that...there's a shortage of pizza sauces in the sea of ready-to-eat pasta sauce.
As for the sauce you make, you got a recipe I can try?
Unfortunately, no real recipe - I just mix canned crushed/diced tomatoes with some fresh tomatoes and simmer it while adding whatever spices I feel like throwing in (usually garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, salt, onion powder). I also throw veggies in sometimes (even if it's going to be on a pizza) - onions, mushrooms, peppers.
Oh, and Yahoo Answers says:
"Pizza sauce should be more concentrated and have more spices if it's made well. There's so little of it on a pizza, a few tablespoons compared to a cup or more of sauce on pasta!"
Thanks for the info on how you make your sauce. I'll give it a whirl one of these days.
So Yahoo Answers suggest that Vitales's pizza sauce method is the way to go -- make it jazzy!
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