# How do you make tomato puree into sauce?



## rmripley23 (Mar 6, 2013)

bought tomato puree instead of sauce on accident. Wondering if I can make the puree into sauce...


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## GotGarlic (Mar 6, 2013)

Welcome to DC 

Sure. Just saute some chopped onions and minced garlic for a few minutes, then add your puree and some fresh or dried basil or oregano. add salt and pepper to taste and simmer for about 20 minutes. This is a quick marinara sauce.


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## Steve Kroll (Mar 6, 2013)

Depending on what you are making, canned tomato puree and tomato sauce are similar products and can often be used interchangeably. The one thing to note is that tomato sauce is thinner, so you may end up needing to add more liquid to your recipe to compensate.


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## pacanis (Mar 6, 2013)

What GG said. Just add stuff to it and let it simmer away. You may never by sauce again. If you like it sweet add sugar. If you like it garlicky, add some garlic, either fresh or powdered. And hopefully you have some oregano or Italian seasoning on hand, because that's pretty much a must.


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## Steve Kroll (Mar 6, 2013)

I might be wrong, but I didn't get the impression that the poster wanted to make marinara, but rather bought one ingredient when they actually meant to buy another. Maybe he/she can clarify.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 6, 2013)

I could be wrong,  too. I assumed the OP wanted a ready-to-use sauce, and marinara is the easiest.


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## CraigC (Mar 6, 2013)

There is also the possability the OP might be looking to make pizza sauce. In which case, the puree would work well as a raw sauce with a few dried herbs and spices added.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Mar 7, 2013)

Tomato sauce is cooked and has salt added.  That is the only difference I can see between the two.


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## buckytom (Mar 7, 2013)

like pf said, canned tomato sauce is only sligjtly different than tomato puree in that the sauce is cooked with a bit of seasoning.

but for most folks, adding herbs like oregano, parsley, and/or basil with some garlic and onion makes a tomato sauce.


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## pacanis (Mar 7, 2013)

I didn't realize they made a plain tomato sauce. The cans of sauce I have looked at were loaded with ingredients and ready to heat and use as is. There are so many varieties in the canned tomatoes aisle I may have missed it.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Mar 7, 2013)

Contadina – Products – All Tomato Sauce – Tomato Sauce

Hunt's Tomato Sauce | Hunt's


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## pacanis (Mar 7, 2013)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Contadina – Products – All Tomato Sauce – Tomato Sauce
> 
> Hunt's Tomato Sauce | Hunt's


 
Yep, that's the stuff I see.

"Hunt's Tomato Sauce Made from all-natural, vine-ripened tomatoes simmered with salt, spices, and natural flavors for seasoning, Hunt's Tomato Sauce contains no added sugar, corn syrup, or other sweeteners."

Whereas the puree is "Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Salt, Citric Acid"

But we may never know what the OP meant...


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## buckytom (Mar 7, 2013)

lol, pac. 

hunt's canned tomato sauce was exactly what i was thinking of.

it's very lightly spiced, so besides being cooked it's not far from straight puree. it's a great quick sauce for delicate things like fish where too much in the way of spices or onions, garlic, etc. over does it.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 7, 2013)

When I read the labels on canned tomato sauce, there are always "flavoings" meaning herbs and spices, and there is also green peppers.  Tomato puree is simply tomato, sometimes tomato juice, and salt.  

I like using crushed tomatoes, or tomato puree as my starting point, as it's as close to fresh tomatoes as I can get, without canning my own.  It's a blank slate, so to speak, that allows me to flavor my sauce however I desire, and for whatever purpose I'm making the sauce for.  In other words, it's more versatile than is tomato sauce.

Turning puree into sauce can be as simple as adding a little onion and garlic powder, or as complex as making a Bolognase, or a Tomato Sauce (as in the French Mother Sauce).

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Mar 7, 2013)

The difference between tomato puree and tomato sauce is puree is raw and sauce is cooked. Cook the puree, with or without adding anything to it, and it becomes sauce.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 7, 2013)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> The difference between tomato puree and tomato sauce is puree is raw and sauce is cooked. Cook the puree, with or without adding anything to it, and it becomes sauce.



Any canned food has to be cooked to be safe in the can.  Granted, the acidity means you can process your tomato puree in a water bath.  But it still has to be cooked.

According to this - Tomato Puree - Kitchen Dictionary - Food.com, or this - Tomato purée - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, or this - Tomato paste vs. tomato purée vs. tomato sauce | Cookthinkm tomato puree is briefly cooked, and is usually unseasoned, with no additional ingredients other than tomato and water.  It's thinner than is either sauce or paste as well.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## biscotto (Sep 8, 2014)

Do you want to make it into a "marinara" sauce? In that case, sauté some garlic and onion, or just garlic, add the tomato sauce, let it simmer a bit. Add some spices like oregano and salt. Check to make sure it's not too acidic. If it's too acidic add a teaspoon or so of sugar.


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