# Canned tomato sauce



## justplainbill (May 20, 2012)

What's your preference for canned tomato sauce?
We've used Hunts and Redpack.
The plus for Hunt's (aside from our owning ConAgra stock) is that the can liner is non-plastic.
Redpack has a few additional ingredients ( garlic, onion and red peppers).


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## PrincessFiona60 (May 20, 2012)

I don't buy tomato sauce.  Diced tomatoes or tomato paste and I buy Contadina.


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## justplainbill (May 20, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I don't buy tomato sauce.  Diced tomatoes or tomato paste and I buy Contadina.


sehr interessant


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## PrincessFiona60 (May 20, 2012)

Sorry, I didn't notice there was a poll.

I don't buy tomato sauce, mostly because it has added salt.


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## justplainbill (May 20, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sorry, I didn't notice there was a poll.
> 
> I don't buy tomato sauce, mostly because it has added salt.


I'm with you, kiddo; but I try to compensate by not adding much or any salt to my recipes and prefer a little salt  to some other additives as a preservative.
Atsa why I have liitle love for the sun dried tomatoes I tried.


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## Greg Who Cooks (May 20, 2012)

When not using fresh tomatoes I buy store brand, any brand, least expensive brand. When using canned tomato sauce I usually add enough more other ingredients that I doubt I would notice any difference between brands.


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## justplainbill (May 20, 2012)

Greg Who Cooks said:


> When not using fresh tomatoes I buy store brand, any brand, least expensive brand. When using canned tomato sauce I usually add enough more other ingredients that I doubt I would notice any difference between brands.


If I lived in LA, I'd concur about fresh tomatoes (but sometimes time can  be at a premium) and affordable fresh cooking tomatoes, during October through June, are not practical in the N.E. US.  Store brands can be great but are not always  consistent.


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## PrincessFiona60 (May 20, 2012)

Just checked...Muir Glen diced tomatoes.


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## justplainbill (May 20, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just checked...Muir Glen diced tomatoes.


Thanks, I'll check them out.


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## justplainbill (May 20, 2012)

Slim pickens tonight- baked Goya Valencia rice with Hunt's tomato sauce, onions, sweet red peppers, hot red pepper flakes, grated Locatelli cheese, and goose fat; steamed spinach and .25litre cuvee rouge.


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## GLC (May 20, 2012)

Agreed. If you're buying caned tomato products, Muir Glen is the best available where I am. I don't go to the expense for some things, but when you'll really taste the tomato, that's the one. My store also carries Cento imported Italian, and it's good, too.


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## Andy M. (May 20, 2012)

I have found real San Marzano tomatoes are the best for me.  I was buying the Pastene brand but didn't want to pay the almost $5 a can price.  I tried Cento and found them to be very acidic.  I just picked up a couple of cans of Daniele Certified San Marzanos.  If they work out, The price is right and I'll stock up.

I tried Muir Glen a few years ago and found them to be overly acidic to my taste.


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## taxlady (May 20, 2012)

We buy an organic store brand from our local pharmacy chain. It comes in jars and doesn't have any soy oil and tastes pretty good. We don't use it that often. I use a lot of passata (comes in jars) and add stuff.


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## Steve Kroll (May 20, 2012)

I'm with PF. I don't buy canned tomato sauce, either. Just canned tomatoes. Pretty much all of the sauces I've tried taste overcooked.

As far as brands go, I buy Muir Glen most of the time. I also buy organic San Marzano tomatoes, but I can't recall the brand offhand.


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## Andy M. (May 20, 2012)

Steve Kroll said:


> I'm with PF. I don't buy canned tomato sauce, either. Just canned tomatoes. Pretty much all of the sauces I've tried taste overcooked.
> 
> As far as brands go, I buy Muir Glen most of the time. I also buy organic San Marzano tomatoes, but I can't recall the brand offhand.




All my comments related to canned tomato, not prepared sauce.  Thanks to PF and Steve for the clarification.


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## CWS4322 (May 20, 2012)

Because we have 300+ tomato plants, I don't buy any tomato products. So I guess other is the appropriate response. We can, freeze, dehydrate, make paste, sauce, and salsa. That pretty much gives us all the tomato products we need until the next season rolls around. When tomatoes are a good price during the non-production months, we will buy tomatoes, but those we usually eat in salads or on toast.


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## Barbara L (May 20, 2012)

I rarely buy tomato sauce, and when I do I usually grab the store brand. Our store's brand of tomato products is good, so unless name brands are on sale I stick to them.   I have never even heard of Redpack.


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## Katie H (May 20, 2012)

Haven't bought commercially-produced canned tomatoes and tomato sauce in years.  I prepare and can ours from the tomatoes from our garden.


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## CWS4322 (May 20, 2012)

Katie H said:


> Haven't bought commercially-produced canned tomatoes and tomato sauce in years.  I prepare and can ours from the tomatoes from our garden.


I guess you're in the other category, too. I wouldn't know what to do without all the tomato products we put up each fall!


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## FrankZ (May 21, 2012)

I use crushed tomatoes in the can instead of sauced tomatoes in a can.

I usually buy Furmano's.


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## buckytom (May 21, 2012)

as far as sauce goes, i've bought hunts  once or twice, and with some doctoring made good, quick, improved sauce with them. i particularly remember a good shrimp and scallop dish made with hunts, mostly becauce the protein and fresh herbs were perfect without much cooking.  the sauce was just right with their additions.

andy, i've also found muir glenn to be too acidic a few times, but other times good. it seems they're not consistent.

for canned tomatoes (not sauce), i prefer cento, la fede, or what i freeze from my garden.


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## Aunt Bea (May 21, 2012)

I do not buy sauce, for me it is a texture thing.

I buy whole, diced, crushed and paste.

I do not have any brand loyalty when it comes to canned tomato products.


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## lyndalou (May 21, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sorry, I didn't notice there was a poll.
> 
> I don't buy tomato sauce, mostly because it has added salt.



I have purchased Hunts No Salt Added tomato sauce.


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## Dengirl (May 21, 2012)

justplainbill said:
			
		

> What's your preference for canned tomato sauce?
> We've used Hunts and Redpack.
> The plus for Hunt's (aside from our owning ConAgra stock) is that the can liner is non-plastic.
> Redpack has a few additional ingredients ( garlic, onion and red peppers).



I have not found a sauce to this day that is as good as making it myself. And as  prices have raised quality has dropped. A lot of sauces in my opinion have thinned out and are just too runny


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## Dengirl (May 21, 2012)

Dengirl said:
			
		

> I have not found a sauce to this day that is as good as making it myself. And as  prices have raised quality has dropped. A lot of sauces in my opinion have thinned out and are just too runny



Oopps I thought this was a spaghetti sauce not tomato . Sorry


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## justplainbill (May 21, 2012)

Dengirl said:


> Oopps I thought this was a spaghetti sauce not tomato . Sorry


At's quite all right; appears some others may have thought the same thing.


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## DebLynn (May 21, 2012)

For tomato sauce I like Hunts. For spaghetti sauce I always keep a jar of traditional Ragu in the pantry for just in case. I prefer Rao's but it's too expensive.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 21, 2012)

I believe the brand is DeLallo.  I purchace the canned tomato product with the least added ingredients.  I use tomato puree instead of tomato sauce.  I also love diced tomato, and tomato paste for the same reasons.  Once in a while, I'll get stewed tomatoes.  It's a warm-fuzzy thing to do, as my mother used to make stewed tomatoes and serve them at dinner time, once in a while.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## buckytom (May 21, 2012)

your mom served warm, fuzzy tomatoes??? 

lol, j/k.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 22, 2012)

buckytom said:


> your mom served warm, fuzzy tomatoes???
> 
> lol, j/k.



Now BT, I know that as a child, you were refereed to by your siblings as the warm, fuzzy, Tasmanian Devil.  And no, she didn't serve us warm, fuzzy tomatoes.  We did, however, participate in a rotten tomato fight at one of my stepfather's cousin's house.  And the adults started it.  The harvest season was over, and there were still tomatoes in the garden, several rows of them.  I recall that it was very messy, and a whole lot of fun.  I mean, when do you ever, as a child, get to throw a tomato at an adult?  C'mon.  How great was that day?

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Addie (May 22, 2012)

I don't think I have ever bought tomato sauce. Diced, stewed, whole, are my preferences. Like the Chief, I love stewed with butter on them. I used to serve them to my kids as a side all the time. I don't like tomatoes that are packed in puree. I use the diced if I am making pasta and want something on them. I usually get the ones with oregano and garic. Then I add more garlic. You can never have too much garlic. The whole tomatoes are for the mac and cheese, Italian style. Sometimes when I just want something to snack, I will open a can of tomatoes and heat them up, a hunk of butter and I am a happy camper.


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## donsabi (May 26, 2012)

IMO, Contadina is the best canned tomato on the market.  The only thing better is what comes off the vine.


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## DaveSoMD (May 27, 2012)

Normally I but Hunt's or DelMonte to keep in the pantry.  I will occasionally buy Ragu if it is on sale and I have a decent coupon.  I also keep cans of whole, crushed, and pureed tomatoes on hand as well.  Usually Furmano's or the brand the local store carries ( I can't think of the name.)


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## danbuter (May 27, 2012)

I guess you mean spaghetti sauce? I prefer Prego Traditional (and I add lots of stuff to it like garlic, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, etc).


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## Greg Who Cooks (May 27, 2012)

I think the topic is about plain tomato sauce, but I like Prego Traditional too. I have my home made spaghetti sauce recipe that takes hours to make. My GF took me to visit her dad who cooked us spaghetti with Prego and I thought "yuck!" But it was pretty good, not nearly as good as my 2-3 hour sauce even by a half, but sometimes I just want to nuke something, and then I use Prego. I too add to it, like fresh basil, garlic, etc.


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## Addie (May 28, 2012)

danbuter said:


> I guess you mean spaghetti sauce? I prefer Prego Traditional (and I add lots of stuff to it like garlic, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, etc).


 
I like Chunky Prego's also. I add garlic to everything. I also buy the diced tomatoes. They only thing I don't like about the diced, is that I sometimes get the skin from the tomatoes. But that doesn't stop me from buying them. I like to get the seasoned ones with garlic and oregano. And I add more garlic. You can never have too much garlic. I also keep small cans of sliced mushrooms on hand to add occasionaly. But I do prefer fresh. I have never bought canned tomato sauce. If I want sauce I will cook the diced down to mush and mash them. 

I am not one to put a lot of sauce on my pasta. Just enough to coat it. I hate having a pool of sauce at the end of the meal still sitting on the plate. 

BTW, my daughter made her Sunday gravy yesterday and she is going to bring me a big plate of raviolis with sausages. I will be eating good tonight. Also some gravy for the freezer. 

I buy 'American' tomatoes in the can for Italian mac and cheese. And for Italian dishes I buy imported plum tomates in the can. I don't like the ones packed in puree.


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