I thought jarred pasta sauce was fine until I tried the one from the little Italian market

For years I just grabbed the cheapest red sauce at the grocery store, thinking it all tasted about the same. Last week I was near that family-run place on Maple Street and picked up a jar of their house brand for about five bucks. I heated it with some ground turkey and poured it over noodles, and wow, the flavor was so much deeper and less sweet. What's your go-to quick sauce when you don't have time to make one from scratch?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jessica1mo ago

Oh hey, I actually read something about this recently in one of those food science newsletters I follow. They tested a bunch of jarred sauces and the cheap ones mostly rely on sugar and citric acid to fake that cooked-all-day tomato flavor, while the smaller brands use better tomatoes and actual herbs. The Maple Street place probably roasts their garlic and onions before adding them, that's a huge difference. I still keep a jar of Rao's in my pantry for emergency pasta nights, it's like six bucks but worth it over the grocery store brands.

mary7683mo ago

It's the same with coffee and bread tbh

willow2443mo ago

I switched to a French press and it cut my coffee costs in half. Started baking my own sourdough too, just flour and water basically. Tastes way better than store bought now.