Sugar in the Sauce

If you have never taken the time to look at the ingredients in that jar of pasta sauce you buy every week in the grocery store, you may be surprised to find out that it contains a great deal of sugar. And that’s the reason you like it.

Serving a spaghetti dinner with Ragu or Prego (the Coke and Pepsi of the sauce world) is the equivalent of buying your family McDonald’s – they put sugar on everything, even the salads. I think that’s the reason people keep going back for more – they can’t control their overwhelming desire for sugar. Almost all commercial sauces contain too much sugar and sodium, and that’s not to mention the nasty chemicals.

Next time you’re at the store, why don’t you try finding a jar of sauce that doesn’t have any sugar? The tomatoes really have plenty of sugar to them without needing to add sucrose. And if you are feeling adventurous, you can make your own sauce and likely find high praise from friends and family. Here’s a quick recipe for a quart of pasta sauce:

Ingredients

• 2 oz. olive oil
• 1/3 of an onion
• ½ of a green pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 oz. fresh basil (or about 1/3 oz. dry sweet basil)
• 24 oz. crushed tomatoes
• 5 oz. tomato paste
• 2 oz. Romano cheese
• salt and pepper (3 to 1 ratio, to taste)

Method

1. Chop up the vegetables finely.
2. Sauté veggies in olive oil until the onions begin to turn translucent.
3. Add the tomatoes and paste and brine to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add the Romano cheese and cook and stir for about 10 minutes.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.

This dish will taste the best if you can find San Marzano tomatoes, grown in volcanic soil. These are the best tomatoes in the world.