Ragu Products PULLED From Canada

One less crappy food brad available in Canada.

R1 what will you use for spaghetti sauce now?

Ragu is really thick, it has a weird feel in the mouth. It is largely tasteless except for overly sweet and salty with a hint of vinegar. It tastes like 1974.

Good!

You faccia di culo!

I've never used it.

SO why did Ragu pull itself out of Canada?

According to the responding tweets, its because of SOCIALISM!!

Ragu is basically red sugar.

donald trump loves ragu. On the apprentice they brought the group over for a tour of trump tower and showed a picture of his kitchen and the pantry was completely packed with ragu and lipton's cup o soup

Only the best for donald and melanie

So what jar sauce do any of you recommend?

Rao's is the best.

Normally, I'd just shrug over something like this, but the company is declining to answer why they're withdrawing from the Canadian market. Now, I'm interested.

Just a little. ;)

Love Raos but very very rich-tasting

Perhaps Canada has better "taste" than we do.

Rao's is incredible, but expensive. I bought a whole bunch of it at Sprouts when they were having a BOGO sale.

Make your own.

I use sun-dried tomato pesto, a little goes a long way, R9

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I suspect the reason involves Shawn Mendes’s hole.

Terrence and Phillip know why.

I understand that similar to the UK, Canada has some rather strict food additive laws. Maybe something in the sauce didn't meet their standards, and Ragu wasn't going to back down. Good for Canada. That "sauce" is shitty anyway.

[quote]Maybe something in the sauce didn't meet their standards

Lack of flavour.

Rao's Arrabbiata

It’s DevAstated, OP.

I laughed when I saw a TV ad in the UK for Ragu depicting a traditional Italian country family having a slap up lunch with Ragu ["made in Holland" flashed on the screen in small letters for a split second].

That’s it. I’m staying in America.

Canada IS in America, dumbass.

Will Chef Boyardee soon follow?!?

I use Rao's in my "homemade" lasagna. Everyone thinks I make my own sauce.

You're a whore R28.

This isn't a big deal, but if Kraft Dinner ever pulls out...

Whatever will Buca de Beppo use if Ragu pulls out of the US?

I’m surprised anybody uses Ragu it tastes like ketchup. Even the store brand spaghetti sauces are better.

I like Newman’s own best

R33 is dongful twink actor Brandon deWilde.

I bought some Lidia's Marinara Pasta Sauce. It was pretty good. Not as good as my Italian grandmother’s, but tasty nonetheless. (And to be honest, nobody’s “gravy” has ever matched the one my Nana used to make.)

Raos or Silver Palate. Both are expensive

It's easy to make your own.

But if you HAVE to . . .

Or as we used to call it:

Man if you can't make when people are eating at home more than ever in history something is really wrong.

R39 you might want to fix that before the Marys start

Weekday Sauce -Not Another Cooking Show

Simple, fast, and absolutely delicious. I used to use jarred sauces -but once I tried this I was hooked. I always make a double batch and freeze half. I run the frozen container under hot water and the sauce comes right out. I slice it like you would a jellied cranberry sauce and pop it in a skillet. It heats up in five minutes.

All your pasta sauces will be incomparably improved by adding a tin of anchovies in oil. Do not add salt or sugar.

[quote]I used to use jarred sauces…

Could you please say "bottled" sauces? "Jarred" means something else entirely.

Thank you.

Ragu is the sweetest of the jarred sauces. Most sugar, IMO. My family & I did a side-by-side taste test of jarred sauces.

They're in a jar, so jarred, adj not v.

Could you please say "bottled" sauces?

Next R43 is going to demand we call it gravy.

Rao’s is the only JARRED sauce I will eat. It is not loaded with sugar; in fact is doesn’t have any. It’s so tasty I will eat it with a spoon like some kind of salsa. It’s fucking delicious.

Giana’s marinara is pretty damn good, too, when I feel like making from scratch. Also, I make meatballs and simmer them in canned San Marzano tomatoes which I’ve mashed up in my fingers. The meat flavors the tomatoes and it makes the meatballs soft and moist. That’s a delicious sauce, too, and it’s no work. The whole thing takes half an hour from start to finish, including cleanup.

I have never bought any of the expensive sauce, but I think I’ll get some Rao’s the next time I’m at the store. I can be brought over to the dark side.

Oh DEAR r26.

R49 stoned on her meds again.

R26 I want what you’ve evidently been smoking.

Canada may be part of the North American continent, but it is NOT, repeat NOT in America.

Only one country is America, and that’s the one that Americans are born in.

If you get confused, remember that only one country in the whole goddamned world has America in its name. It’s not Canada.

America is a continent you incontinent ass at R51

Your fucking passport does not say citoyenne of America

Puttanesca sauce is the way to go, especially with anchovy paste in it.

Rao's is pricey, IMO. I like Classico.

[quote] Only one country is America, and that’s the one that Americans are born in.

Die, MAGAt

R52 Have I touched a nerve? Ha ha ha.

What a fucking dumbass prisspot you are.

“America” is not a continent. Where the fuck were you educated?

There are two continents in the Western Hemisphere. North America and South America.

Maybe that is confusing you, citoyenne.

To add further confusion, people say they are "canning" when they're putting stuff into glass jars.

North America includes 23 sovereign states. What makes the USA think it is "America"?

"The Americas (also collectively called America)"

People who think the USA is 'America' are MAGAts.

Make some fucking four ingredient sauce. Tomatoes, oil, garlic. Some basil or NOt even. And boil the shit. This will be better even if sloppily prepared

[quote] Make some fucking four ingredient sauce.

The what four, dear?

R58. You really are deplorable.

Of those 23 sovereign nations you cite on the North American continent, only one include some the word “America” in its name. One.

People being who they are often do not say the full name “The United States of America”. It’s a mouthful.

Over the years, it’s been colloquially and commonly referred to as America and her people Americans.

This is not news to you.

And yet, somehow you feel resentful that the rest of the world does not refer to Haitians and Canadians and Mexicans as Americans. And why should they? How is that helpful in understanding their nationalities?

They are certainly North Americans. Have at it.

Is Raos even available in Canada?

[quote] colloquially and commonly

She is colloquial and common.

[quote] “The United States of America”. It’s a mouthful.

People who are into the fact that we share this continent with many other countries abbreviate to "US". We don't abbreviate to Merica or America Mr Bush shit for brains.

R63, I bought it at Superstore (Loblaws).

What is Superstore (Loblaws)?

Why is this thread being conducted in a foreign language?

The new Mezzetta sauces in the skinny jars are quite good.

The best are:

- Calabrian Chili

- Porcini, Truffles & Cream

- Caramelized Onion & Butter

Really, R65? I was just about to say no, we don't have it here. Haven't had Ragu since I was a kid and no longer use any jarred/bottled pasta sauces but I remember Classico never being as good as you think it's going to be and Emeril's (vodka sauce esp.) being pretty decent.

As for KD, well, Kraft fucked it. They fucked Kraft Singles, too, and I'm extremely annoyed that only a few people, including myself, seem to have noticed it. The texture is messed up, they stick to the plastic now (and your fingers), it's a goddamned disgrace. For anyone who cares as much about processed cheese slices as I do, the "swiss" flavour is still the old consistency.

Don't allow processed foods into your house unless you have to. Make stuff yourself from scratch, if you are able.

Victoria sauces are good.

I mix a jar of Vodka sauce with a jar of Fra Diavolo as a base to jazz up.

Always use a fried onion, assuming you can get one without salmonella (I can't, in 'America' - you get the picture).

I agree with adding anchovies.

The anchovies will upgrade nearly any dish.

Try kalamata olives, too, guys. To me, it's like adding anchovies.

No, R74 olive-queen, no.

Canada is the wrong America. Quebec is the wrong Canada.

Sorry. I don't make the rules.

R76 stoned again on her meds in her trailer park in Bumfuk, GA

[quote] especially with anchovy paste in it.

Heathen.

I agree R78

[quote]The new Mezzetta sauces in the skinny jars are quite good

I wanted to like the Caramelized Onion & Butter version but found it a bit bland. Great idea in theory, though.

I'll have to look for the Rao's. For those looking for a cheap mass-market sauce that's edible, Prego isn't bad. I don't mind Classico, either, it's worth it's sale price of 2 bucks heh.

I mix the Onion and Butter with the Calabrian Chili, then add my own seasonings.

Canada will never ban Kraft dinner because it was invented by a Canadian who went to Chicago and made it big in the food industry.

As for the idea that they have better taste I offer a one word answer: poutine!

Classico Riserva Marinara

Does anyone have a good recipe for pasta sauce?

Cucina Antica is another brand without sugar. It uses just the basics--tomatoes, oil, garlic, etc. Salt, too, unfortunately (because it's not good for you). The best of its line is the Puttanesca, though it's elusive. My local Whole Foods (on E. 57th Street, NYC) never stocks it, though it has the tomato basil, marinara, etc.

I agree that adding anchovies peps up the taste and presents a "homemade" look. I think it helps also to add more olive oil, though not too much.

These bottled sauces were useful when I made English muffin pizzas in my youth. I haven't had one in many years now. Does anyone else ever make them?

Ragu is shit. Oregon is much better.

I meant Prego.

Girls girls!!! All this arguing and fighting over Ragú? Don't let the Russians divide us! Or Canadians!

I usually make cacio e pepe so I never need that fake-ass tomato shit.

My cacio e pepe always turns into a cheese clump, I've given up even trying.

Rao's is $8.50 a jar at my local store but I'm going to try some anyway. My weeknight sauce is super easy but if I can make it easier by eliminating cooking altogether, I might as well.

Make your own.

The real reason is, it’s crawling with COVID and the Canucks don’t want it in their country. So Ragu is all like, “wait, you don’t want our sauce? No, we don’t want YOU.”

I make my own. I start with a bottle of Heinz Ketchup. Add Kraft Miracle Whip. And then stir in some melted Velveeta Cheese. It's the hit of the trailer park and everyone raves about it.

I want to know whether the shrill "don't say America or Americans, dammit!!!" troll is from Canada or the US. I have my suspicions...

Canadians are Americans.

Canadians like their Catelli products.

I tried Rao's because of the reviews on DL and IMO it really is the best jarred sauce. Ragu is shit. I usually make Marcella Hazan's 3 ingredient sauce; it's easy and delicious but takes about 45 minutes.

Ragu is for the Poors.

R94 What - no sliced hot dogs?

[Quote] I bought some Lidia's Marinara Pasta Sauce

I just discovered Lidia’s and really like it!

Growing up, I had no idea there was something called pasta sauce. I just put ketchup on my spaghetti

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Why. Did. They. Pull. Out. ?

I'm guessing this has something to do with the tomatoes in Leamington. Heinz stopped using them a few years back and Canadians switched to French's ketchup. That and they probably don't allow the agrifeed shit that Ragu likely puts in its sauce.

The bad behavior exhibited in this thread is why we left. See how you are?

-Ragu

Donald Trump is reflexively attracted to the mediocre and the vile. Like follows like.

I have a sentimental soft spot for Ragu. As a child Ragu was the very first of the ready made tomato sauces in a jar. Mother used it frequently. But one day, I observed that she did so much to "doctor " it she may as well just make her own...and she did. All that time she was using Ragu as a crutch because she lacked self confidence. It was a moment.

Ragu is the only sauce that doesn't flare up my acid reflux.

Ragu is easy to make at home...dump 1 bottle of ketchup into a sauce pan, add1 part vegetable oil, 1 part high fructose corn syrup, a dash of red food coloring, then take a shit in it and voila.

R95 I have never, not once, met either a Canadian or an American who does that "all Mexicans and Canadians are Americans too" shit. Weirdly enough it's often been Europeans.

Don't know a single Canadian or Mexican who would call themselves American, or who wants to do so. 'Americans' live in the US. We all know that, we're all OK with it, no one thinks they're stealing a word from us.

R109, please pronounce it correctly: It's Amuricans...

Here are a list of 65 sauces ranked from best to worst.

His #1 choice is bullshit, but I agree with a lot of his other rankings. Found some new sauces I want to try.

* here is

[quote]No, [R74] olive-queen, no.

Yes, [R74] olive-queen, yes.

Ragu, ragu, brings out the Italian in YOU!

Does Canada and the US have Dolmio as an alternative?

[quote] please pronounce it correctly: It's Amuricans...

No, it's "'Muricans."

I agree with some of the earlier posters. How fucking lazy do you have to be to used canned tomato sauce rather than making your own? Plus, Ragu is overpriced as shit. Not worth the money.

Though, I have to point out in the video at R41 that the cook making the homemade sauce defeats the whole point of an authentic Italian dish made with San Marzano tomatoes by using Ronzoni spaghetti. Like, what the fuck? It's not that much more money to upgrade to a Colavita or a De Cecco pasta. Kind of ruins the video, in my opinion.

I only want whole wheat spaghetti please.

[quote] Marcella Hazan's 3 ingredient sauce

Tomato sauce with onion and butter for those searching for it.

R117 : Heathen.

It keeps me regular with a clean hole.

r116, I watched a few more NOT ANOTHER COOKING SHOW videos, including one in which he shows us how he stocks his pantry. At 22:30, we find out what kind of pastas he buys. He has the good sense to be embarrassed that the first one we see is from Barilla: "This isn't mine." He uses De Cecco, Garofalo, and an Italian brand I can't see the label on, plus San Giorgio because it's the only pastina he can find.

No Ronzoni.

He should make fresh pasta or at least buy it fresh.

He does for some things, like lasagne or tortellini, but you don't use fresh for everything. In one of his videos he explains why he doesn't use it fo cacio e pepe, per esempio.

I admit I'm not so great at making my own pasta sauce. So, I do use Classico and other bottled sauces.

However, I recently discovered Bianco brand canned tomatoes. Absolutely delicious (for canned). I've tried San Marzano (canned tomatoes) and, IMO, Bianco is better.

Guys, give Bianco a try.

I read about those, r124.

Aren’t they hard to find?

R125, I found them at Vons / Safeway. The tomatoes are grown in California. You could contact them and find out where to buy them.

Price-wise, they were comparable to Muir Glen.

R28 I love Rao’s, get it at Costco, half the price vs the grocery store. It’s the best.

[quote]Like, what the fuck? It's not that much more money to upgrade to a Colavita or a De Cecco pasta

If you're going to the trouble of making your own sauce, make your own pasta.

And shit, add a teaspoon of BBQ sauce to your mix. It gives it a kick and a tang.

And where's the meat in some of these recipes? The sauce is every bit as important as the pasta. Fry some ground beef and put it in there. Sheesh.

[quote] Sheesh.

People are still saying that?

[quote]If you're going to the trouble of making your own sauce, make your own pasta.

It's really no trouble. Half an hour, tops. Just finely dice a small white onion and a bell pepper, sweat it with a bit of olive oil and some water. Add some diced garlic, some dry spices (basil, thyme, oregano, black pepper), and a very small amount of beef broth concentrate. Once your onions are transparent, add a can of ordinary tomato sauce (I use Walmart's brand, 'Great Value', 28oz). To that, add a 12oz can of tomato paste, something one would need to do even if using a jar of pre-prepared sauce, to thicken it up a little. Stir in some grated Parmesan cheese (that pre-grated stuff in the plastic can by Kraft will do just fine), and let it simmer on low heat for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep a lid on it at this point, except when stirring, because it will bubble and splash. (I like to use a plastic spatula with a straight edge on the end, which allows one to pick up anything that might be trying to stick to the bottom of the pan, like the Parmesan granules.) The results are surprisingly greater than the sum of their cheap-assed components.

To this basic sauce, one can add cooked seasoned ground beef and/or sausage, or pre-prepared meatballs that you've browned in the oven. Expensive jarred sauces are simply not necessary.

Who uses canned or bottled meat sauce?

PERsonally, I don't even OWN a television.

R130 is on the right track but never use tomato sauce from a can because the acid interacts with the tin and it's just nasty. Also that "cheese" in a green can is disgusting. Buy real grated Parmesan and it will make a huge difference. Add a good half cup of decent red wine and a bit of sugar to balance the acidity. Let it simmer for a few hours, adding more wine or water as it reduces several times until it gets to the consistency you want. This will intensify all the flavors. Finally, before serving, add a tablespoon of butter. This makes the sauce velvety smooth.

“...the Canadian pasta sauce market...”

Ah yes. The forgotten cartel after cocaine and assault weapons.

We're talking about prepared sauces here. Nobody's saying that sauce from a jar is better than homemade.

So - I am running an ad blocker (uBlock Origin) on my mobile browser. I have the Instagram app installed on my phone.

I have never searched or even heard of Rao's sauce until this thread. I have never seen an ad.

I read this thread an hour ago in my browser, then launched and browsed Instagram.

In amidst the countless ads for fake universities, I get a Rao's homemade soup ad! For the first time ever.

So either Instagram is screen-scraping, or Muriel's got the Facebook ad tracker code installed that somehow my browser isn't blocking, and the Facebook code is sharing my IP address with Instagram.

It's totally bizarre. This is definitely tracking - it's too much of a coincidence - and I can only think of two ways that could happen.

R121

[Quote] No Ronzoni

It's literally shown in the video.

[Quote] If you're going to the trouble of making your own sauce, make your own pasta.

Making your own sauce and making your own pasta are two different animals. Pasta making is a long, tedious process.

R122 Boxed commercial dry pasta is not inferior to fresh. They are two different things. One is not "better" than the other.

[quote]Pasta making is a long, tedious process.

Oh please. People do it all the time and it doesn't take that long. If you want an authentic Italian meal, and not just homemade sauce covering overpriced box pasta, you do it. The instant gratification group always half asses everything.

R140, box pasta is overpriced? I usually pay about 50 cents for a box of spaghetti.

R140 Dry boxed pasta IS an authentic Italian meal.

I'd never heard of Rao's until I read about it a while back on DL. The other day I was in the pasta aisle at Ralphs (Kroger) and came across Rao's. I couldn't believe it—the price was nearly double that of all the other sauces.

I tend to avoid bottled sauce, since it's so easy to make. (Ground beef, a can or two of diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, burgundy, oregano, basil, cumin and thyme, with plenty of parmesan cheese). I'd like to try Rao's, but there's no way in hell I'm paying more than $7 for a bottle of goddamn spaghetti sauce. Is Rao's really that good?

R143, it will give you multiple orgasms.

For scientific purposes, I bought a bottle of Rao’s. IMO, not significantly better than the others. Not worth the price, IMO.

[quote][R143], it will give you multiple orgasms.

So I guess I should leave the store before trying it?

I am jarred by this bottled sauce's decision.

R136 yeah that's definitely tracking of some kind. the creepiest for me was talking about something on Skype and then suddenly getting served ads for that very thing over and over. wtf.

So easy to make your own pasta. There's no excuse for using dried.

R149 What do you mean by "excuse for using dried"? What is wrong with using dry pasta?

It's a joke, R150.

R140 Did you watch the video I posted? For a basic pasta, it takes a minimum of two hours of prep time, with a ton of kneading and rolling the dough. Yes, you can freeze leftovers to use at another time, but it is a pain in the ass to do and you have to get the consistency right or it won't turn out right. That's why most people don't make their own. It's just easier to buy the pasta pre made.

R149 That looks disgusting and horrible.

Buy fresh pasta at the supermarket.

Sheets with anything less than a 1,000 thread count chafe my delicate skin. It's my aristocratic lineage, you see.

What people gonna put on their Prince spaghetti pasta?

[quote]How fucking lazy do you have to be to used canned tomato sauce rather than making your own?

I honestly don't think most people realize that making your own is just doctoring up a can of good tomatoes. They probably think you have to start with fresh tomatoes and do the whole thing of blanching and peeling.

And for a long time you couldn't even GET good tomatoes in a can, it was probably the early or mid 2000s before we got San Marzano of any kind in the regular grocery store.

R156

That's because many Americans (and others) buy into narrative that good tomato sauce requires hours of simmering on stove. It doesn't really and only time I've seen a big pot of "gravy" sitting on stove long is because it was ready but guests hadn't arrived yet, and or otherwise dinner wasn't on the table.

It really isn't that difficult.......

I’ve tried to make my own sauce but even with a recipe of a sauce I love, I can never mimic it

It really comes down to the tomatoes. Even if you buy the exact brand stated in recipe harvests are different year to year, etc....

Depending upon quality and flavor of tomatoes you may need more or less of other things like wine, sugar, etc...

🤣🤣 R19 Owns This Thread.

canned tomatoes

Raw Goo

[quote] That's because many Americans (and others) buy into narrative that good tomato sauce requires hours of simmering on stove.

Because they treat it like a meat sauce which does require hours of cooking.

Traditional Bolognese requires hours for the meat to cook down, but you can make quick meat sauces too.

Ground beef or veal or pork. Saute' a base of garlic or onions or finely chopped onions/celery/carrots in olive oil...add the meat, let it lose it's color, splash with wine red or white...add tomatoes. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

A bit of hot pepper at the beginning. Fresh rosemary. Or sage. Or oregano. A bit of butter. Freshly ground black pepper. Diced mushrooms. Add chopped pancetta to the base. There are all kinds of small variations you can do.

It's no big deal.

[quote] Traditional Bolognese

Coincidentally called ragu in Italian--with some accents that I can't be bothered with.

You could make pasta once every two months and then just freeze the bulk until you need it.

[quote]Coincidentally called ragu in Italian--with some accents that I can't be bothered with.

Alt + 0249, lazy ass puttana r165.

ù

ù

ù

Can't you just dry the pasta?

I love that Alt key R167.

How tiresome when a person tries to write like a cookery book R164 (not an Italian).

R169 Explain to us exactly what it tiresome about post R164.

pour that slop into the ocean!

Rao's $12.00, can anyone tell me if it's really worth it?

A plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce is humble home cooking. There is nothing fancy about it. $12 spaghetti sauce is just so wrong.

The funny thing is, people will buy $12 spaghetti sauce and then get everything else wrong: the pasta is overcooked, the water was not salted enough, the sauce is glopped on top of the pasta and so on.

Right now if you can get good ripe plum tomatoes, you can make the best pasta sauce ever in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta.

[quote]How tiresome when a person tries to write like a cookery book [R164] (not an Italian).

[quote][R169] Explain to us exactly what it tiresome about post [R164].

Perhaps the use of the word "splash." I hate it when people use "splash" or "drizzle" or "puddle" when describing a cooking process. "Drizzle" used as a noun is particularly annoying.

Also lack of sentences.

For the IQ challenged idiot at R174:

The definition of the word "splash"

You're the "IQ challenged idiot," r176. I didn't say "splash" was incorrect, just that it's annoying and I hate it.

R177 Honestly thinks we give a shit about his noun and pronoun preferences.

I make my own sauce but this brand is really great.

Christ, it's the Merriam-Webster troll-queen again. Feeling the 'revolution' today, are we, hun? Blocked.

R180 Needs his safe space.

R91 you might need to add more pasta water. I usually keep more than what I think I need just in case it gets too gooey.

I tried the Rao’s today. It is very good. I’m not going so far as to say orgasmic as someone did upthread, but it was very tasty and thankfully not sweet.

The thing is do you drain, R181?

R124: What are your preferred terms then?

R174, I mean.

The Calabrian chili pepper hot sauce on their website looks interesting, r179.

Nothing from Calabria is interesting, believe me.

Charles Atlas was born in Calabria.....

Case in point R189.

Canadians just use ketchup in their "Eye-talian Food" anyway, right?

Salt, pepper, ketchup and whatever they barf into poutine is Canadian cuisine. Unless you're including blubber.

R191

You do realize there are tons of Italians in Canada. The place isn't all British and "Black Jacques Shellac" French...

There are only Canadians in Canada, or there should be.

Yes, listen to R130. It's not hard or time-consuming to make a variety of good sauces for Italian dishes. Or Italian-American dishes.

But the insistence on using any cheap canned tomato sauce is little different than using a plain prepared sauce from a bottle. There are better canned tomato sauces, if that's the way one wants to go. Try puree. Mutti, Cento and Dei Fratelli all are okay. Don't be afraid of tomato paste (Cento) if you need it. Don't use sugar. Consider pesto, or butter sauces. Skip the pasta and tomato and look up some Venetian, Lombardy or Emilia-Romagna recipes.

The laziness is bad for your tongue. In both the kitchen or the bedroom.

What’s the deal with passata?

[quote] Don't use sugar.

Amen, R194. Too many people have recommended sugar. I don’t care for the taste of the sauce with sugar added.

If tomatoes used are too tart, then you have limited options to counter aside from adding a pinch of sugar.

You can add other veggies such as carrots, but something must be done to correct otherwise sauce will be off.

Again it all comes down to the tomatoes; in a perfect world everyone would have access to wonderful naturally sweet, but that isn't always case.

[quote] What’s the deal with passata?

It's pureed tomatoes without the seeds.

[quote] Salt, pepper, ketchup and whatever they barf into poutine is Canadian cuisine. Unless you're including blubber.

Our food is more international. American food is all BBQ and "chitlins" and green bean "casserole" and other ghetto shit.

[quote] Oh please. People do it all the time and it doesn't take that long. If you want an authentic Italian meal

We don't want an authentic meal. We just want some spaghetti and some jarred sauce. Not everyone likes to make a big production out of everything

We all know your type. You have your way of doing things and heaven forbid anyone wants to do anything different. You're going to have a fit and complain. I just know you are the type who gets pissed off with anyone salting food you've prepared for them too

It's called, being a controlling asshole

Passata seems like a handy ingredient. Unfortunately, passata is not widely distributed in US stores.

I'm so pleased!!! I have Classico in the pantry.

[quote]Growing up, I had no idea there was something called pasta sauce. I just put ketchup on my spaghetti.

That reminds me of the last scene of Goodfellas where Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) talks to the camera about ordering spaghetti while in the Witness Protection Program!

Traditional homemade "Sunday gravy" is time consuming but wonderful. Does anyone know if it can be frozen? Wouldn't the olive oil sabotage the freezing process? If I could freeze it, I'd take the time and effort to make it once a month.

Some of the less expensive sauces (Ragu, Prego, Classico) can be turned into better-than-good sauces by simmering them on the stove and adding whatever ingredients you want. A bay leaf, a couple meatballs, maybe some green pepper and sliced zucchini.

The sauces also make great Italian sausage bombers. Simmer the sausages in the sauce with green pepper and onions, serve on sub or hoagy buns or thick sliced crusty Italian bread.

There's no problem with freezing it, r204. What made you think olive oil would sabotage the freezing process?

R206 Thank you. I thought oil didn't freeze. If it does, and I can freeze my Sunday gravy, I know what I'll be doing one Sunday a month!

R192 How could we forget?

I bet it is over a labeling issue.

Ragu is garbage and probably has ingredients they don't want the consumer to know about.

So it was worth pulling out of that one market instead of revealing it to all markets.

R203

Henry Hill was an Irish-Italian mutt (father Irish, mother Sicilian). Am sure he loved spaghetti and other Italian foods much as anyone else; but it is hard to make the leap it was his only preferred choice.

Indeed in film Goodfellas "Henry Hill" explains that he and the other Irishman (James Conway) couldn't be made men because of their heritage. That is they weren't 100% Italian traceable back to Italy.

The scene in "Goodfellas" where Henry Hill is paranoid (with reason) and spinning out of control made me think that an Italian tomato sauce was laborious. IIRC, Hill says that he deseeds his tomatoes. Hill's brother is at Hill's house while Hill is out on the road, taking care of business. Hill instructed his brother to stir the sauce constantly or something like that.

R189 He was really sexy with that chest hair. I wish he didn't constantly shave it off.

[quote] I bet it is over a labeling issue. Ragu is garbage and probably has ingredients they don't want the consumer to know about.

No, in fact the governor-general on the advice of the PM told Ragu that as it is owned by a Peking stock exchange giant that it is a threat to national security and had to sell its Canuck ops to the Compagnie québecoise générale des Eaux

Well that guy from Jersey decided after testing 50 brands, that he like Classico best. I have Classico, Bertolli and Rao in the pantry. I intend to quarantine during the late fall and winter. No flu for me. But I always doctor up the sauce with salt, a bit of crushed red pepper, olive oil, fresh basil and garlic. I used to put a lot of seasoning in it, but my mother said Grandma's sauce was very simple. I don't make meat sauce.

R214, is this the taste test you were talking about? (Peter Genovese.)

I like Classico as well, as I've said upthread. He rated Rao's # 7.

[quote]Rao's is the best.

Rao's is highly over rated, it mostly for snob appeal. Classico is actually number one according to most taste tests, and it's cheap. Ragu sucks however.

[quote] I intend to quarantine during the late fall and winter. No flu for me.

R214, why late fall and winter? What about now?

I like Prego (as well as Classico). Prego is sweet, too, though. Next to Ragu, it's the sweetest.

Rao’s is that good. It goes on sale for $6.99 in my supermarket (and sometimes less!) and I just buy a few jars. Be sure to read the label, because the “allergy sensitive” version looks almost identical and it’s awful.

Classico is pretty good, but it’s still too sweet for my taste.

I had Rao's last night and I didn't think it was anything special, it's not worth paying $12 Canadian.

Marcella. Please delete your nytimes.com cooties so you can read this. It's a series of cartoon drawings.

Or you could post the cartoons here.

Not rocket science.

Tomato sauce 1

Tomato sauce 2 and 3

Thank you, r221 - r225.

R204

Every Italian-American family I know freezes sauce/gravy. It is one of the time saving tricks their nonna picked up soon as people started getting fridges/freezers and plastics came along.

You can't freeze things in glass jars unless done carefully; but Rubbermaid, Tupperware or similar plastics work just fine. I have some used just for tomato sauce so am not worried about inside being stained red.....

If you are fan of series "The Sopranos", you'll recall Janice Soprano gets her hooks into Bobby Baccalieri. She has the family over for Sunday dinner even though she didn't cook any of it; Bobby's first wife left a ton of food and sauces in a big freezer down in basement. Tony even takes a dig at Janice telling his other sister (Barbara) and her husband to "dig into this medley of pasta Janice whipped up...." or words to that affect.

Janice was known as a bad cook.

Bobby's first wife (Karen) left a ziti in the kitchen freezer. I don't remember a ton of food and sauces in a big freezer down in the Baccalieri basement.

Canada, unlike the US, will not tolerate organized crime so has banned Ragu. So what? They never had a Hoover or a Mafia that Hoover allowed and they are not going to start now in the middle of a pandemic after Meghan fled Vancouver with her brood taking billions of CAD away from the economy to be burned at the stake in CA.

So, R155 posted the Prince spaghetti commercial on Saturday morning. Anthony Martignetti, the star of the advertisement, now 63, died the next morning.

Freaky. The curse of DataLounge!

Ragu used to make a big deal about how authentic their sauce from a jar was; their catch phrase was "That's Italian"!

Then they came up with "sauce from a jar...." for "my son?" or "from my mother?".

I know people rave about it, but I don't like Marcella's tomato sauce recipe. I can taste the butter and it tastes weird in tomato sauce

Yes, R233, I've also heard that the Hazan sauce is not for everybody. I like butter, but maybe it doesn't taste great in a tomato pasta sauce.

Ragu is some weak watery shit. Do people really buy and eat that? Almost every other sauce on the market is better

R235

Agreed! Don't know why people are mourning not being able to get Ragu, there are far better offerings for sauce in a jar. Classico is much better than Ragu, even if you don't doctor it up much. Ragu you have to simmer it down, add tomato paste to thicken, then add other things to make it palatable might as well start from scratch.

Or just make your own in large batches......

Don't forget the meatballs.

Forget it. Carbs make you fat!

When you want to pull out all the stops, and make an Italian man happy, its time for Braciole.

Between the three, braciole, meatballs and lasange you can't fail.....Everyone will love you!

they aren’t missing much.

R239

The way Americans eat Italian food, yes carbs will make you fat; but that's because they pile plates high with pasta drenched in sauce, and heavy with meat.

Pasta is usually "primo" the first course after antipasta; then comes main dish of fish, meat, poultry, etc.... If you go to Italy likely only time you'll see pasta doled out on huge plates full are for Americans and other tourists.

Maybe some Mama Lucia meatballs are in order.

Lucky Canada.

R242 and much of the week the primo ends the meal. It is only special occasions or Sunday where we go beyond that.

In ounces in the EU we tend towards 1 to 2 ounces dry. In the US in a restaurant you are likely to get between 6 and 9 ounces dry with a lot of glop.

Portion sizes are everything, carbs are nothing.

[quote]I know people rave about it, but I don't like Marcella's tomato sauce recipe. I can taste the butter and it tastes weird in tomato sauce

I lived in Italy for years and never saw or heard of anyone making sauce that way. I think it was just her own thing.

In general, Italians are not big fans of using butter in cooking. Hazan even talks about that in her books. Italians prefer olive oil. If they do use butter they tend to use it raw., adding it to a sauce or pasta toward the end of cooking or adding it off the heat.

However, I did prepare her butter tomato sauce once for picky friends in Italy and they did enjoy it. They would have had no problem telling me otherwise if they didn't.

I still occasionally make it but with less butter and the addition of olive oil. Anyway, I think the recipe has given a lot of people an easy way to make a fresh and tasty sauce.

There are fresh, uncooked meatballs in the meat section at the grocery sometimes.

Carando is the brand, and they have quite a few varieties of meat mixtures.

Much better than frozen, although not as good as homemade.

I did know a lady who made great sauce. She said she started with Prego and added her own ingredients

R248 You're supposed to finish with: "And then she died".

R247 Another thing that you'd have to be really lazy to buy pre prepared rather than making it on your own. My personal favorite meatball combination is half ground pork, half ground beef. It tastes ok if you add a little bit of ground chicken or ground veal, but the pork and beef play off each other well. Too much beef makes it taste like a burger and too much pork is a little too strong. A little oregano, along with salt, pepper, chopped onion and garlic into the mixture helps give it some flavor. In a good tomato sauce, it's fantastico.

Spaghetti and meatballs as many Americans know it (IIRC) is largely an American invention .

Some enterprising restaurant owner (maybe Italian?) found he could make serious money serving "authentic Italian food" on the cheap.

Dried pasta doesn't cost much. Ditto for sauce depending upon how you go about things. Meatballs instead of being made from three kinds of meat, only one; beef. That meat was often cheapest cuts possible with tons of breadcrumbs and egg thrown in as extenders so each pound of beef made more (dry) meatballs. Whip it all up and you've got those huge plates/bowls of spaghetti and meatballs places served at a nice healthy profit. Quality aside people left with full a full belly thanks to those large portions so most were happy.

Other thing is bread... Of course in Italy bread is on the table usually for entire meal until dessert. But you don't eat tons of it before or during meal...

Bread is cheap in USA and it's always on the table at "Italian restaurants" for a reason. People fill up on that bread waiting for their meal, then eat more of it during. Again in the end they are full but restaurant has spent very little on entire meal, but makes a nice mark-up.

Things got only better (from restaurant's point of view) when mass manufactured dried pasta arrived (of various quality), and then canned tomato sauce.

Places like Olive Garden don't make their own sauce, but others like Rao's of course do. You are hard pressed to find many pizza places today that make their own sauce either. It all comes out of a can and again is of varying quality.

[quote]Other thing is bread... Of course in Italy bread is on the table usually for entire meal until dessert. But you don't eat tons of it before or during meal...

True, Italians don't eat bread before the meal. In fact bread usually doesn't arrive at the table until the second course.

And there is no dipping oil. That's an American thing. And no butter.

Bread might appear as a appetizer...crostini, bruschetta. But bread is not eaten with pasta. It is eaten with the second course...meat or fish.

Pretty much all Italian restaurants add a mandatory "pane e coperto" ("bread and cover") charge to your bill.

To be clear, I meant restaurants in Italy, not restaurants that serve Italian food.

[quote] True, Italians don't eat bread before the meal

Some of you are such idiots. We're not talking about authentic meals. We're talking about a jar of tomato sauce and a few of you have gone off on some crazy tirade about homemade sauce

Are you able to focus?

Thanks to whoever brought up Marcella's recipes. I bought her "Essential Italian Cooking" on Kindle after seeing it mentioned here and made her tomato sauce #1 and 2. They're pretty great!

R255 Go fuck yourself.

The subject "Ragu Products PULLED From Canada" can only go so far.

It's only natural that a thread like this goes off into other related subjects about Italian food and dining customs.

Indeed, r257. Fuck jarred sauce boy. Fuck him with a broken wooden spoon.

And here's to r256 as well. I made Marcella's tomato sauce number two today. Later on I'll make a baked pasta dish using cavatappi, mozzarella, ricotta (w/an egg yolk), and the sauce. Mmmm.