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We Asked 3 Chefs to Name the Best Jarred Pasta Sauce, and They All Said the Same Thing
Thekitchn ^ | 09/04/2024 | Stephanie Ganz

Posted on 09/05/2024 5:45:17 PM PDT by ChicagoConservative27

1992 was a wild year. You couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing about Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart”; Wayne’s World was in theaters (though I was more of an Aladdin girlie at the time — I was 8), and restaurateur-actor Frank Pellegrino Sr. had the brilliant idea to package and sell marinara sauce from his family restaurant, Rao’s.

Fast-forward 30 years, and Rao’s Homemade Marinara is the undeniable GOAT of retail pasta sauces. As of 2022, Rao’s sales (which include the pasta sauces as well as other retail products, like frozen pizzas and shelf-stable soups) reached $580 million, and the company projects it will reach $1 billion in the coming years. Personally, as a marinara lover since childhood, I already knew Rao’s was the best (it even earned Hall of Fame status in this year’s The Kitchn Grocery Essentials), but I put the question to a few of my chef friends, and they were more than happy to back me up.

(Excerpt) Read more at thekitchn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Food; Society
KEYWORDS: best; bestpastasauce; chefs; foods; jarred; pastasauce
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To: ChicagoConservative27

That better be some really good stuff for $17+ a 24 oz jar at WallyWorld !!!


21 posted on 09/05/2024 6:11:24 PM PDT by mabarker1 ( (Congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!! A fraud, a hypocrite, a liar. I'm a member of Congress!!!)
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To: Vermont Lt
You are a fortunate person. Imo

Salute!

22 posted on 09/05/2024 6:15:22 PM PDT by Kudsman (30yr registered Conservative wants a complete Republican House & Senate. Protect the king.)
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To: Bullish

That’s how I feel about Thai food. Eeewww


23 posted on 09/05/2024 6:16:14 PM PDT by MayflowerMadam (I'm voting for the convicted felon with the pierced ear. )
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To: ChicagoConservative27

I make my own, taught to me by my Italian ex-grandmother in law; it’s good, if I do say so myself. Can’t afford RAOs, but I’ve heard it’s good


24 posted on 09/05/2024 6:18:08 PM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: Jane Long

Do you use a special keto lasagna noodle?


25 posted on 09/05/2024 6:18:48 PM PDT by MayflowerMadam (I'm voting for the convicted felon with the pierced ear. )
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To: MayflowerMadam

Everything in prepared food these days is either too sweet, or too salty.

When we first married and my husband heated up a jar of his Dad’s home-made sauce, I thought it was ‘sour’. Then I got used to it and realized how nasty the store-bought stuff was.

His father and grandfather actually supplied local restaurants with the home-made stuff for a time.

(Somebody also mentioned the canned ‘Sloppy Joe’ sauce. I liked that, when I was a kid; but now I can’t stand it - again too darn sweet.)


26 posted on 09/05/2024 6:20:54 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: ChicagoConservative27

Rao’s is now owned by Campbells which promises that the quality will remain the same. Rao’s sauce is excellent when compared to some homemade let alone other jarred. But here in southern NY a couple of others, affiliated with excellent restaurants challenge Raos.Michael’s of Brooklyn and Carbones have emerged. Both IMHO are equal in quality though neither presents the array of choices of Raos. When making a vodka sauce or a bolognese I opt for a good jarred marinara as a base unless I have a homemade marinara in the fridge.


27 posted on 09/05/2024 6:22:11 PM PDT by xkaydet65
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To: mabarker1

Joy. It’s all about the joy.


28 posted on 09/05/2024 6:24:45 PM PDT by samiam5
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To: samiam5

And pain.


29 posted on 09/05/2024 6:26:01 PM PDT by Kudsman (30yr registered Conservative wants a complete Republican House & Senate. Protect the king.)
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To: ChicagoConservative27

Rao’s is new to the market, sort of. I’m sure it’s great. Have never tried it. No need to.

We use Carfagna’s Pasta sauce or their Pomodero when we can’t find the pasta sauce. Also cook from scratch sometimes, but if I want it in a jar, none better than the Carfagna family.

To be fair, I’ve never had Rao’s and don’t intend to start now.


30 posted on 09/05/2024 6:28:10 PM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: MayflowerMadam

I use roasted/air fried cauliflower ... it’s delicious ... you do not even taste the cauliflower, but, it gives it some texture/weight, for the meat, marinara, and, cheeses.


31 posted on 09/05/2024 6:29:27 PM PDT by Jane Long (The role of the GOP: to write sharply-worded letters as America becomes a communist hell-hole.)
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To: Vermont Lt

Everyone is not blessed like that.

Enjoy your blessings! And good for you!


32 posted on 09/05/2024 6:30:08 PM PDT by OakOak (Misinformation Campaign on your TV)
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To: ChicagoConservative27

That’s what we use.


33 posted on 09/05/2024 6:32:44 PM PDT by US_MilitaryRules (#PureBlood )
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To: Jamestown1630

Warm up some quality olive oil and 4-5 tsps of minced garlic

Add 1.5 or 2 lbs spare ribs (not country or baby back, e.g., - more bones & fat the better) or necks or knuckles, saute until lightly done.

Add 3 cans crushed tomatoes, 2 can tomato sauce, 2 cans tomato paste. (I know can sizes have changed - trial and error is your friend) Fill each can about 1/2 way with water to swish out all the product into the sauce (I use a spoon or knife to scrape the sides of the cans). Waste not, want not. Too much water? you can let it simmer away into the air at the end.

3-1 mixture of basil and parsley leaves (fresh is best)

Tsp salt
Tsp garlic salt

Boil gently few minutes, then turn down and simmer with lid tilted to let condensed steam drip back in if you want).

At least an hour. Best results to refrigerate and use the next day (let the magic happen overnight)

Guarantee it will be slightly different each time you make it. For example, if too tart, add a 1/2 cup or so sugar. Any spices, salt, garlic, etc. adjust to taste. Add a sprig of mint. You get the idea.


34 posted on 09/05/2024 6:35:36 PM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America.)
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To: FamiliarFace

Rao’s is outrageously delicious, peerless for jarred sauce, but expensive. Aldi carries it for a lower price and when it goes on sale I buy a few jars of Marinara.
I am now ruined. It’s either homemade or Rao’s. You might be onto something by never trying it.


35 posted on 09/05/2024 6:35:48 PM PDT by GreatRoad ('In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act' )
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To: FamiliarFace
Hmm.

The only time I've ever seen that name, Carfagna’s, was at a place in Columbus, Ohio. Used to get great Delmonico's there.

36 posted on 09/05/2024 6:35:58 PM PDT by Pox (Eff You China. Buy American!)
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To: ChicagoConservative27

As a jar buyer, I’d love to get some real recipes from this thread. Is starting with canned tomatoes acceptable?


37 posted on 09/05/2024 6:38:32 PM PDT by mairdie (Trump (I Wil Win) - Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma https://youtu.be/MigUKGKr-nQ)
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To: Jamestown1630
Everything you can buy in the store is too sweet

I feel the same. I worked with an Italian woman who prided herself on making her own marinara and I was looking forward to trying it until she told me she started with a cup of sugar per quart. Like pouring maple syrup on your pasta.

I grow enough tomatoes during the summer I just freeze them whole and take out enough to make a couple pints at a time. I've taken to using ham bullion in my sauce to cut down on even the tomato sweetness.

38 posted on 09/05/2024 6:40:15 PM PDT by Bearshouse (Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. *Thomas Jefferson)
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To: P.O.E.

Thanks :-)


39 posted on 09/05/2024 6:42:14 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: mairdie

I don’t see why not


40 posted on 09/05/2024 6:44:06 PM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
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