Home Made pizza sauce....

BBQchef33 said:
LOL.. It depends who u ask. If you ask my stubborn old italian grandma about sugar in the sauce, she will flash you the stink eye, throw up the horns and start yelling in italian something about making her turn in her grave. :tongue::wink:

i have found(and as vinny eluded too) that different brands have different levels of acidity. There are some brands that I avoid all together(red pack for instance) becase the tromatoes are very bitter compared to others. Rienzi, Luigi Vitelli, Nina, and the D.O.P san marzanos will yield a sweeter sauce than most store brands or domestic. Also, if you break the sauce by allowing it to come to a rapid boil will also make it bitter.
Click to expand...

It's funny, I'd probably react exactly the same way as your grandmother, but my pizzas are the only time I'll use sugar in tomatoes. My Italian wife doesn't understand why I'll cook down a batch of bolognese for four hours either. :rolleyes: I can't stand the taste of sugar in pasta sauces, but it doesn't take much to tone down the tomatoes for the pizza and I can never taste it. Usually since there isn't much compared to the cheese and toppings.

Since I don't actually sauce the tomatoes, I'm not sure carrots or vidalias would work, though it's a good idea, if I ever make a non-Chicago style pie I'll give it a try, thanks!

I hear you on the variety of the tomatoes, this was the first year for the garden for my wife and I and our tomatoes... well... the heirlooms kick butt, but the romas, not so much. Super incredibly bitter when canned. Ah well.
 
There are a couple of ways to deal with acidity. Get a certian kind of tomato, like the San Marzano DOP which can be four or five dollars a can.

Or you can try a secret my Nana taught me. She was a chef and ran restraunts for many, many years.

You take a pinch of baking soda and drop it in. It reduces acidity.
 
IronStomach said:
It's funny, I'd probably react exactly the same way as your grandmother, but my pizzas are the only time I'll use sugar in tomatoes. My Italian wife doesn't understand why I'll cook down a batch of bolognese for four hours either. :rolleyes: I can't stand the taste of sugar in pasta sauces, but it doesn't take much to tone down the tomatoes for the pizza and I can never taste it. Usually since there isn't much compared to the cheese and toppings.

Since I don't actually sauce the tomatoes, I'm not sure carrots or vidalias would work, though it's a good idea, if I ever make a non-Chicago style pie I'll give it a try, thanks!

I hear you on the variety of the tomatoes, this was the first year for the garden for my wife and I and our tomatoes... well... the heirlooms kick butt, but the romas, not so much. Super incredibly bitter when canned. Ah well.
Click to expand...


opps.. your right.. My brains thinking tomato sauce in general, not pizza sauce. I can see a small amount(sugar) in pizza sauce not doing any harm. I like my pizza sauce to tastw like nothing more than fresh tomatos.

Try the shreadded carrot once.. just run a knife down the sides of a carrot to get some pulp and add it to a sauce that went bitter.
 
fyi folks.. regarding the San marzano tomatoes. These are tomatoes that are grown in the San Marzano region in Italy, which is supposed to have some perfect volcanic soil for growing tomatos... The D.O.P certification on the can guarantees that the tomaotes are grown in the San Marzano region.

There is a brand called San Marzzano, which are grown in california. They are not the same. LIARS!!! marketing ploy.. The D.O.P certified cans are much richer, sweeter and darker than other tomatos.

Also, when buying the cans.. Shake them. The ones that feel very watery will be so and the contents will be more acidic. If the contents feel thicker(puree like), they will be better, darker and sweeter.
 
Here's what we ended up with...

Thanks for everyone's input - here is what I did tonight, with what I had...
Diced up 4 cloves of garlic and threw it in some olie oil - put that in the Egg to warm it all up.
Took come diced tomatoes, added some of the garlic/oil mix, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
1st pizza got this sauce topped it with some fresh mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, and some parmesan. Into the Egg at 500 degrees for about 8 minutes.
The tomatos were a little chunky and rich. Very tasty.
Pizza1.jpg


The second pizza was a white pizza - took some of the garlic/oil mix as a base, added the same cheese mix and some extra pepper - into the Egg for 8 minutes....
pizza2.jpg


It didn't suck.... :p
 
I've found that with pizza sauce, less is more. Like MilitantSquatter, I keep my sauce for pizza very simple: I puree San Marzano tomatoes and a little tomato paste in a food processor, and add salt and pepper. After tasting, I may add a little sugar if the sweetness just isn't there. That's it.

Now my base tomato sauce for pasta is more complex, but for pizza I just want the tomato to stand out. You can also run the tomatoes through a food mill if you want to filter out the seeds and leftover skin, that is what most restaurants do. I'm too lazy and don't mind the rustic look of seeds in my sauce.
 
LMAJ - those pizzas look superbly delicious! :eusa_clap
I just ate dinner and now I'm hungry again, I should know better than to visit this site between dinner and bedtime. :sad:
 
Thanks IronStomach! I went back for another slice before bed....

I will definately check out the D.O.P San Marzano tomatos.
Love this place - I get so much info on so many topics....
 
Nice pies LMAJ. I would eat that right now for breakfast!! Beautiful crust
 
nice PIES. hmmmmm....

i've only made pizza sauce once and i cooked it with fresh tomatoes form the garden. i can get real san marzano d.o.p. whole peeled tomatoes from italy at the fancy market. thanks for this thread. i'm learning 8)
 
Awesome thread!

We had some of the best tasting pizza of all places...Sault Ste Marie Michigan while camping this summer.
The sauce was chunky and we both raved about how great it was.

All the expert advice here, we will be trying to make the perfect pizza similar to what Lynn made last nite.

Thanks again for all the expert advice here.
 
BBQchef33 said:
fyi folks.. regarding the San marzano tomatoes. These are tomatoes that are grown in the San Marzano region in Italy, which is supposed to have some perfect volcanic soil for growing tomatos... The D.O.P certification on the can guarantees that the tomaotes are grown in the San Marzano region.

There is a brand called San Marzzano, which are grown in california. They are not the same. LIARS!!! marketing ploy.. The D.O.P certified cans are much richer, sweeter and darker than other tomatos.

Also, when buying the cans.. Shake them. The ones that feel very watery will be so and the contents will be more acidic. If the contents feel thicker(puree like), they will be better, darker and sweeter.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. Here is more info on the DOP tomatoes with a pic of the seal so you know what to look for:

http://www.fornobravo.com/pizza-ingredients/san-marzano-tomatoes.html
 
Just watch out for these guys. This type is available in many supermarkets.

They are NOT San Marzano D.O.P. Its just a brand name(marketing ploy) that would catch the uninformed. Even stated in the link, they are "named after the region, but domestically grown". I use them often for a quick pasta sauce, and they are not a bad tomato, but they are NOT DOP and do not carry the seal. They are also half the price or less than a can of D.O.P.
 
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