Fresh Heirloom Tomato Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the best heirloom tomatoes for making sauce? ›

Of the American heirloom varieties, 'Amish Paste' (85-days) is one of the best. First obtained from an Amish community near Medford, Wisconsin in the 1870s, the plants produce large, meaty, plum tomatoes on indeterminate vines.

Starting with good quality tomatoes and crushing them by hand offers great flavor and texture later on. The combination of butter and oil releases fat-soluble aromatics and gives the sauce a creamy texture. Slowly cooking the sauce in the oven creates rich caramelization without burning.

Anchovy paste is considered a hidden ingredient in spaghetti sauce because most people have no idea it is in there. You do not need much, but even a small amount creates a rich, salty base. You'll find countless tomato sauce recipes that call for anchovy paste online, so the secret is out.

Though you could use any tomato, Roma and other paste tomatoes — with meaty texture with little to no seeds — are said to develop the best flavor when cooked down into a delicious sauce.

Fresh tomatoes: Try to stick with plum tomatoes, like Roma, San Marzano, and cherry tomatoes. Be sure to peel the tomatoes (and remove the seeds, if you like, but it's not necessary). White sugar: The sugar will balance out the acidity and give the sauce a hint of sweetness.

Use wine.

Both red and white wine work extremely well for adding flavor to tomato sauce. Red wine gives the sauce added richness and robustness, while white wine imparts a fruity flavor. Incorporate the wine early in the cooking process, just after the vegetables have softened.

Most tomato sauce recipes are based on canned tomatoes, and canning companies carefully regulate the pH level of their products. So, the need to add sugar to tomato sauce is declining, but there may still be exceptions. It's best to make your sauce without sugar at first, then taste it and add a pinch if necessary.

Great tomato flavor is all about balancing acidity and sweetness. Too much of either can leave you with asauce that tastes one-dimensional. Many sources recommend adding a pinch of baking soda to a sauce that's overly tart, which raises the pH and makes it less acidic.

Sean Ferraro, chef and owner of Madison Avenue Pizza, said he recommends using onions and garlic to "add depth and flavor to the sauce" and a "hint of sweetness." "Dice onions and saute in olive oil until they are translucent.

Why should you add sugar to tomato sauce? ›

The reason for sprinkling a pinch of sugar into a simmering saucepan of tomatoes is simple: sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and creates an overall more balanced sauce. The exact acid levels in tomatoes can vary quite a bit depending on whether they're fresh or canned, the tomato variety, and the time of year.

Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer. In a salad or sandwich, you don't need peeled tomatoes. But, if you're making a fresh tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes, the tomatoes should be peeled, cored, and seeded.

To ensure a uniform, smooth texture. Tomato skins are tough and hard to chew, so removing them before you make sauces – especially canned sauces – is important. Avoid bitter flavor.

To save ourselves a bit of work, I recommend chopping the tomatoes in a food processor or blender before cooking them. A few pulses will make a chunky sauce, and longer processing will make a very smooth sauce.

Roma or plum tomatoes are the best tomato to use for tomato sauce because they have a greater ration of flesh to skin and seeds.

The most well-known of the pink heirloom tomatoes is the Brandywine, which competes with the lesser-known Caspian Pink as “best tasting”. The Brandywine has become the standard-bearer for the pinks, as it is a good size for slicing and typically has that blast of sweetness many people want in a tomato.

They can also be simmered into sauces, added to casseroles, or incorporated into soups, stews, and curries. Brandywine tomatoes can be used in any recipe calling for beefsteak tomatoes.

Ways to Use Heirloom Tomatoes

Try them in salads like this Heirloom Tomato Salad with Rosemary or this Heirloom Tomato Salad with Mozzarella and Basil. Or use them in place of regular tomatoes in tomato pie or burrata salad. They shine in a BLT, or can be enjoyed simply sliced with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.