Comments on: How to Make Basic Marinara Sauce

By: Maria

Maria — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:04:10 +0000

Thank you for your helpful response!
(I was going to attempt to can the sauce, but when I was at the store to buy the glass jars, etc., I saw the plastic (BPH-free!) Ball Freezer containers and thought they would be easier. They look like Tupperware, but are taller and round, like a tall cottage cheese/ricotta container, and I thought they might work well for sauce. )
Again, thank you! I look forward to reading your blog as I continue to learn to cook!

By: formerchef

formerchef — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:39:38 +0000

Maria-
You are very welcome. Yes, you should always cool whatever you want to freeze before putting it in the freezer. I’m not sure about the Ball containers, but you might let the sauce cool just a bit (so it’s not boiling hot) and then put it in the containers and put them in the refrigerator. It will cool faster in smaller containers than in a large pot.

By: Maria

Maria — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:26:33 +0000

Thank you, Former Chef, for the great “How to Peel Tomatoes” process, as well as the Marinara recipe! My Mom was a wonderful cook and used to core and peel tomatoes, and cook a wonderful marinara sauce, but I couldn’t remember how she did it! My mother in law gave us a bunch of fresh tomatoes…some not so pretty, and a few nibbled on!…and I was worried about how to use them. Your photos of the very pretty and some not-so-pretty tomatoes from your garden, and how to core and peel them…and then use them in sauce was just what I needed! Thank you so much! Instead of dreading the process, now I am looking forward to the peeling, sqishy seeding, and making the sauce! Thank you! I plan to freeze the sauce in Ball Freezer containers. Should I refrigerate the sauce to cool it before putting it in the freezer containers? Thank you for a very helpful blog!

By: Vivek

Vivek — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:29:17 +0000

In the middle of pasta making I noticed I was completely out of Marinara – I followed these simple techniques as explained in this blog and to my suprise the final product come out fantastic. I will propabably never ‘buy’ a canned marinara product again!

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:20:58 +0000

Great, thanks for all the help. I will be making this one tonight or tomorrow.

By: formerchef

formerchef — Sat, 22 May 2010 20:57:40 +0000

In reality, you could use any kind of wine, but the Burgundy is red, no? Even if it’s a white burgundy, go ahead. Just don’t use anything labeled “cooking wine.” Those are loaded with salt and are horrible.

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 22 May 2010 20:30:43 +0000

One more question – and maybe a dumb one. I’m not too familiar when it comes to cooking with alcohol – or alcohol in general. We have some Burgundy left over. Could I use that in place of the Red Wine????

By: formerchef

formerchef — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:09:56 +0000

That’s 2 Tbsp of dried herbs total. But feel free to add more if you want!

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 22 May 2010 17:39:33 +0000

When you say add 2 Tbspn of dried herbs is that 2 Tbspn of each dried herb you add or 2 Tbspn total?

By: Zach

Zach — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:03:47 +0000

I’m glad to hear that, I was reading this and wondering if it would be good as pizza sauce as well. I think I’m going to try this tomorrow afternoon and take it to my sister’s house (they make pizza practically every weekend). From the sound of it, it makes great marinara sauce. I hope it makes an equally wonderful pizza sauce.