pizza sauce, less is better

Dough, sauce and cheese are the foundation of a good pizza. A simple sauce made with a few quality ingredients: good tomatoes, salt and a pinch of oregano is all that is required. Less is more. For tomatoes, canned is the way to go and that is the choice for most pizzerias.

California or locally grown tomatoes are my choice as opposed to the many Italian varieties.Since I live near two Italian markets and one food service distributor, I have access to many tomato products and have tried most of them. In my opinion the California tomatoes taste the best. However, as with most things nothing is 100% and of course there are good tomato products imported from Italy and poor quality domestic brands.

Pepe’s in New Haven, one of the most famous pizzerias in the country, contracts growers in Italy to provide them with their own private label tomatoes. There are quite a few pizzerias in the North East that use a New Jersey grower/canner called “Jersey Fresh” to supply them and I believe you can purchase “Jersey Fresh” in the 28 oz. size from Amazon. The most popular brands are 7/11, Alta Cucina, 6 in 1 and Red Pack, all California grown. Red Pack is available in the 28 oz size, if you look hard enough, and the rest I think come in #10 cans (over 100 ounces) only.

Personally I like the 28 oz size which is readily available at my local grocery store. It is convenient to buy and once opened will be used quickly. Consequently, the unused contents from #10 cans of tomatoes might have to be portioned and frozen. #10 cans are usually not available at the local supermarket and often have to be purchased by the case. Of course, a busy pizzeria would contract a supplier and stock up on #10 cans.

Many tomato products contain citric acid and calcium chloride. Citric acid acts as a preservative and calcium chloride is used as a firming agent. Tomatoes with citric acid tend to be watery and more sour tasting(acidic) and many pizza makers will then add sugar to their sauce to compensate. Calcium chloride acts to keep the tomato’s texture firm which is why it is often added to pickles. Also you may have noticed a lot of tomato products have tomato juice added. These tomatoes tend to be more watery than the tomatoes with added puree.

My home pizza tomatoes for many years are Cento all purpose crushed. Why? They taste good, are readily available in all the local grocery stores and markets, are California grown and have no added ingredients. Nothing added, no citric acid, calcium chloride, salt, sugar, tomato juice, puree, basil etc. Vine ripened crushed tomatoes, period. The tomatoes are picked, ground, caned, ready to go. Their consistency needs no cooking to thicken and they have a nice red color. They do not need to be run through a food mill or a blender or strained of tomato juice. Usually I will buy a half dozen cans from a local Italian market at $2.69 per can but they are readily available at supermarkets around town. 28 oz Cento all-purpose crushed tomatoes.

Many will say that the only way to go is to use whole peeled tomatoes and crush them yourself. Maybe so, do your homework, read labels and experiment. A good quality ground tomato for my pizza sauce works best for me and is less work.

Note: there is much talk about San Marzano tomatoes as having no equal. Maybe so. However unless the can is clearly marked with the seal of DOP(the Italian certification that the tomatoes are indeed the authentic strain and from the San Marzano region of Italy) they are not. Roughly 95% of tomatoes marked San Marzano are not even from Italy. They are fakes.

There is no need to pre-cook pizza sauce, canning takes care of that and a hot oven will heat the tomatoes again. There are no extra ingredients in the pizza sauce that require cooking and the sauce can lose its punch and color with over cooking.

Tomatoes have their own natural sodium and sugar content. However, extra seasoning with salt is usually required. Most New York style pizzerias will add sugar to their pizza sauce, while most New Haven style sauce is made without added sugar. I don’t think one is better than the other, it is just what you’re used to. I prefer the no sugar way.

For seasoning with salt use whatever you’re comfortable with. I use Morton coarse kosher salt that is made from 100% pure sea salt, with no added artificial ingredients or preservatives. The coarse grain has a nice feel to it and is very forgiving, if you use too much. It is readily available and might even make your sauce taste better

Kosher salt (sea salt) products all vary in strength due to whether they are a fine grain or a coarse grain. Regular table salt is very fine and saltier. Generally speaking, 1 teaspoon of Morton coarse kosher salt is equivalent to 1⁄2 teaspoon of regular table salt. Warning, that rule is not locked in stone. All different salts have different strengths based on their size and shape. Experiment. Remember all the meats and cheeses on a pizza also contain sodium. Read the labels. For a 28 oz can of Cento crushed tomatoes use 1⁄2 to 1 tsp of Morton coarse kosher salt. Use more or less to your liking. I use 1⁄2 tsp

Oregano seems to go perfectly with pizza. Traditionally, I will add a small amount of oregano to my pizza sauce while making it. There again it is not right, wrong or better, it is just the way I learned. Also it eliminates the step of sprinkling the oregano on later when you’re in a hurry to get pies in the oven. Oregano is a strong herb so use sparingly. Balance is the key. 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of oregano per 28 oz can of tomatoes.

This is my first post and I hope I hit the mark. Thank you for reading.
better pizzamaking
Jimmy

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