Making the best marinara sauce takes amazing ingredients, disciplined cooking, and a commitment to a process that requires perfection at every step. Each batch is a 5-hour labor love! Here’s how we do it…
We source our peeled plum and pear tomatoes from the Stanislaus family in Modesto, California, where the absolute best tomatoes are grown and packed. We crush them carefully because stress is bad for tomatoes, and quickly because there’s a short window of time when freshly crushed tomatoes are at their very best.
We sauté freshly hand-chopped garlic and onion to the perfect level of caramelization to bring out just the right flavors.
We use unbleached, unrefined raw sugar; not to add sweetness, but to balance the acidity of the fresh, naturally-sweet tomatoes.
The perfect balance of seasonings is critical. Mama’s Sugo contains a blend of crushed red pepper, fresh basil leaves, salt, and black pepper.
The initial 45-minute hot boil (high heat cooking) helps to meld flavors and cook the tomatoes down to the right consistency. It’s critical to stir constantly at this stage in the process to avoid scorching.
The temperature of the batch is taken down, gradually reducing to a medium simmer. This is when the spices are added and built – all the while, still constantly stirring.
After a lot of stirring, simmering, and tasting, and once the consistency is just right, a final determination is made on whether to add a pinch more salt or sugar to achieve the perfect flavor balance. This is the part of the process that’s more of an art than a science.
Just like canning with Nonna, we sterilize our glass mason jars using high heat. Mama’s Sugo is packed at this temperature, which kills any rogue bacteria, and allows us to avoid adding any additives or preservatives. Vacuum sealing keeps the sauce shelf-stable for more than 6 months!
One batch of Mama’s Sugo takes roughly 5 hours, from crushing tomatoes to jarring! It’s a labor of love that you can taste.
