Can I use this as a base for my sauce?

[JohnLondon]

The puree pictured, that is.


If so, once a sauce has been made, how long can it be stored for in A) the refridgerator or B) the freezer.

[JohnLondon]

Whatever I use, I dont want any chunks of tomato.Whenever my mum made me a pizza I would spend half the time picking bits of tomato off of it  .A smooth sauce is what I like 

[JConk007]

Do you have an immersion blender? Or other blender? thats what makes smooth out of chunks!
john

[JohnLondon]

I dont but if its going to help me make a better sauce than I will buy one.Im sure it will come in useful for something else.
What I want (preferably) is an uncooked sauce....just for ease. I like the idea of being able to make a pizza within a couple of hours.BUT if it really would be a major improvement I would make the sauce beforehand.

[JConk007]

John,
Most of the sauce recipes on the forum are uncooked, and Will last a few weeks in the refrigerator. I prefer that as well. I would think if you want no chunks at all (smooth sauce) you will need some type of blender. The immersion blender has been described as like a motor boat propeller. Just google, probably a lot less that a new blender. Its really a taste thing. I add a touch of this and a sprinkle of that until I get a flavor I like. See Sauce ingredients, and the other 1000 posts for what goes in.

When I started I focused on the dough first get that right, There are many great  pizza sauces available at retailers from $1.29 to $4.29 some fancy one I tried from www.Pennmac.com  I just found 2 local (busy)pizzerias that use only canned sauce pour it into bucket and do nothing to it.1 uses Bonta, and 1 uses the Stansioulus.  Most have many of the basic ingredients in them, again I find less is better. Don Peppino, Casa Visco, Just my opinion here stay away from the ragu and Pizza quick stuff.

Some great Ideas on the oven rack lip here eh?

[Pete-zza]

JohnLondon,

Since you are in the UK and won't have access to the majority, if not all, of the products and sources mentioned on this forum, you may want to investigate what some of the UK pizza chains use in their sauces. For example, if you look at this Domino's pdf document, http://www.dominos.uk.com/food_guide/, you will see a link to Pizza Bases and Toppings from which you will find a simple ingredients list for Domino's tomato sauce as used in the UK. Domino's stresses the use of vine-ripened tomatoes in its marketing. These tomatoes are known as "fresh pack" tomatoes and are supposed to be like those grown in California and sold by Stanislaus and Escalon in the U.S. In the UK, the fresh-pack tomatoes used by both Domino's and Papa John's come from Portugal. If you can find the fresh-pack tomatoes where you are in the UK, that would be a very positive move in my opinion.

For information on the sauces used by Pizza Hut for its pizzas sold in the UK, see http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/media/77497/ingredients_list_pizza_toppings-1108.pdf.

I don't mean to suggest that you should try to replicate the sauces mentioned above. I cite the sources just so that you can get an idea as to what some of the more common UK pizza sauces look like in terms of ingredients. You might also do a Google search of other UK pizza places and see whether you can locate nutrition and ingredients lists for their pizza sauces. Sometimes, retailers like Sainsbury's list the ingredients for pizzas at their websites. For example, if you do a search on pizza at the Sainsbury webstie (at http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/home.htm), you will find ingredients lists for several Pizza Express pizzas. Tesco and Asda may do likewise.

In my view, if you can locate fresh-pack tomatoes, which most likely would be from Portugal, and simply add the basic herbs of oregano and basil, along with garlic powder, salt and pepper and maybe a bit of sugar or honey if you like a sweeter sauce, I think you will end up with a very good pizza sauce. You can also add a bit of good olive oil and/or grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to create a richer sauce with a somewhat different texture if that is what you are after. If you are into Neapolitan style pizza sauces, you might look into sources of San Marzano tomatoes, preferably of the DOP variety.

Peter

[JohnLondon]

Wow, looks like sauce is going to be a lot more difficult than the base. I guess everyone has a different idea of a good sauce. I just dont know where to start.For example I just bought a blender and a carton of Cirio Chopped Tomatoes. But what else do I need to get even a basic sauce? I like oregano , onions , garlic.Wouldnt mind it a bit spicey...not too much though. For example ,when a recipe calls for a tin of tomatoes does that mean the whole tin? the water as well.Sorry, I must sound rather pathetic, my culinary skills usually runs to a fried egg sandwich 

[Mad_Ernie]

John:

Your frustration is not unwarranted.  There are as many different possible pizza sauces as there are colors in a rainbow.  Petezza has already mentioned the usual basic ingredients.  You've mentioned onions, which is also a fairly common ingredient.  The sauce will probably require even more experimentation than the dough because of the myriad of ingredients and their possible amounts/percentages within the sauce.  There is no better way than to just dig in there and go. 

An approach that is often taken from posters on this forum is try to determine ingredients in a favorite product and then duplicate that as much as possible.  So for example, Petezza mentioned information obtained on Dominos and Pizza Hut in the UK.  Maybe you prefer a different brand of pizza - find those ingredients. 

One thing that I find that comes up early on is whether to use fresh herbs/spices or jarred powders.  This another area that can vary the taste of the sauce.  For myself, I find using herb powders is more preferable because they are more consistent in flavor and potency, i.e., easier to replicate from batch to batch.  But I am certainly not adverse to using some fresh basil or garlic in a sauce and will do so from time to time.

Start from a point of what you know you like and just go from there.

Good luck! 

[Pete-zza]

JohnLondon,

As ME noted, pizza sauces are very much individualistic and the hardest part of a pizza to recommend to others, so you should go with the types of flavors and textures that you like in a sauce and ignore everything else for the time being.

As an example of the types of seasonings that can be used in a pizza sauce, see the list of ingredients for a popular U.S. pizza seasoning at http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyspizzaseas.html. If you like those seasonings, you may find that there is a comparable pizza seasoning where you are in the UK.

When I was at the Sainsbury website and looking at the ingredients lists for the frozen pizzas, I also saw several different pizza sauces with different seasonings. Here is a typical example, for a Sainsbury Mediterranean style pizza:

Tomato Sauce contains: Water, Tomato, Tomato Puree, Sunflower Oil, Sugar, Maize Starch, Salt, Garlic Puree, Sundried Tomatoes, White Wine Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Yeast Extract (contains Barley), Tomato Paste, Rosemary, Tomato Powder, Cheese Powder (from Cows' Milk), Natural Flavouring, Basil, Marjoram, Oregano, Thyme

That is a fairly elaborate sauce but here's a couple of simpler ones, for a Sainsbury pepperoni pizza and a Sainsbury Basic cheese and tomato pizza, respectively:

Tomato & Oregano Sauce contains: Tomato (With Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid), Water, Tomato Purée, Sugar, Oregano

Tomato Sauce contains: Water, Tomato Purée, Maize Starch, Basil, Sugar, Garlic Purée, Black Pepper, Cheese Powder (from Cows' Milk)

And another, for a Sainsbury regular cheese and tomato pizza:

Tomato Sauce contains: Tomato (94%), Onion, Sunflower Oil, Sugar, Salt, Garlic Powder, Citric Acid, Parsley, Black Pepper, Chive, Basil

If you want heat, you can also use red pepper flakes or cayenne. Paprika is another fairly popular ingredient for a pizza sauce.

As you can see, the sky's the limit. So you should use what you like.

If a recipe calls for a tin of tomatoes, to me that means the entire tin, water included if the instructions do not specify that the tomatoes should be drained. If a particular brand and type of tomatoes is mentioned, then a tin in a recipe would mean a tin. If no brand is specified, you should be sure that you have the right type of tomato (e.g., whole, pureed, crushed, crushed with puree, paste, chopped, etc.).

Peter

[JohnLondon]

Now, hopefully my mum wont read this forum or she will never cook anything for me again seeing as I keep tearing her pizza cooking apart  .
She makes a sauce of tomatoes,onions,garlic and oregano. Also sugar I think...sometimes a lot of sugar which totally ruins it. Other times it is really nice, apart from being too chunky but it still seems to lack a certain something...what it is though I dont know  .I will find a basic sauce and go from there.