Advice to Enhance NY Pizza Sauce

[Bricks]

Hello,

I run a small pizzeria, and I'm on a quest to improve my NY pizza sauce. I've scoured this forum and noticed that many of you recommend using crushed tomatoes and a combination of heavy pizza sauces like Stanislaus products. Unfortunately, where I'm based, I only have access to high-quality peeled tomatoes.

I've been trying to get that rich, tomato-forward flavor in my sauce, but it always seems to lack that punch. I've added tomato paste to enhance the flavor, but I'm still not quite there. I usually drain my tomatoes before mixing them with the paste, and my sauce includes olive oil, fresh basil, and salt. I use a food mill to process the tomatoes.

Do you have any tips or tricks to enhance the tomato flavor using peeled tomatoes? Should I consider not draining them, or is there a specific technique or ingredient I'm missing? I'd appreciate any advice or experiences you can share to help me achieve that vibrant tomato taste in my sauce.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[PapaJawnz]

Hey Bricks, welcome to the forum.  I am going to give you a weak answer because I know others will have a better recommendation, but I have found that the 6-in-1 tomatoes from Escalon have a very tomato forward flavor.  There is a lot of umami and the tomatoes to my taste seem to have almost a cooked taste though not like a tomato sauce or paste.  It's a crushed tomato without being watery.  I would bet if it was ran through a food mill to get rid of the seeds and skins, it would be even better.

Low investment, if you are in the US or Canada you can get a big #10 can for about 7-8 dollars.  If you don't like it for pizza, it also makes a great marinara.

On a more traditional note, the Alta Cucina tomatoes (which I have never tried) seem to be a favorite amongst pizza professionals as well as members here.  I've read they are a little watery, but easily overcome by straining out some of the juice.

Cento San Marzano tomatoes are a personal favorite, but expensive.  They are packed in a puree instead of juice.  The flavor is very good straight out of the can.

Personally I think the 6-in-1's have a more umami-rich tomato forward flavor than the Cento, but they are quite different.

I think a key to a good new york style pizza sauce is to practice restraint.  A little salt, oregano and sugar.  Keeping that restraint will balance out the whole pizza and make for a memorable experience.

Oh, I am also a proponent of adding MSG to sauce.  With 6-in-1's I don't add any salt as it already has some, I just add 1/8 tsp MSG to a 28oz portion.

Good luck and hopefully you'll get a lot of opinions as I am always looking for improvements as well.

[QwertyJuan]

Where are you located?

[Bricks]

Thank you, PapaJawns, for the helpful information. Unfortunately, I only have access to canned whole peeled tomatoes, which appears to be the case for the suggested Alta Cucina tomatoes, so there is some hope. I will give MSG a try. I am based in Kuwait, so I do not have access to most American tomatoes.

[nanometric]

Acid may help: some use lemon juice or red wine vinegar to brighten the flavors.

[spaceboy]

im not a tomatoes and salt person.  thats just my preference, i like a seasoned sauce.  to me pizza sauce is like any other sauce i want it to be delicious, balanced and properly seasoned all on its own. what i add to my sauce most, almost all of the time in varying amounts are...

crushed tomatoes (i prefer jersey tomatoes, if i dont have tomato magic on hand)
kosher salt
oregano
evoo
black pepper
garlic powder
msg
sugar

stick blend to whatever consistency you prefer

[QuickDraw]

i started off with a recipe with a handful of ingredients, but as I've gone on i find i like just tomatoes(7/11) and a little bit of sugar like 2 teaspoons for 28 oz.