We all know homemade sauce reigns supreme – but with the rising cost of living and no time to spare, many home cooks are reaching for shortcuts.
Enter: jarred sauce.
On a popular foodie forum, both Italian and Australian home cooks spilled on their go-to supermarket sauce – and the verdict was passionate.
While many remained loyal to homemade recipes, others had very strong opinions about what they believed the ‘top-tier’ options at mainstream supermarkets.
The runaway winner? Mutti, for both its sauces and plain passata.
Founded in Parma more than 120 years ago, Mutti has become a global pantry staple (Aussies can find it at Coles and Woolies).
Fans raved about its balanced flavour, decent price point and, crucially, the lack of that dreaded sugary aftertaste.
It’s so respected in Italy that the brand even hands out the Pomodorino d’Oro – the Golden Tomato prize – to the country’s best growers.
We all know homemade sauce reigns supreme – but with the rising cost of living and no time to spare, many home cooks are reaching for shortcuts
‘Mutti passata Is the only one I’ll use,’ a home cook said.
‘My Italian grandad uses Mutti. Must be good,’ another added.
‘Mutti is the only brand that doesn’t taste acidic to me. I use the tinned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, caramelised onions, minced garlic, salt, pepper, chilli and some cream,’ one more wrote.
Next up? Barilla.
While not everyone’s first pick, the brand scored high praise for its pesto (‘as good as you’ll get Down Under’) and its premade sauces – though several still insisted that with just plain passata, you can whip up something better.
Aldi also earned loyal mentions, particularly its Remano range, praised for being ‘not too oily’ and ‘super cheap’.
The only downside? ‘Just don’t get that sh*t on your shirt or counter. Stains like crazy.’
Others vouched for Woolworths’ home brand and the imported punnets at Italian delis, with Val Verde and Rio Santo emerging as crowd favourites.
The runaway winner? Mutti, for both its sauces and plain passata
Still, even the fiercest jarred-sauce defenders admitted that homemade wins every time. Many said when their garden tomatoes run out, they revert to canned Italian tomatoes instead of supermarket jars.
That’s because when it comes to authentic Italian cooking, less is more. According to one, the secret is three top-quality ingredients, cooked simply and well.
Another insider secret? The use of burnt tomato paste and fresh basil.
‘Best sauces I ever make are when I think I burned the tomato paste and deglaze them anyway. It really makes a quick sauce taste like it has been on the stove for hours,’ a foodie shared.
‘You can make a 30-minute sauce taste surprisingly good if you fry a tablespoon of tomato paste in oil before you put your tomatoes in,’ another agreed.
‘When I discovered the difference of adding fresh basil to tomato… way up there on my top food revelations. Match made in heaven,’ a third spilled.
So while the jar debate rages on, there’s another question we must ask: what supermarket pasta deserves a spot in your trolley?
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Published on: 2025-10-01 01:01:00
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk