Cooks Illustrated Ranks Jarred Pasta Sauces

[makedah]

This may be old news, so pardon me if it is. But I'm feeling quite smug right now because my favorite jarred sauce was #1 among the testers. BARILLA

They did a blind test of a quick homemade sauce, several national brands and some specialty brands. The only one they really loved was the homemade one. They approved of 3 jarred sauces, Barilla (#1), Five Brothers (#2) and Classico (#3), and dissed the rest.

You can find the story, "Jarring Discoveries" at www.cooksillustrated.com You will need Acrobat Reader to read the full chart of sauces.

[pmmahan]

Very interesting - thanks, Makedah. I must admit, I was disapppointed to see Muir Glen so far down the list. Its my favorite pasta sauce.

[misstapioca]

i know.... i love Muir Glen. its the best!!

[AD]

I caught a whiff of Classico's sauce, and it stinks up the whole house (not to mention a person's breath) for several hours! However, I despise the flavor and smell of garlic, especially mixed with all that oil and herbs. I prefer just to heat some canned crushed tomatoes and basil for my spaghetti.

[Linda in MO]

The last time I was out of town, I bought a jar of Barilla sauce (can't get it in my town) and we really liked it. I will stock up the next time I'm out of town. I like their pastas, too. If I remember right, I don't like Classico.

[schuh]

This is probably for east coasters only, but Bove's makes an excellent sauce. It's based on an awesome restaurant in Burlington, Vermont. I just saw it in our stores in Western NY. Look for it and try it!

I'm a dissenter on the other sauce. I found the Muir Glen sauce to be bland.

[pmmahan]

Schuh-

As a former UVM student, I can agree about Bove's - ultimate college food- cheap and filling!

[makedah]

Only one store in my town sells Barilla. I don't eat pasta that often, but I make sure I always have a jar in the house. I like their mushroom and garlic for spaghetti and used their basil for stuffed pasta shells.

[junietoo]

I tried the Cooks Illustrated link and it indicated I had to be a paid subscriber to the web site to read their reviews. Did I read it wrong?

[funnybone]

Originally posted by junietoo:
I tried the Cooks Illustrated link and it indicated I had to be a paid subscriber to the web site to read their reviews. Did I read it wrong?

I just tried it without a problem, and I am not a subscriber.

[junietoo]

How odd. I just tried it again and had no problem. In fact, jarred sauces was not even offered when I tried it before. I had to go to "tastings" and that's when it indicted that I had to be a member.

[lorilei]

Now tell me... does Barilla contain sugar?

Five Brothers does, for sure -- it's sweet stuff! Classico contains sugar, but not quite so often.

This makes me wonder if there's a connection. Did they print the recipe for the homeade sauce they used? ** Never mind ** I just looked on the site and discovered it

1 28-ounce can diced or whole tomatoes (not packed in puree or sauce)
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (about 8 leaves)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Seems to me there are so many variables when "rating" a sauce. Personal preference has got to weigh in pretty heavily -- and so I'd like to know what their "preferences" are. I'm definitely not knocking BARILLA (never tried it), but if it's going to put me in sugar shock, I think I'll abstain



[This message has been edited by lorilei (edited 04-02-2001).]

[makedah]

lorilei,

Barilla does contain some sugar, but one of the reasons that the testers liked it was that it wasn't sweet-tasting.

Tomato & Basil ingredients:
Diced tomatoes, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), onions, olive oil, basil, sugar, salt, garlic, natural flavoring.

Mushroom & Garlic ingredients:
Diced tomatoes, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), mushrooms, onions, olive oil, garlic, sugar, salt, lemon juice concentrate, parsley, basil, oregano, black pepper.

Both varieties have 7g of sugar per 1/2 cup serving.

Hope this helps!!!

[lorilei]

Thanks makedah -- exactly what I wanted to know. I was turned off to (most) Five Brothers sauce because it TASTES sweet ... since then, I've been somewhat skeptical.

I'm happy to hear they use a variety of herbs in their sauces -- I'm always adding extras to jarred sauce... yes, even extra garlic to that "STANKY" Classico

lorilei
"a spicey sauce girl"

[BevP]

I love Barilla too. It's a jarred sauce I got hooked on in Naples Italy!! though the flavor selections are a bit different. I was so happy to find it in the good ol' USA.

[junietoo]

When my daughter was vegan (she's now ovo-lacto veg.), I bought Barilla by the case (literally) when it was on sale -- both the pasta and the sauce, especially the Green and Black Olive (aka putanesca.)

I use the Mushroom and Garlic for a quick lasagna.

The pasta is is first-rate and comes in lots of shapes. The lasagna noodles work really well in no-boil lasagna.

[MrsReber]

Hey, that stinky Classico is my favorite! We like the tomato basil, the four cheese and especially the sausage and peppers one! I do prefer to make my own sauce, but it works well when I'm just too tired!

[Searcher]

As for the Cook's Illustrated site, you do have to be a member (I think it's $19.95 a year for membership and since I love the magazine do subscribe) to access all of their recipes, reviews, tastings, etc. but there are some you can get to without becoming a member.