TOMATO SAUCES

THERE ARE THREE BASIC KINDS OF TOMATO sauce—a cooked sauce based on canned tomatoes, a cooked sauce based on fresh tomatoes, and a raw sauce using super-ripe summer tomatoes.

The first sauce is certainly the most useful (it can be made year-round) and also the most confusing. This basic tomato sauce should be quick to prepare and have as much fresh tomato flavor as possible. We tested dozens of variables, including the type and brand of tomatoes as well as additional ingredients, and came to these conclusions.

For the freshest tomato flavor, stick with canned diced tomatoes, especially those made by Muir Glen, or whole tomatoes packed in juice. (We like whole tomatoes from Muir Glen as well as Progresso.) Other canned tomato products, including whole tomatoes packed in puree and crushed tomatoes, have less fresh tomato flavor because they contain cooked products such as paste and/or puree.

While diced tomatoes are our first choice, you can use whole tomatoes as long as you dice them either by hand or in a food processor. One 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes will yield about 2¹/₂ cups of diced tomatoes. Add some of the packing juice in recipes where slightly more is required.

In addition to the tomato tests, we experimented with seasonings. We found that butter mutes the flavor of the tomatoes and, for most uses, we prefer olive oil. Garlic is essential but can be overpowering. To keep garlic from burning, we puree it with a little water. A little sugar rounds out the flavors and helps balance the sweet and tart elements.

For the other two kinds of tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes, we have a number of recommendations. For cooked sauces, use plum tomatoes unless local round tomatoes are in season. With either variety, peel and seed the tomatoes before cooking them for a meaty-textured sauce. For raw tomato sauces, only local round tomatoes will do. There is no need to peel tomatoes for raw sauces, but do halve and seed the tomatoes to remove excess moisture.