The Only Tomato You Should Use for Sauce, According to Chefs

You can turn any tomato into tomato sauce. But one consistently turns out a rich, velvety sauce for pasta and plenty of other dishes.

Making tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes is a labor of love — it takes time to remove the skin and seeds, cook out the water, reduce the sauce to a thick consistency, and season to perfection. But the sweet, pronounced tomato flavor is well worth the effort. 

The first step to a great homemade sauce is knowing which type of tomato to use. While you can technically cook any type of tomato into a sauce, some are better suited to the job than others. Cherry and grape types of tomatoes may taste sweet and juicy out of hand, and big heirloom beefsteaks might be perfect when sliced thick for a BLT, but that doesn’t mean they’ll reduce into a gorgeous sauce. 

These are the best tomatoes for tomato sauce — and how to make the most of them while tomato season lasts. 

Related: How to Keep Tomatoes Fresh for Up to a Week, According to a Farmer

The best tomatoes for sauce

When it comes to tomato sauce, the best results come from varieties with low water content, meaty flesh, few seeds (which can taste bitter), and little acidity. Plum tomatoes, also known as paste tomatoes, fit the bill. Slice into just about any fully ripe variety of plum tomato — like a Roma, San Marzano, or Polish Linguica — and you’ll find deep red fruit with very few bitter-tasting seeds. 

"“[Plum tomatoes] are naturally meatier with fewer seeds and less water, so they cook down into a rich, thick sauce without needing much doctoring. I love that they offer a clean, concentrated tomato flavor.”"

Tatiana Michelizza, co-owner and chef of Top of the Ridge Farm Bed & Breakfast

“I definitely lean toward Roma or other plum varieties when making sauce, especially when I can source them locally at peak ripeness,” says Tatiana Michelizza, co-owner and chef of New Durham, New Hampshire’s Top of the Ridge Farm Bed & Breakfast, whose Italian-inspired menu pays homage to her hometown on the Adriatic coast. “They’re naturally meatier with fewer seeds and less water, so they cook down into a rich, thick sauce without needing much doctoring. I love that they offer a clean, concentrated tomato flavor.”

“Another advantage is their balanced acidity and natural sweetness,” says chef Max Mackissock, chief culinary officer of The Culinary Creative Group, who opened Ash’Kara and A5 Steakhouse, both in Denver. “When cooked, Roma tomatoes break down beautifully, creating that smooth consistency that clings perfectly to pasta.” 

When shopping for good sauce tomatoes, Mackissock recommends looking for plum tomatoes that are deeply red and heavy for their size, which indicates ripeness and a high flesh-to-juice ratio.

Turning plum tomatoes into sauce

“It’s important to me that the flavor is something I actually enjoy, something that feels alive and layered,” says chef Chris Piro of Again, a mission-driven pop-up experience that provides scholarships to foster youth. “I want the sauce to have depth, to hit the palate in waves, not just sit there.”

Piro starts his sauce by roasting or deeply caramelizing plum tomatoes before stewing. “That step brings out this natural richness and umami that gives the sauce real character.”

Chef Nicole Bean, owner of Pizaro's Pizza Napoletana in Houston, also recommends roasting tomatoes first to start removing some of the moisture. “Once I have a nice consistency from the tomato, I will then crush the tomatoes by hand and begin the process of tasting before adding any spices.”

"“[Roasting tomatoes] brings out this natural richness and umami that gives the sauce real character.”"

Chef Chris Piro, founder of Again

Some chefs simply use roasted plum tomatoes as the base for a sauce, while others recommend cooking them further with aromatics like onions, garlic, and even fennel. As the water cooks out, the flavor of the tomatoes will intensify and the flesh will thicken into a rich sauce.

Many chefs suggest removing the peels before turning the tomatoes into sauce. You can blanch and shock them before cooking to easily remove the skin. To do this, score a small X on the bottom of each tomato, add the tomatoes to boiling water, and cook for about 30 seconds. Then transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water. Once they have cooled, you can easily peel off the skins.

More than a pasta sauce

A good-quality homemade tomato sauce is extremely adaptable. Piro likes to reduce it into a glaze, adding a bit of vinegar and even fermented plums or miso, then slathering it on grilled meats or charred greens. “The base is familiar, but what I’m really chasing is complexity. I want it to feel like something you thought you knew, but didn’t.”

Related: How to Fix Burnt Tomato Sauce, According to a Chef

Similarly, Bean likes to spread a small portion of homemade tomato sauce with simple spices on a plate and top with fresh watermelon chunks, feta, and microgreens. Or, think like Michelizza and use homemade sauce for eggs in purgatory or to braise fish or greens. “Once you’ve got a great homemade sauce, it’s one of the most versatile tools in the kitchen,” she says.

Read the original article on Food & Wine