Alternative names | Salsa roja, sugo |
---|---|
Type | Sauce |
Place of origin | Mexico [1] |
Region or state | Aztec Empire |
Main ingredients | Tomatoes |
Variations | Salsa picante , arrabbiata sauce |
Tomato sauce (Spanish : salsa roja, French : sauce tomate, or Italian : salsa di pomodoro) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are common for meat and vegetables, but they are perhaps best known as bases for sauces for Mexican salsas and Italian pasta dishes. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, soft flesh which breaks down easily, and the right composition to thicken into a sauce when stewed, without the need for thickeners such as roux or masa. All of these qualities make them ideal for simple and appealing sauces.
In countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the term tomato sauce is used to describe a condiment similar to what Americans call ketchup. In some of these countries, both terms are used for the condiment.
Tomato sauces, along with similarly related and prepared tomatillo sauces, are presumed to have been in use since antiquity by the peoples of Central and South America as bases for many dishes. However, much of Pre-Columbian cuisine history in Mexico, along with other culturally significant information, had been purged during the periods of conquest by Europeans, chiefly the Spanish. [2] Bernardino de Sahagún, a Franciscan friar from the Kingdom of Spain, is believed to be the first European to write about tomato sauce after encountering it for sale in the markets of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City, today). [3]
The first Italian recipe of tomato sauce was published under the name "Spanish tomato sauce" [4] in Lo Scalco alla Moderna ('The Modern Steward'), written by Italian chef Antonio Latini and published in two volumes in 1692 and 1694. Tomato sauce also began to be used in the cuisine of the south of France at the same time, particularly in Provence and the Basque Country. The Provençals who went to Paris for the National Federation Day of July 14, 1790, demanded tomatoes everywhere they went. [5] The use of tomato sauce with pasta appeared for the first time in 1790 in the Italian cookbook L'Apicio moderno, by Roman chef Francesco Leonardi. [6]
The first written recipe for canned tomatoes comes from Vaucluse, in southern France, it appears in a document written by an individual in 1795. [7]
A simple tomato sauce consists of chopped or ground tomatoes sautéed in olive oil and simmered until they lose their raw flavor, seasoned to taste with salt, or other herbs or spices. Tomato skins and seeds are generally removed.
Tomato sauce may be thinner than the tomato purée it may be made from. It may serve as an ingredient in other dishes, such as spaghetti and meatballs.
Water or a more flavorful liquid such as stock or wine is sometimes added to keep the sauce from becoming too thick while simmering. Onion and garlic are often sweated or sautéed before the tomatoes are added, or puréed together with tomatoes and then cooked together. Other seasonings typically include dried red chili flakes, epazote, basil, oregano, parsley, and black pepper.
Many meat-based sauces include tomatoes, such as ragù alla napoletana ; in the Italian version of ragù alla bolognese , tomato is a relatively minor ingredient.
In Italy, there are many pasta sauces based on raw, uncooked tomatoes. [8] In Mexico, the best-known raw tomato sauce is pico de gallo , also known as salsa cruda.
In France, raw tomato sauce is known as saoussoun [9] in the Alpes-Maritimes. Sauce vierge is another French sauce made from raw tomato, basil, lemon juice and olive oil, a bit similar to mexican pico de gallo. [10]
Tomato sauce was an ancient condiment in Mesoamerican food. The first person to write about what may have been a tomato sauce was Bernardino de Sahagún, a Spanish Franciscan friar who later moved to New Spain, who made note of a prepared sauce that was offered for sale in the markets of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City today). He wrote (translated from Spanish),
They sell some stews made of peppers and tomatoes – usually put in them peppers, pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, green peppers and fat tomatoes and other things that make tasty stews. [3]
— Florentine Codex (1540–1585)
Spaniards later brought the use of tomatoes to Europe.
Basic Mexican tomato sauce was traditionally prepared using a molcajete to puree the tomatoes. Food that is cooked in tomato sauce is known as entomatada . Tomato sauce is used as a base for spicy sauces and moles . [11]
Tomato sauce in Italian cuisine is first mentioned in Antonio Latini's cookbook Lo scalco alla moderna (Naples, 1692). [12] Latini was chef to the Spanish viceroy of Naples, and one of his tomato recipes is for sauce "in the Spanish style" (Italian : alla spagnuola). The first known use of tomato sauce with pasta appears in the Italian cookbook L'Apicio moderno, by the Roman chef Francesco Leonardi, published in 1790. [6]
Italian tomato dishes range from simple pasta al pomodoro to the piquant puttanesca and arrabbiata sauces. Tomato-based sauces for pasta may also include sausage, clams, pancetta cubes, tuna, or vegetables.
Tomato-garlic sauce is prepared using tomatoes as a main ingredient, and is used in various cuisines and dishes. In Italian cuisine, alla pizzaiola is tomato-garlic sauce, which is used on pizza, pasta and meats. [13]
Sauce tomate is one of the five mother sauces of classical French cooking, as codified by Auguste Escoffier in the early 20th century. It consists of salt belly of pork, onions, bay leaves, thyme, tomato purée or fresh tomatoes, roux, garlic, salt, sugar, and pepper. [14]
Basic cooked tomato sauce, with garlic and olive oil is also a classic in the cuisine of southern France, it is used in many dishes like piperade, tian, chichoumeille, alouettes sans têtes (a kind of paupiette).
Tomato sauce can also be served raw, in this case it is named saoussoun (grated raw tomato with onions, olive oil and herbs) [15] or sauce vierge (diced raw tomato with olive oil, lemon , garlic and basil). [16]
Tomato sauce is a popular, commercially produced table sauce, similar to tomato ketchup, which is typically applied to foods such as meat pies, sausages, and fish and chips. [17] Some sources say that Australian tomato sauce has less tomato than ketchup, [18] but this varies between brands.
Tomato-based sauces served with pasta are commonly referred to as "pasta sauce" [19] or "Napoletana sauce".
The meaning of the term "tomato sauce" depends on the context; on a restaurant menu the phrase "in a tomato sauce" means a freshly prepared tomato-based sauce as used on pasta, and colloquially it may refer to either the pasta sauce, or tomato ketchup.[ citation needed ] Collins English Dictionary lists the term as "another name for tomato ketchup" in British English. [20]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(January 2021) |
In Canada and the U.S., tomato sauce (marinara) is typically sold jarred or canned, with minimal ingredients, and is not normally used as is. Related ingredients are tomato purée and tomato paste, each of which is similar but paste has a thicker consistency. Tomato purée and tomato paste have US FDA standards of identity (since 1939) for percentage of tomato solids, and historically did not contain seasonings other than salt; in recent decades variants with basil or other traditional Italian seasonings became common. Tomato sauce is non-standardized. [21]
A spicy tomato sauce known as sauce piquante is common in Louisiana Cajun cuisine, that can contain any seafood, poultry, or meats such as wild game. It is typically served over white rice. In Louisiana Creole cuisine, there is a tomato sauce known as a Creole sauce. It is similar to Italian tomato sauce, but features more Louisiana flavors derived from the fusion of French and Spanish cooking styles. They both usually contain the traditional holy trinity of diced bell pepper, onion, and celery.
Tomato gravy is distinct from the term as used by Italian Americans when referring to a type of tomato sauce particularly where tomatoes were a staple food. [22] The cooked tomatoes, some fat (usually cured pork fat) and flour are cooked together until thick, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Onions or bell peppers may be added as well. Typically, tomato gravy is served over pasta.
Common in Italian American cuisine is a tomato-based sauce called Sunday gravy or Sunday sauce, which can be prepared with a variety of meats. [23]
Some Indian curries have a tomato-based sauce, notably many vegetarian style dishes. [24]
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. Sauce is a French word probably from the post-classical Latin salsa, derived from the classical salsus 'salted'. Possibly the oldest recorded European sauce is garum, the fish sauce used by the Ancient Romans, while doubanjiang, the Chinese soy bean paste is mentioned in Rites of Zhou 20.
A mirepoix is a mixture of diced vegetables cooked with fat for a long time on low heat without coloring or browning. The ingredients are not sautéed or otherwise hard-cooked, because the intention is to sweeten rather than caramelize them. Mirepoix is a long-standing part of French cuisine and is the flavor base for a wide variety of dishes, including stocks, soups, stews, and sauces.
Polish cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other national cuisines. Polish cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise.
Salsa encompasses a variety of sauces used as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips. They may be raw or cooked, and are generally served at room temperature.
Hash is a dish consisting of chopped meat, potatoes, and fried onions. The name is allegedly derived from French: hacher, meaning 'to chop'. It originated as a way to use up leftovers. In the U.S. by the 1860s, a cheap restaurant was called a "hash house" or "hashery."
Moussaka is an eggplant (aubergine)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.
A dip or dip sauce is a common condiment for many types of food. Dips are used to add flavor or texture to a food, such as pita bread, dumplings, crackers, chopped raw vegetables, fruits, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chips, tortilla chips, falafel, and sometimes even whole sandwiches in the case of jus. Unlike other sauces, instead of applying the sauce to the food, the food is typically placed or dipped into the sauce.
Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers.
Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from several European countries, especially of Mediterranean foods from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. Other influences on the cuisine resulted from immigration from countries such as Germany and Scotland. Uruguayan gastronomy is a result of immigration, rather than local Amerindian cuisine, because of late-19th and early 20th century immigration waves of, mostly, Italians. Spanish influences are abundant: desserts like churros, flan, ensaimadas yoo (Catalan sweet bread), and alfajores were all brought from Spain. There are also various kinds of stews known as guisos or estofados, arroces, and fabada. All of the guisos and traditional pucheros (stews) are also of Spanish origin. Uruguayan preparations of fish, such as dried salt cod (bacalao), calamari, and octopus, originate from the Basque and Galician regions, and also Portugal. Due to its strong Italian tradition, all of the famous Italian pasta dishes are present in Uruguay including ravioli, lasagne, tortellini, fettuccine, and the traditional gnocchi. Although the pasta can be served with many sauces, there is one special sauce that was created by Uruguayans. Caruso sauce is a pasta sauce made from double cream, meat, onions, ham and mushrooms. It is very popular with sorrentinos and agnolotti. Additionally, there is Germanic influence in Uruguayan cuisine as well, particularly in sweet dishes. The pastries known as bizcochos are Germanic in origin: croissants, known as medialunas, are the most popular of these, and can be found in two varieties: butter- and lard-based. Also German in origin are the Berlinese known as bolas de fraile, and the rolls called piononos. The Biscochos were re-christened with local names given the difficult German phonology, and usually Uruguayanized by the addition of a dulce de leche filling. Even dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) have also made it into mainstream Uruguayan dishes.
Tunisian cuisine, the cuisine of Tunisia, consists of the cooking traditions, ingredients, recipes and techniques developed in Tunisia since antiquity. It is mainly a blend of Arab, Mediterranean, Punic, and Berber cuisine. Historically, Tunisian cuisine witnessed influence and exchanges with many cultures and nations like Italians, Andalusians, French and Arabs.
Neapolitan cuisine has ancient historical roots that date back to the Greco-Roman period, which was enriched over the centuries by the influence of the different cultures that controlled Naples and its kingdoms, such as that of Aragon and France.
Bolognese sauce, known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese or ragù bolognese, is a meat-based sauce in Italian cuisine, typical of the city of Bologna. It is customarily used to dress tagliatelle al ragù and to prepare lasagne alla bolognese.
Breaded cutlet or braised cutlet is a dish made from coating a cutlet of meat with breading or batter and either frying or baking it.
The traditional cuisine of Abruzzo is eclectic, drawing on pastoral, mountain, and coastal cuisine. Staples of Abruzzo cuisine include bread, pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wine. The isolation which has characterized the region for centuries has ensured the independence of its culinary tradition from those of nearby regions. Local cuisine was widely appreciated in a 2013 survey among foreign tourists.
Garlic sauce is a sauce prepared using garlic as a primary ingredient. It is typically a pungent sauce, with the depth of garlic flavor determined by the amount of garlic used. The garlic is typically crushed or finely diced. Simple garlic sauce is composed of garlic and another ingredient to suspend it via emulsion, such as oil, butter or mayonnaise. Various additional ingredients can be used to prepare the sauce.