Hello - new girl trying to make pasta sauce

[Cuilidh]

Without having any knowledge of the science of cooking, etc.  I am wondering if the red colour that we are all used to in purchased tomatoes and pasta sauces, etc. is due to additives in the processing of the product???  I have always ended up with slightly orange pasta and tomato sauces when I make them myself and that's just the conclusion I came up with.

[KarenH]

Mine always end up slightly orange too ....... with our without the onion.  I had also wondered about the difference in colour.

[gertbysea]

I used to spend days making tomato sauce as my mother taught me. Now I just but a carton of tomatoes, toss a bunch into the bowl with some stems ,basil, garlic etc, cook it down until thick then freeze it. The sauce is always red and I will add other things to it as needs be, such as onlions, when I take it out of the freezer.

I really think it is the onion that makes it orangy but the flavour is still there. I also save every stem I buy and dry them or freeze them. This adds mightly to the flavour. You can cook with them whole and pull them out after or chop them all together before cooking the sauce.

Gretch

[judydawn]

I've never heard that one before Gretchen - thanks for the tip.  Only threw out a stem from a bunch of tomatoes yesterday.

[hools003]

Just the other day, an Italian neighbour gave us a couple of bottles of homemade sauce/purée. They make it every year at this time as the tomatoes have to be ripe and red. They bought 675 kilos of tomatoes and it has onions and basil in it. He was telling me that the whole family and friends get together and they have stations for washing the tomatoes, someone else cores them, another squeezes the seeds out. Sounds like a huge job but he said they always have red sauce because the only buy the ripest reddest Roma tomatoes.

[CreamPuff63]

its such a good family tradition where everyone gets together like that, and then they share out the sauce. I will remember that great tip too Gretch 

[brazen20au]

i used my neighbour's homegrown very ripe romas and still got orange sauce. but i'm using it to mix in with other stuff (it's a bit so-so tasting too)

[CreamPuff63]

Without having any knowledge of the science of cooking, etc.  I am wondering if the red colour that we are all used to in purchased tomatoes and pasta sauces, etc. is due to additives in the processing of the product???  I have always ended up with slightly orange pasta and tomato sauces when I make them myself and that's just the conclusion I came up with.

could well be Cuilidh although the orange colour comes from a combination of substances such as tomato sauce, which contains both fat or oil and the red coloring of the tomato.

[Thermomixer]

Think Aussie tomatoes from shops aren't ripened enough for good results   I think good quality canned products can be as good as fresh.

[faffa_70]

when I had my bulk buy of tomatoes the other week (it was mushrooms today lol - a whole 4kg box for $8.00 ) I made MJ's passata sauce and it came out orange but when I made Chelsea's Condensed Tomato Soup it is a deep dark red. Think it does have something to do with added ingredients.

[Meagan]

when I had my bulk buy of tomatoes the other week (it was mushrooms today lol - a whole 4kg box for $8.00 ) I made MJ's passata sauce and it came out orange but when I made Chelsea's Condensed Tomato Soup it is a deep dark red. Think it does have something to do with added ingredients.

Kathryn where do you go for these bulk boxes???