# Jarred Pasta Sauce for $10 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228 "2012-09-20T01:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/1 "2012-09-20T01:16:58Z")
I see jarred sauce for 8 to 10 bucks at the store and I must say it blows my mind. has anyone ever bought any? It’s like buying high end bubble gum or top shelf spam. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/2 "2012-09-20T01:24:28Z")
Are you talking about Rao’s? They really are good. I’ve had them a couple times at a friend’s house. Of all the premade pasta sauces I’ve had, they’re the only ones I actually _like_. That said, I usually just make my own pasta sauce that is as good or better for half the price. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/3 "2012-09-20T03:19:40Z")
The thread title certainly jarred me. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/4 "2012-09-20T09:58:41Z")
[Williams-Sonoma](http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/food/cooking-sauces/?cm_type=gnav) has all kinds of sauces in the $13-$18/bottle range. I’m always flabbergast that they can sell them at that price. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/5 "2012-09-20T11:00:58Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > [Williams-Sonoma](http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/food/cooking-sauces/?cm_type=gnav) has all kinds of sauces in the $13-$18/bottle range. I’m always flabbergast that they can sell them at that price. Yeah, six dollars for tomato paste. I’m not buying it. (Both senses intended…) ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/6 "2012-09-20T11:04:45Z")
I could do much better myself for a lot less, and I have yet to find any tomato-based pre-made pasta sauce I like at all (most of them are way too sweetened). Are we back in the yuppie era where people found their self-worth in finding the most overpriced version of basic items so they could brag about how much they paid? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/7 "2012-09-20T11:38:48Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Are we back in the yuppie era where people found their self-worth in finding the most overpriced version of basic items so they could brag about how much they paid? My gf recently did a spa getaway weekend thing. They sold a number of high end foodstuffs that she is now embarrassed to admit she bought. She got tiny jars of gourmet salt. One has a minuscule amount of truffle in it, the other is “applewood smoked”. Salt. Not quite cocaine prices, but close. Taste test: salty. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/8 "2012-09-20T12:05:20Z")
When you find a jar sauce that is really good, it’s a godsend. OTOH, I generally buy these at Costco for half or a third the price of Whole Foods. I’m not paying more than $5 for a jar of sauce. Two that I recommend Paesana Vodka Sauce Victoria Marinara Sauce - One time my local Pathmark had a crazy sale on these, about $1.50 or $2 a jar. I bought two cases, and should have bought every jar they had. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/9 "2012-09-23T03:07:00Z")
I always watch the people who buy stupid stuff like the $10 pasta sauce at whole foods. Inevitably, they are shopping either for 1) that night’s dinner only, and it’s quite clear by the extra knife and 100% marked up breadcrumb-coated chicken breast they’re toting that they _never_ cook or 2) are cluelessly shopping for a dinner party despite (see: 1) not knowing how to cook. I don’t find much of a difference in making my own sauce. I like Muir Glen or the Whole Foods house (garden vegetable) brand sauce. Add a little red pepper flakes, a splash of balsamic and a sprinkle of sugar and it sings. ---
**Author:** ![FoundWaldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@FoundWaldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoundWaldo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/10 "2012-09-23T06:44:20Z")
I make fantastic pasta sauce. But it also takes substantially longer than heating up a jar. If I’m in a hurry on a weeknight, I have no problem buying jarred pasta sauce. And if I’m going to buy jarred sauce, I want to buy something that actually tastes good. I’d actually flip it around and say it seems ridiculous to **not** buy what tastes good over a $5 difference. I actually don’t know off hand how much the stuff I buy (it’s made by the store I shop at and sold in plastic tubs, not jars) costs, but if good pasta sauce is $10 and crappy pasta sauce is $5, it seems like a no brainer to me. The talk of people buying expensive stuff to “brag about how much they paid” seems to be making the assumption that it doesn’t actually taste better, which I think is false (though I’m sure you can find examples of expensive sauces that taste bad). ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/11 "2012-09-23T13:07:51Z")
If the $10 sauce really does taste a lot better than normal jar sauce, I would probably buy it if I were making a special meal for someone. I don’t enjoy cooking, and my own pasta sauce doesn’t taste better than a jar of Ragu. So the $10 sauce would taste better, and be more convenient, than my own cooking. Then again, if I’m spending that much just on pasta sauce, it would be cheaper to go to a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/12 "2012-09-23T14:31:59Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > my own pasta sauce doesn’t taste better than a jar of Ragu. This is impossible unless you are leaving out key ingredients like tomatoes and spices. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/13 "2012-09-23T20:30:57Z")
A small jar of pesto is at least a couple-4,5 bucks for, what, maybe a 6 ounce jar? Of course, it is loaded with expensive cheese and hopefully some nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/14 "2012-09-23T20:38:37Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > The thread title certainly jarred me. Yeah, this guy Jarred better be putting crack in the sauce for that kind of coin. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/15 "2012-09-23T21:02:33Z")
I tried [Paul Newman’s Sockarooni](http://www.soap.com/p/newmans-own-sockarooni-pasta-sauce-24-oz-2-pk-313995?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_S&utm_term=DCS-2267B&utm_campaign=GoogleAW&CAWELAID=1323244705&utm_content=pla&adtype=pla&cagpspn=pla) seeing it recommended in some threads and it was god awful compared to my great homemade sauce. Thin, sweetish, textureless, flat bleah. I’ve learned my lesson. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/16 "2012-09-23T21:08:42Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > If the $10 sauce really does taste a lot better than normal jar sauce, I would probably buy it if I were making a special meal for someone. > > I don’t enjoy cooking, and my own pasta sauce doesn’t taste better than a jar of Ragu. . If that’s true you need new spaghetti sauce recipe. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/17 "2012-09-23T21:22:33Z")
By nature, sauce gets more acidic and preservatives are used. I can’t imagine the quality is being much better than Ragu. Same goes with jarred salsa. Both products aren’t terribly awful, but canned and jarred food have a limit. I am all for food quality, but even $5 salsa isn’t much better than Pace or Ortega. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarred-pasta-sauce-for-10/635228/18 "2012-09-23T21:37:25Z")
Quite frankly, all jarred pasta sauce has a lot of salt in it. I do like the cheaper varieties though-I am quite happy with Ragu. I have tried Rao’s-it is not a whole lot better. If you have the time, simply chop up some onions, peppers, garlic, sautee them in olive oil, add spices and tomato paste-water…and 30 minutes later you have something better than any of them.