# What Ingredient(s) do you add to your Spaghetti Sauce to make it Good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 1, 2026, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107 "2026-03-01T12:28:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/81 "2026-03-03T22:24:01Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > ? In the **fridge**? I mean, sure, adding salt and/or vinegar to your peeled jarred fridged garlic is a good general preservation-enhancing measure, besides directly inhibiting growth of the bacterium. But I’m not aware that botulism is a serious risk in any refrigerated food? Yes, even in the fridge. If you want to keep your own garlic that way, the risks are relatively low, but I would not recommend it to others. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/82 "2026-03-03T22:26:53Z")
It’s especially dangerous if you keep it in oil. I’ve kept garlic preserved in salt (like 20% by weight, so really high), without any issue before, and I can’t find any definitive site that says it’s safe or unsafe. I’ve found a few offering it as a method of preservation, but you can find all sorts of stuff on the internet. I can’t find anything the seems official one way or another about this method. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/83 "2026-03-04T04:51:44Z")
Great comments all. Except: Don’t do the tasting with bread. Why? You’ll end up with all the bread gone and 1/2 or less of the sauce you intended to make 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/84 "2026-03-04T05:17:52Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > But I’m not aware that botulism is a serious risk in any refrigerated food? Please enlighten. The USDA says store at 40 degrees or lower for a max of seven days and that seems to be out an overabundance of caution. [Article](https://www.seriouseats.com/safe-garlic-confit-storage-11889561). Basically the problem seems to be the potential of fluctuating temperatures in fridges and in my semi-informed opinion modern day refrigerators are on average kinda trash. According to many reviews I’ve read reliability is a shot in the dark across all major brands and the fancier and more complicated they are, generally the less reliable they are from at least a maintenance standpoint and potentially consistent performance. Room temperature is flat-out dangerous, refrigerated at a steady enough low temperature should be okay but is potentially chancy due to the above-mentioned issues, frozen is safest. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/85 "2026-03-04T15:27:07Z")
I get the ‘Hungry Man Selects’ bone-in chicken (with mashed potato, corn, and brownie, too) once in a blue moon. There are other varieties. Ultra cheap, ridiculously salty, but surprisingly tasty. It’s bigger than the little tin-tray tv dinner we got as kids. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/86 "2026-03-05T15:01:54Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > tasting with bread. That was a big thing with my dad! He loved it. I don’t know how to spell it, but in my family, it was called _papamodge_. My grandparents were from Calabria in southern Italy. So I’m guessing it’s a regional word. I’ve tried looking it up, but the closest I can find is Moigia Pan. Another thing that came to my mind was that sometimes my mom (who learned from her MIL how to make spaghetti sauce) would sometimes put chicken thighs in the sauce. She’d do this when she had leftover sauce and no more meatballs. Delicious! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/87 "2026-03-05T15:07:40Z")
Taste testing with a piece of Italian bread was standard, though it has been a long time since I did that. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/88 "2026-03-05T15:09:52Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Start with olive oil in the pot. Sauté onions until soft then add fresh garlic. Add in tomatoes and paste. Your whole post is great sauce making advice, but if I may, one small modification I’d make here is to add the tomato paste before the canned tomatoes, probably before the garlic even, and sauté with the onions in the olive oil. Browning the tomato paste just a little gives it that Maillard reaction and builds flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/89 "2026-03-05T15:50:34Z")
Erased. Modded ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/90 "2026-03-05T15:53:11Z")
**moderating:** OK, last word on canning in this thread. Remember: > **How to Reply as a linked Topic** > > Click Reply, in the upper left corner of the reply window is the reply type button, _looks like a curving arrow point to the right_. > > Choose **Reply as linked topic** and it starts a new thread. As an example, you can choose GD, IMHO or The Pit for it. > > That is actually the best method. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/91 "2026-03-05T16:13:47Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Start with olive oil in the pot. Sauté onions until soft then add fresh garlic. Add in tomatoes and paste. > > Your whole post is great sauce making advice, but if I may, one small modification I’d make here is to add the tomato paste before the canned tomatoes, probably before the garlic even, and sauté with the onions in the olive oil. Browning the tomato paste just a little gives it that Maillard reaction and builds flavor. I’m going to have to try that. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/92 "2026-03-05T22:53:19Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I agree. I think part of the reason many commercial sauces contain sugar is to counter the tartness of the tomato. The very best deli-made pasta sauce I know of contains no sugar, but does contain finely chopped carrots. Apparently carrots serve the same purpose of countering tartness, and producing a more mellow sauce – something I might try when making this sauce. I learned about adding a carrot to home made tomato sauce from the mother of a childhood friend and have been doing it ever since I started cooking for myself. I chop one medium-large carrot into thin sticks and simmer them in the crushed tomatoes for 45 minute to an hour, then take the carrots out and mash them to a paste and stir that back in. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2026, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/93 "2026-03-07T02:48:06Z")
When you wipe the bowl with bread at the end of a meal, it’s called _fare la scarpetta_. Not exactly the same, but it’s cool to know there’s a term for that tradition. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/94 "2026-03-10T07:38:58Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@Spoons](#): > > > > Next time you’re at the market, have a look for Stefano’s pasta sauce. It’s only just been introduced out here. It’s from Montreal, so should be available in your location. Not as expensive as Rao’s, more expensive than Prego or Ragu. I cannot compare it to Rao’s, as I’ve never had that, but it’s a damn sight better than Prego or Ragu. I tried Stefano’s Arabbiata the other night, and quite liked it. > > As a matter of fact, I much praised Stefano’s in another thread here some years ago, thanks for reminding me! It’s at least as good as Rao’s and some varieties, notably the sausage and mushroom, decidedly better than anything from Rao’s. As you note, it’s from Montreal, Canada’s food Mecca – how could it be anything other than excellent! Probably not helpful to our American friends, though. I don’t know what put me on to Rao’s but I’m getting a couple of jars of Stefano’s next time! Got a jar of Stefano (technically not “Stephano’s”) sausage and mushroom pasta sauce today. I think I’ve had it before but not for a long time. Ingredients look nicely authentic: > Italian whole peeled tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice) Mild Italian sausage (pork, sea salt, spices, garlic powder) Crushed tomatoes Mushrooms Onions Extra virgin olive oil Sea salt Garlic Spices Citric acid (Acidifier) Herbs The nice thing is that with sausage and mushroom bits already in it, it can be served plain on top of spaghetti with nothing more added than Parmesan. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/95 "2026-03-10T14:01:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The nice thing is that with sausage and mushroom bits already in it, it can be served plain on top of spaghetti with nothing more added than Parmesan. The problem with that is that it is just bits 🙂. I don’t just want the flavor and a teensy bit of texture, I want great big chunks in my sauce. I often add whole, uncut Italian sausages (seared on the stove top first) and large mushroom slices (sauteed first). You (well, I) want the mouthfeel and taste from large bites. ---
**Author:** ![a6ka97](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/96 "2026-03-10T14:28:30Z")
When using jars/cans of spaghetti sauce I will add an 8oz. can of pizza sauce to the 2 jars/cans of spaghetti sauce. If time isn’t of the essence I will do my traditional recipe. Cans of tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasonings, red wine vinegar, etc… Simmered for an hour or so. I would love to add some crushed tomatoes but my wife hates tomato chunks in anything. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/97 "2026-03-10T14:49:55Z")
Another Jersey guy. I’ve used jarred sauce as a base when I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to simmer for several hours. Here’s my recipe. Skip the first 3 ingredients and simmer time if you are adding to jarred sauce. 2 large cans of pureed tomatoes 2 small cans of tomato paste a healthy splash of red wine a shit ton of oregano a small onion, diced fresh garlic, chopped. Usually 4-6 cloves depending on size. More is better. (you can substitute garlic paste if you don’t have time to peel and chop the garlic, but please don’t used jarred minced garlic) a pinch of salt Let that simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours (a slow cooker on low works really well and is less messy) Taste it, and add more garlic, oregano or salt as needed. If you’re one of those people, this is when you add some sugar (I HATE sweet sauce) Brown 2 lbs of ground beef or italian sausage meat with another diced small onion, more chopped garlic, and more oregano. Drain the grease (not all of it!) and add to the sauce. I’m not a fan of meatballs, but if you are you can subsitute or combine with the seasoned browned meat. Cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes and serve ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/98 "2026-03-10T15:59:07Z")
Oh, and it just occurred to me - here are some tips on cooking pasta: - add pasta to boiling water (I know it seems obvious, but a lot of people don’t know this) - never add oil to pasta water - the sauce won’t stick to the pasta - once the water comes back to a boil cook it for 11 minutes (Not 10. Not 12.) and drain it immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/99 "2026-03-10T16:12:09Z")
> [@Thumper668](#): > > Oh, and it just occurred to me - here are some tips on cooking pasta: > > - add pasta to boiling water (I know it seems obvious, but a lot of people don’t know this) > - never add oil to pasta water - the sauce won’t stick to the pasta > - once the water comes back to a boil cook it for 11 minutes (Not 10. Not 12.) and drain it immediately. Oil isn’t necessary to add but you should add salt. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107/100 "2026-03-10T16:19:25Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Oil isn’t necessary to add but you should add salt. Yes, for flavor and not (as commonly believed) to boil the water faster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-s-do-you-add-to-your-spaghetti-sauce-to-make-it-good/1028107.md?page=6)