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Why does pasta sauce always come in such large quantities?

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ive looked everywhere and the minimum size I can find is canned which is not the best way to store pasta sauce in the first place and it's 400g. This works out to several helpings and me eating pasta for the next few days not continuously but often enough that I end up getting bored with it. It has a horribly short use by date once in the fridge so it has to be eaten quickly as well.

ive tried making my own but decided that the effort is not worth the end result given pre made tastes better, is less watery and most recipes end up making a lot of pasta sauce, even more than the pre made.

are there any solutions? I'd very much appreciate some ideas
 
You could also roll some ground beef into meatballs, don't brown and simmer in extra sauce. Meatball subs ....yummmm!
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
Oh yes. Sweet and sour meatballs. A cup of tomato sauce, a clove of garlic, half a cup of vinegar, half a cup of brown sugar added to the fry pan in which you have just browned a pound of hamburger made into ping pong ball sized meatballs. Serve over a bed of rice.

Tomato sauce lasts longer than most other things you put into the fridge but as Big Mike points out it is simple to freeze.
 
I make my own, and it freezes great, so that is probably what you should consider. It defrosts in the microwave in minutes.
 
We either use it to make pizza or freeze it.
We freeze a lot of leftover things.
Just don't forget it's in there!
 
+1 for freezing

Just empty into a portion sized container then freeze. Once frozen pop the block out and keep it in a freezer bag along with any others
 
I am guessing that manufacturers make such large bottles of sauce because they are targeting people trying to feed a family. Pasta is an inexpensive way to do that.

My solution is to cook in large batches and portion out individual portions and freeze them so that I'm not trying to keep as much in the refrigerator. That makes for a few quick meals at home or something I can toss in the microwave at the office over the next month or so and just a little bit stored in the refrigerator for quick consumption.
 
To be honest, I've never heard anyone complain before that pasta jars are too large. 400 grams, or about one pint (16 fluid ounces), is just about the right amount of sauce for the typical one pound box or package of dry pasta, enough for four or five good servings.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
It doesn't work particularly well for tomato based sauces, but a trick I use to freeze small portions is to use an ice cube tray. Marvelous for reduced stocks or sauces. Once frozen, pop them out of the tray and store in freezer bags. When a recipe calls for some stock (almost always), just drop in a cube.
 
+1 Chef Bill

If you cook your pasta, let's say spaghetti in boiling water for a little more than half the time (most boxes say 10 or 11 minutes al'dente I just grab a noodle and try it), drain and place it in another pan that has the sauce already heated up to temperature, the spaghetti will absorb a lot of the moisture and be more flavorful and it will be easier to gauge when it is done. Make sure you save some pasta water in case it dries too much.
 
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To be honest, I've never heard anyone complain before that pasta jars are too large. 400 grams, or about one pint (16 fluid ounces), is just about the right amount of sauce for the typical one pound box or package of dry pasta, enough for four or five good servings.
I guess that depends on whether you are feeding four or five people or just one, which I'm guessing is the OP's situation or he wouldn't have a problem. I know it's my situation as a widower.

Although the jars are perfectly sized for a family, a single guy having the same pasta and sauce at least one meal a day for up to five days would be kind of a bummer. One thing the OP could try is to stick with a plain marinara sauce and mix in different ingredients to the portion that is being served each day. Maybe take a fourth of the sauce and add some ground beef one day, take another fourth and add sauteed sausage and peppers the next, maybe use some on a meatball sub or chicken parmigiano for other meals.
 
You can always just buy the little 8oz cans of plain tomato sauce and add a little garlic and basil, or whatever floats your boat.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
You can always just buy the little 8oz cans of plain tomato sauce and add a little garlic and basil, or whatever floats your boat.

That's how I learned how to cook. It's like the old story, Stone Soup.

Add some garlic and oil (aglio y olio), onion, mushrooms, parsley, basil, or whatever to your bottled sauce. Then add crushed tomatoes. Then do the whole thing all over again without the original bottle of sauce.
 
I never run out of ideas when I make sauce and I make it in the GALLONS.....

Over any type of meat from chicken to sausage to pork to shellfish. Cooked any way from grilled, to baked, to breaded, to stuffed..... Any kind of pasta from Lasagna, to Penna to stuffed Cannelloni. I really enjoy pasta salad (hot or cold) with left over chicken (cubed), veggies, and Rotini. If it goes with tomatoes it goes with spiced sauce too :001_smile

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freezing is the answer.

And if your homemade sauce is watery you either didn't drain something properly or (more likely) you didn't add enough tomato paste.
 
freezing is the answer.

And if your homemade sauce is watery you either didn't drain something properly or (more likely) you didn't add enough tomato paste.

...or cook it long enough to allow some of the water to evaporate. In addition to improving texture, reducing the sauce also makes it taste better, because the ingredients are more concentrated.
 
use 1/3 for your pasta
convert 1/3 the next day as a chilli base
use rest over two days for poaching eggs in at breakfast - small pan, sauce heating low, crack egg or two in and cover, top with cheese when eggs soft poached.
 
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