Is there a difference between packaged and homemade sauces?
If you love pasta sauce, then you know there’s a constant debate about whether jarred pasta sauce is as good as homemade. This is a debate that just comes and goes, with people choosing one side and then another. Of course, there are some definite advantages for homemade sauce, but there are also some definite advantages for sauce in a jar. It’s time for a pros and cons list.
Pros and cons: homemade sauce
Homemade pasta sauce can be the best part of a pasta meal. You sit around your family meal, maybe with some fresh garlic bread from the oven and big, juicy meatballs on top of your pasta. Everyone dives in and has a great time. Sounds like a great family meal. The fruits of your effort are enjoyed as you finish all the spaghetti on the table. However, making homemade salsa takes a lot of time and energy! If you are really making this from scratch, you need all the original ingredients. This includes fresh tomatoes (preferably from your garden), fresh herbs (also from your garden), onions, garlic, and spices. Then you have to prepare these ingredients and turn them into a sauce. You’re chopping, mixing, and stirring everything in a giant saucepan. You could be in the kitchen all day making this sauce. This doesn’t even include the rest of your food, like the handmade rolled meatballs, a vegetable, and the delicious garlic bread mentioned above. If you want to spend all day in the kitchen, great, but chances are you have other things to do during the day.
Pros and cons: canned sauce
The sauce in a jar is easy to prepare, because it is already made! You don’t have to enslave yourself chopping herbs and adding spices and creating a sauce because it’s done. This leaves you more time to prepare a real meal for your family. In fact, you can even add to the sauce in a jar. You could add more spices and maybe more herbs to try. The modern family no longer has time to sit down and eat a completely homemade meal, and that’s fine. These days all we can do is sit together once a week. Sitting with your family is recommended, and the sauce in a jar gives you more time to spend with them. Best of all, it’s easy to save the sauce for another night if you don’t finish it all. Homemade salsa should generally be eaten right away or frozen. Frozen sauce is not ideal, but the jars can be refrigerated for a few more days. If you’re craving a quick and easy meal, Jarred Pasta with Sauce is the way to go!