What is it with American marinara sauce?
 

Hi there,

every time I eat marinara sauce that was prepared with an American recipe or by an American company(i.e. in the US in restaurants, bought from a store or even on an American airline) I almost gag - the sauce seems to contain some ingredient that feels the same to my taste buds as vomit, or the stench it leaves.
Now don't get me wrong, I of course know that this doesn't mean American marinara sauce is bad by itself, I am just not used to it and it is just prepared differently in some way. I fall for this like once a visit or so, always hoping for the best.
Whenever I asked American friends to try the sauce they thought it was fine, so obviously it is just my personal (or European?) taste. I haven't had the chance to taste home-made marinara sauce in the US and watching the person preparing it, unfortunately.

I have looked at recipes to figure the difference, but couldn't really find any. Does anyone know the taste or feeling? Any explanations?

is it sweet(uhhh yuck! many here are, sadly) or is it a bitter?

Good sauce should be neither but generally I agree I have a hard time eating out these days as the sauces taste like Ragu even at better "quality" chains now, trend toward the bottom of the pack!

I think it may be High Fructose Corn Syrup that is making it sweet, and horrible!

Something you'll not find around my house ever :)

I would best describe it as "biting" in the back of my mouth - neither really sweet, bitter or sour.
However, that is a good tip - I am pretty sure it is a property of some ingredient that is grown or used differently in the USA; not some ingredient not found in Europe.

I can't think of any core ingredient that would be wildly different due to agriculture etc, only thing I can think is PRESERVATIVES, or HFCS.

I tried something out after finding some biscuits from a can that had been cooked in my fridge behind the drawer(I have no idea how it got there) I never eat the things and made it when someone was over and wanted them, 8 months ago!

Well my experiment goes that I took them out of fridge and they looked and smell like cooked yesterday so they have now been sitting in a ziploc on the counter for 2 weeks, and they still have no signs of mold, or any other decay. I am really amazed at how much preservative must be in this to keep that the case, what do they do embalm the ingredients?!

Well, I also think that the ingredients would vary in respect to taste enhancers etc. I am mostly comparing purchased (store, restaurant) sauce in the US to homemade sauce in Germany, this might be a reason too.
Things like garlic or onion powder come to mind too..there ight be different restrictions on what can and can't be used..

There is exactly the reason :)

A homemade not out of a jar sauce served at home is a different beast anywhere.

I know exactly what you're referring to. Maybe it's the oregano? I think that is less common in Europe. Also there is a big difference between commercial sauces (most of which are gross in the US as well as in Europe) and homemade!

I have of course had purchased sauce in Europe as well, and while it wasn't always good, it has never had that effect on me.

Oregano itself probably isn't the reason as I use that quite frequently. Maybe it's a different kind of Oregano though? Wikipedia lists Mexican Oregano to be stronger, cheaper and used more frequently in the USA..

Don't think so, I cook a lot of mexican and have a lot of mexican spices, but I ever use mexican oregano in a marinara.

That's funny. I always find Marinara sauce to be so bland! But, I try hard not to consume any jar sauce. Making your own is so easy and it tastes so much better! Is there a hot pepper in what you're eating? It does get added to some.

For a definitive answer, buy a jar, taste the sause, then read the list of ingredients. You might find something there. But, it might fall under the general category of "spices".

European tomato sauce definitely tastes different from American one. I always thought its because of different spices or different combination of spices. What also changes the taste is if the sauce is with American Italian sausage.

Back in the day, Barilla sauce sold in the US was imported from Italy and it was delicious; very much like fresh tomatoes.
Now it's made in the US and it tastes pretty acid.

Di Cecco and Dellalo are available here and are still made in Italy. From the American brands, I find Muir Glen Organic very decent.

If its with sausage, then it can't be Marinara sauce, which is meatless.

I think that the biggest difference is that most Americans totally overcook tomato sauce of all kinds but especially marinara. Marinara is supposed to be a lightly cooked sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, and basil. It is supposed to taste fresh. When you cook tomatoes too much, it can bring out the natural acids in them and turn the taste of them sour. Which is why most commercially prepared sauces have sugar or corn syrup in them, to cover the sour taste. Another reason for taste difference could be the use of dry herbs, whereas in Europe it is more common to use fresh. Dry herbs are added at the beginning of cooking so that the moisture can bring out the flavors over time, but the flavor is adulterated by the oxidation process. When cooking with fresh herbs, you don't add them until its almost done to preserve the natural flavors.

I can't stand Marinara sauce unless its been cooked by me or a family member. I am second generation Italian on my fathers side, and we come from Naples, which is where Marinara sauce comes from.

1. American recipes typically overdo the sugar in tomato sauces of all kinds.

2. The spice you are referring to could be cumin, which I have found to excess in all sorts of commercially prepared tomato sauces, frozen pizzas, etc.