To think that sauces from jars are much nicer than homemade?

[Satine5]

Or am I just a rubbish cook? I don't buy ready meals, but I can't get over my love of ready made sauces. As hard as I try, a can of chopped tomatoes and herbs are never as nice as a jar of good old loyd grossman bolognese sauce. What am I doing wrong? Same with hummus- I tried making my own and it was vile!

But there are some sauces I would buy, like a one-off that I don't use much. I'm a big fan of ready made pastes, like curry paste. You can add your own touch and don't have the preservatives etc.

you are a rubbish cook

jar sauces always have a tangy flavour. homemade is so easy a few herbs and some tomato puree (this does make a difference) is so much nicer

the secret to good homemade sauce is SLOW cooking.

saute a finely chopped onion for 10 mins or so (don't let it burn)
add some chopped garlic and cook for a minute or so
add your tin of chopped tomatoes then simmer very gently for at least 30 minutes
add seasoning to taste (and i usually add a half teaspoon of sugar)

even with no herbs this tastes great - but only if it has been cooked long enough

much cheaper, and much much nicer IMO than jars!

I used a packet sauce (Blue dragon sweet chilli sauce) the other week.
I'd made a Chinese meal from scratch, and had used a home made portion of sweet and sour sauce for my meal, but it was too spicy for DD.
Anyway, I found it bland, boring, too sweet, and with no substance.

I'm not a food snob, not really, I used jars and packets when I was learning, but I don't think they taste very nice.

the thing i sometimes do is burn my garlic and it tatses [bleurgh] I have started buying lazy garlic , why didnt i know about this amazing stuff

Patak's tastes good because it had loads of oil in it! Homemade curry is easy fast and so much better for you.

Now then, OP is not a rubbish cook! Just needs some sauce making edyoocaytion!

Do I really need to simmer for an hour? There is just something in loyd's sauces I can't put my finger on that tastes good. Like sun dried tomato? Should I be adding those to my sauce? I really want to convert (need to, as I would like to make a decent sauce for my baby-before you panic, I don't feed her ready made sauces )

YABU they have a nasty aftertaste usually don't they? I make lush sauces!

I blame the bloody cook-from-scratch snobs who affect "Oh, why on earth would anyone buy sauce in a jar when it's sooooooo simple and quick to make your own, you simply chop up an onion, add a tin of tomatoes and some seasoning and voila, delicious, cheap and quicker than it takes to warm up a jar".
What the OP has done is to believe this bollocks, and of course she has ended up with indelible food. A nice pasta sauce takes 5-10 ingredients and at least half an hour. You need a recipe OP, or failing that, take the ingredients on the back of a jar of Loyd's finest and cook them slowly.

Err, inedible food, not indelible food

Oh im not a cook from scratch snob and infact my meals are really boring sometimes , I just dont like jars much and also they can taste metally

And, can I say, I checked all the dates on the packets the other night, and only one held up-Tesco Value instant custard, the rest had dates of 2011 or earlier (I'm a hoarder!)
I've learned to cook since buying the packets, luckily the sauce didn't poison DD!

Really though, home made is better every time, and it's not hard once you know how.

I buy jars of sauce in the main, except for bolognaise/lasagne in which case I make my own. Jars of white sauce used though.

Love a pasta bake, and mmmmmmm Homepride (I think its called) jar of sauce is yum yum.

I dont simmer for hours as i dont have hours i did a pasta sauce in 20 minutes on friday and i blitzed it,

Sauces in jars are much nicer than my cooking. My dh is a chef on the other hand and the sauces he makes from scratch are vastly superior than any jars/ packets. It's not the raw ingredients, it's what you can do with them.

Was always disappointed with my tomato pasta sauce then found a recipe on the BBc food guide online. Add some chilli flakes, sugar and balsamic vinegar to the usual toms and basil. - it's LOVELY!

I ve really tried to fall in love with cook in sauces from jars, it would make life so each easier. But I loathe them. They all without exception have too much salt in (no they are not tasty, they are salty!) and they nearly alll seem to have garlic powder in, which gives it petrol overtones when eating, and leaves such a horrible taste in the mouth the next day.....and sometimes even the next day. If I cant be bothered to make a sauce from scratch, then I d rather have a cheese sandwich rather than use a sauce from a jar - and I dont even like cheese!

For me it's the sugar content!!
All processed sauces taste so sweet and sugary once you have started making your own.
I agree about the slow simmer. I always add bouillion and lots and lots of garlic.
I do cheat sometimes and throw in a spoonful of pesto from a jar, though not if there is fresh basil on the windowsill.

yes, I do need sauce eduuucation! I do try, with tomato it just never tastes...wholesome? Good tip about sugar, I will try that.
Ok, so how many cans of tinned tomatoes and hours do I need to make a decent batch?

I don't like sauces from jars.

We had some pesto from a jar recently and it was shockingly unpleasant.

Home made sauces take longer but are so much better, plus they're not full of salt or sugar.

Simmer a load of stuff for an hour or bung a Lloyds over the pasta and stir it through, ready in seconds....I really don't think I can be arsed with the first option.

Have read the thread but I have to say... once I wanted to impress a suitor who was having a dinner party )for six) so I made dessert. I made a trifle.

This fucker cost me £30 as I wanted to impress and left it all too late and had to go to M&S. Plus I thought fancy sprinkles would win his heart. No, it seems.

There's a lesson in this somewhere

YABU.

Onions and fresh garlic fried up, add tinned toms, grated carrot, fresh herbs and a few chilli flakes. Whizz it up or leave it chunky. It freezes really well so you can make a big batch. You could even put it in sterilised jars and store it that way if you wanted