FRUCTOSE, SUGAR, AND NO SUGAR – ALL IN YOUR SPAGHETTI SAUCE?
Did you know that most bottled spaghetti sauce jars or cans have sugar or high fructose corn syrup in it?
WHAT!!! I KNOW, eww.
I realized that quite a few years back when I started label reading and I was shocked to see sugar and high fructose corn syrup in everything – even a lot of savory items. Even the name high fructose corn syrup sounds super eww to me, especially in something like spaghetti sauce. Truth be told, I like to make things homemade but there is always a time and a place to have to buy a jar of quick tomato sauce. We are all human and there are no superheroes out there.
When I can’t make it homemade my personal preference is sugar instead of high fructose in a jar- that’s my personal preference. Maybe you see sugar and high fructose corn syrup the same (and they are close – more on that later) or maybe don’t care and you’re just trying to get food on the table (no shame there, sister!). Or maybe you just had an epiphany and your jaw is dropping knowing there was a sweetener in the sauce. Where ever you are on sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and spaghetti sauce, just know this is a no-judgment zone!
SUGAR VS HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP:
Although I opt for sugar, that hardly means that HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is way worse than sugar. Honestly they both breakdown in our bodies the same. It’s both of them that’s not good in excess!
Sugar, which is also known as sucrose is made up of fructose and glucose.
High fructose corn syrup is mainly fructose but to make it sweeter and more like table sugar, some of the fructose is manufactured into glucose. It’s pretty confusing but here is the point:
The main reason why sugar-based sweeteners (table sugar- sucrose / high fructose corn syrup – fructose) is unhealthy is because of the large amount of fructose they supply.
The liver is the only organ that can metabolize fructose in significant amounts. When your liver gets overloaded, it turns the fructose into fat.
This info came from here if you want to read the whole article. I’m not a nutritionist or a licensed anything in that department but from my humble research, that’s what I know.
LEAVE IT TO DESSERTS:
So why do we put this unhealthy stuff in tomato sauce and not just leave it to the desserts? Good question! Honestly, if you ever have tried a tomato sauce with no sweetener you will realize that it has a bit of bitterness to it and it needs to be balanced out with sweetness. One time my parents got a sugar free spaghetti sauce at Costco and one night while making spaghetti for them, I used it. Let me tell you- it was NOT great straight out of the jar – quite bitter and far from comfort food.
Have you ever tried canned tomato paste plain before? It’s quite bitter too! Since spaghetti sauce is basically tomatoes, spices, and water it all makes sense. Even making ketchup is much more than thinning tomato paste out with water. You need sweetness and acids to balance it.
I always like to make everything I can from scratch so that I can see and control the amount of sugar or salt that goes into my food and just avoid nasty chemicals, fake sugar and make sure I’m eating whole foods. Is that realistic to do all the time? No way!!! Like I said we are all human. I can’t live in the kitchen all day and I certainly don’t want to, even when I do like to cook. But when I can and when it’s feasible- I make my own.
I will say though, that my personal preference for sweetener is going to be honey or pure maple syrup. Maple syrup definitely has a distinct taste, so I leave that for granola, desserts or meats that would work with a maple flavor. Honey works great in tomato based things like tomato sauce, baked beans, and ketchup.
BEYOND THE BITTERNESS:
Beyond the bitterness of tomatoes, tomatoes need flavor. Long before I started reading labels I used to always “doctor up” Prego spaghetti sauce or whatever I picked up at the store. I always added way more garlic, basil, and oregano to the jar because in my opinion it just seemed kind of flat. Maybe the seasonings die after being in a jar so long or maybe it’s my love for Asian foods that make American food sort of bland and boring to me. So one day (about the time I started paying attention to what I was eating), I started making sauce homemade. I figured if I was already going above and beyond adding ingredients to a jarred sauce why not start with something simpler and with less sugar and salt.
Two staples I like to always have in my pantry is tomato paste and canned plain tomato sauce. It’s used in so many things. I’ll have to make a cupboard list one day of all my staples I keep. For the tomato sauce, I prefer to get the plain tomato sauce with nothing in it besides tomato paste and water, citric acid (which preserves it because there is water in there, and likely garlic and onion. The tomato paste is just tomatoes that they dehydrate and purée into a paste. Because there is no water, they don’t have to use a preservative (citric acid), so that’s one perk to tomatoes paste.
Honestly, I prefer tomato paste because it’s simply one ingredient. So why don’t I only buy tomato paste and add water to make my own tomato sauce? You would think but it just doesn’t taste the same. Try experimenting and see if I’m right. Tomato paste has a partial sundried taste as it’s baked in the sun. Okay well, that’s true for some brands. I just watched a video on it being made that way in Italy. Otherwise, it’s boiled down to thicken and then all of the skin and seeds are drained out and reduced to a thick concentrated paste.
READY TO MAKE THE SPAGHETTI SAUCE?
Try this spaghetti sauce in my yummy eggplant lasagna recipe!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 yellow onion (chopped)
- 25 fresh cherry tomatoes (no worries if your tomatoes are looking a little sad, they will pucker up while cooking!)
- 4 pieces garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 – 15 oz tomato sauce jars (I used GV brand but any is fine)
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- Additionally to be used for ground beef – 1/2 tsp of each: basil, oregano, onion, garlic powder, and salt.
- 2/3 cup merlot (optional but it adds a lot of depth and a perfect rich acidic flavor) I get a Merlot at Aldis for $3. See wine note below or for subs.
TOOLS NEEDED:
- food chopper
- knifes
- cutting board
- deep, heavy-bottomed pot with lid
- utensils for stirring
- sauté pan
- measuring cups/tbsp/tsp
INSTRUCTIONS:
Add 2 tablespoon of oil to your pan and sauté the onions until they are translucent but not brown using medium-low heat.
While the onions are cooking, add the tomatoes and garlic to the same pan.
Using a spoon, transfer just the tomatoes to your food chopper/food processor. It is fine if several pieces of onion get transferred, just not all of them.
Puree cherry tomatoes in chopper/processor.
Pour the pureed tomatoes back into the pot with the onions and garlic.
Add water.
Add the cans of tomato sauce.
Add remaining spices.
In a skillet, brown the ground beef with 1/2 tsp of each: basil, oregano, onion, garlic powder, and salt on medium heat.
Note: Cover the pan with a lid if it gets splashy. This also helps with less grease cleanup afterwards
After 2 minutes, break up big chunks of the ground beef and flip the meat around to cook evenly. (A few browned pieces are great for flavor but you don’t want all of the pieces browned like a burger, so turn down the temperature if needed to finish cooking.)
Once the meat is at least 90% done cooking, add to sauce. (Any leftover pink pieces will cook in the sauce.)
Meat Note:
To transfer the meat to the sauce, use a slotted spoon to get some of the tasty grease flavor but not too much so the sauce doesn’t get overly greasy and fatty. (Feel free to drain instead for a lighter option.)
To complete the sauce, add in 2/3 cups of merlot wine. This step is OPTIONAL as some people prefer not to cook with wine or purchase it for cooking. No worries, this sauce will taste great without it. However, if you have never tried it, it really takes your sauce to the next level.
Wine Note:
If you are a wine drinker or read French cookbooks then you might hear never cook with something you wouldn’t drink. I disagree! In a dish with so many flavors like a spaghetti sauce use a cheap bottle especially if it’s just for cooking. Please don’t use non-alcoholic cooking wine. That stuff is gross and loaded with salt and will make any dish worse than better! And FYI, all of the alcohol cooks out and just the flavor is left! Merlot is what I like to grab for this recipe however a red blend will work fine. You do not want to use a sweet wine but something fuller and drier – so if you are a wine newbie (or like me) you can read the back of the bottles and some will say what it taste like or what to pair it with. If it says beef or pasta, it will do! No Wine Option: If you are looking for a different substitute for red wine, start with 1 tsp to tbsp of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. You might need to balance out the acid out with a little honey (or sugar, but I prefer honey). Start with 1 teaspoon of honey and go from there.
Now that all of the ingredients are added, give it time for the flavors time to marry together.
Turn off the heat and leave the pot on the stovetop for about an hour so that it can cool some before popping the whole pot in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. This is totally optional but I highly recommend it for the best flavor!
Spaghetti is always one of those things that taste better the next day (also chili, cheesecake, and lasagna!). Instead of running your burning for several hours and using up gas or electricity or heating the house in the summer, popping it in the fridge does the same thing without evaporation.
Four hours later or the next day, just pop the sauce on the burner and heat it up until hot and then it will be ready to ladle over pasta. All of the alcohol will have left at that point if that was any question or concern!
If you are short on time and are making this sauce shortly before dinner time, you can simmer it on the stove for 30-45 minutes for the next best option. You can simmer it with the lid off for a little evaporation to thicken the sauce.
**If at any time the sauce gets a little too thick, you can add up to a 1/2 cup of water without losing the flavor. If you need to add more liquid, use red wine so the flavor doesn’t get watered down.
DOUBLE UP AND MAKE EXTRA: Want to make extra and freeze it? Do it! Just double or triple the recipe, let it cool in the fridge overnight and pop it in freezer bags or glass jars (make sure to give expanding room on top). Make sure to label your jars and add a made date!
As always, let me know if you have any questions and if you make this be sure to tag me @linjoylife or hashtag me #linjoylife. Don’t forget you can save any of these photos to your Pinterest board so you can make this recipe later when you are ready. Happy cooking!
