Campbells buys Rao’s. RIP Rao’s

[Anonymous]

I like Mezzetta marinara. I have never been impressed with Rao's. I think it is overrated. But alas I know what it is like to lose something you love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good god, people. All of you having a fit over jarred sauce. With good quality canned tomatoes and spices, you can make better sauce in no time at all for a fraction of the cost.

How do you make yours? I’ve tried and usually prefer the expensive jarred stuff. And the convenience alone is worth a ton.

NP. You can make an excellent simple sauce (the Raos I've tried tastes like this simple sauce), or if you have time you can make a more complex sauce.

For the simple sauce, saute garlic in olive oil. Hand chop it if you have time, or use jarred if you don't. A minute over low heat is fine, but don't let it brown. Grab a couple of cans of plain tomatoes, nothing added to them. Give them a quick whirl with a hand blender to chop them up well but not to the point of being smooth. Dump them in the pan with the sauteed garlic, a little salt and pepper, and let it cook for about 20 minutes. It may need ~1 teaspoon of sugar because canned tomatoes can be acid. That's it. If you want a little depth of flavor and you have some boxed chicken broth already in the fridge, drop some in as well. Let it cook down if you add the chicken broth. If you like spices in your sauce, add some the last few minutes of cooking, such as oregano and basil. Done inside of 30 minutes.

You can make a tomato sauce with tomatoes from your garden, and freeze for future use. That's more involved and takes half a day. You add onions, garlic, chopped fresh tomatoes, etc. I like the depth of flavor that chicken broth gives. I think I saw a recipe that had you add some chicken wings, which you fish out before you blend the sauce at the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good god, people. All of you having a fit over jarred sauce. With good quality canned tomatoes and spices, you can make better sauce in no time at all for a fraction of the cost.

Yeah no. I have 2 kids under 3 years old. I’m happy to splurge on Rao’s to save time and have a delicious meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the quality has already gone down over the past year or so. Oh well. There are lots of other good jarred sauces.

Like...?

NP. We like Mia's.

https://www.harristeeter.com/p/mia-s-kitchen-bistro-marinara-pasta-sauce/0085604400302

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good god, people. All of you having a fit over jarred sauce. With good quality canned tomatoes and spices, you can make better sauce in no time at all for a fraction of the cost.

How do you make yours? I’ve tried and usually prefer the expensive jarred stuff. And the convenience alone is worth a ton.

NP. Agree it’s all about the convenience, and so you lose that aspect, but tomato sauce does freeze so you can make a fresh batch and freeze portions.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never understood why people like Rao’s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never understood why people like Rao’s

Because it tastes amazing. I never understood why one person doesn't like something and things no one else should either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the quality has already gone down over the past year or so. Oh well. There are lots of other good jarred sauces.

Like...?

We get whatever is on sale in the $8+ price range. They are almost all good and interchangeable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never understood why people like Rao’s

And there’s no real reason why you should.

As for me, I never understood why people like marinara and other tomato based sauces — until I tasted Rao’s.
Different people like different things. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good god, people. All of you having a fit over jarred sauce. With good quality canned tomatoes and spices, you can make better sauce in no time at all for a fraction of the cost.

Yeah no. I have 2 kids under 3 years old. I’m happy to splurge on Rao’s to save time and have a delicious meal.

Jarred marinara and De Cecco angel hair pasta (cooks in 4 minutes) are always in my pantry. They are part of my emergency food arsenal. On a really busy night, there is a choice between spending 10 minutes making a nice pasta, or ordering expensive, greasy takeout. I'll choose the former. We all rely on "emergency" foods now and then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good god, people. All of you having a fit over jarred sauce. With good quality canned tomatoes and spices, you can make better sauce in no time at all for a fraction of the cost.

Yeah no. I have 2 kids under 3 years old. I’m happy to splurge on Rao’s to save time and have a delicious meal.

Jarred marinara and De Cecco angel hair pasta (cooks in 4 minutes) are always in my pantry. They are part of my emergency food arsenal. On a really busy night, there is a choice between spending 10 minutes making a nice pasta, or ordering expensive, greasy takeout. I'll choose the former. We all rely on "emergency" foods now and then.

PP - yes! And a jar of Rao’s and some good pasta is still way cheaper than ordering takeout in that situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good god, people. All of you having a fit over jarred sauce. With good quality canned tomatoes and spices, you can make better sauce in no time at all for a fraction of the cost.

Yeah no. I have 2 kids under 3 years old. I’m happy to splurge on Rao’s to save time and have a delicious meal.

Jarred marinara and De Cecco angel hair pasta (cooks in 4 minutes) are always in my pantry. They are part of my emergency food arsenal. On a really busy night, there is a choice between spending 10 minutes making a nice pasta, or ordering expensive, greasy takeout. I'll choose the former. We all rely on "emergency" foods now and then.

Exactly! I also keep Rao’s and DeCecco (except we prefer Buccatini) stocked in my pantry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would it change it?

It’s like when Coke bought Honest Tea. It was profitable, just not profitable enough for them to continue to bother with. So they killed the product and consumers lost out on a tasty low-sugar slightly sweet drink option.

There’s no way Campbell’s will keep Rao’s the way it is. That’s just not how these giant corporations work.

Honest Tea became Just Ice Tea. Same owner.
https://eatthechange.com/products/just-ice-tea

Ice tea? It’s Iced tea. Good lord.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would it change it?

It’s like when Coke bought Honest Tea. It was profitable, just not profitable enough for them to continue to bother with. So they killed the product and consumers lost out on a tasty low-sugar slightly sweet drink option.

There’s no way Campbell’s will keep Rao’s the way it is. That’s just not how these giant corporations work.

Honest Tea became Just Ice Tea. Same owner.
https://eatthechange.com/products/just-ice-tea

Ice tea? It’s Iced tea. Good lord.

Nope, it is not. I can't stand the other iced teas, they are much too sweet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good god, people. All of you having a fit over jarred sauce. With good quality canned tomatoes and spices, you can make better sauce in no time at all for a fraction of the cost.

How do you make yours? I’ve tried and usually prefer the expensive jarred stuff. And the convenience alone is worth a ton.

NP. You can make an excellent simple sauce (the Raos I've tried tastes like this simple sauce), or if you have time you can make a more complex sauce.

For the simple sauce, saute garlic in olive oil. Hand chop it if you have time, or use jarred if you don't. A minute over low heat is fine, but don't let it brown. Grab a couple of cans of plain tomatoes, nothing added to them. Give them a quick whirl with a hand blender to chop them up well but not to the point of being smooth. Dump them in the pan with the sauteed garlic, a little salt and pepper, and let it cook for about 20 minutes. It may need ~1 teaspoon of sugar because canned tomatoes can be acid. That's it. If you want a little depth of flavor and you have some boxed chicken broth already in the fridge, drop some in as well. Let it cook down if you add the chicken broth. If you like spices in your sauce, add some the last few minutes of cooking, such as oregano and basil. Done inside of 30 minutes.

You can make a tomato sauce with tomatoes from your garden, and freeze for future use. That's more involved and takes half a day. You add onions, garlic, chopped fresh tomatoes, etc. I like the depth of flavor that chicken broth gives. I think I saw a recipe that had you add some chicken wings, which you fish out before you blend the sauce at the end.

DP. We all know how to make a quick pasta sauce. The point is that the “simple sauce” 20 minute sauce is not the same thing as the sauce that takes most of the day, which is what the Rao’s sauce is a substitute for.