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Discussion starter · #41 ·
what is the difference between Pizza sauce and Tomato sauce? or spaghetti sauce. Didn't know jiffy made pizza dough, I have seen Pillsbury in the tube.  We used to buy their corn muffin and cake mix.  My guess your OK because it wasn't made by someone else were all you had to do was heat it.
 
Keep kidding yourself that fresh from scratch is so much better. It's OK. You feel good about it.
Ok to each their own I say, but is it really necessary to put down those of us who make pizza from scratch and with fresh ingredients?

You lost me after "eggs"
 
Looking good @Iceman but for one thing..... dried herbs and only IN the sauce ... better to infuse throughout IMO.

If I want greens I will make a proper salad with a really great vinaigrette and scoop it onto the slice as I go (but that is just me and the way I roll).

Have used those little Jiffy mixes for over 50 years and have never seen the pizza dough .... I feel cheated.

mimi

OBTW.... I like your lesson about the best of ingredients and loosing nuance but shaker cheese?

Really?

mimi

One more thing...I do like the little packs of herbed dry cheese that Papa Johns sends out with the delivery guy (one of whom has become so much like family that he joined us for Thanksgiving lol)

m.
 
Seems to me the discussion here is economics. Processed food, or canned food, is more about money than gastronomy. Some acquire a taste for processed food, and that is the business model of "eclectic" american processed food products. Cheetos. Canned tomato sauces, Campbell's soup, tang, etc. It's all about branding, and suggesting that a $2.99 can of tomatoes is better or equal to in season tomatoes, or tang is just as nutritious and as good as freshly squeezed orange juice is advertising driven and about economies of scale in food manufacture. What drives the mechanism isn't taste or the actual ingredient itself. It's about providing a commodity to generate a revenue stream so that the consumer doesn't have to be "bothered" with the real thing. You cannot deny that narrative. But I have to add that I am firmly against corporate greed and "corporatism."

I personally like fresh tomato/ tomato sauce on my pizza as opposed to some high fructose corn syrup laden tomato product - with who knows what preservatives -where you have no idea how it's grown - or processed. I guess it's a matter of taste but IMHO fresh crafted pizza with fresh ingredients has more flavor depth and nuance/ subtlety that no corner pizza joint, frozen product or canned ingredients can match. And it doesn't take that much more time to achieve better results than relying on "hacks." Some people don't care for color, as long as it's bright. 

But then again, I like cheetos, but I still can't see the allure of using jarred grated cheese. 
 
well $18 for a pizza is crazy when it just hand full of cheese and ladle of sauce, someone got to complain or it will be $100 a pie like ever growing taxes. Never said store bought foods were the best but save time and money. Both my parents had long drown out illness and when you are low on cash no one is there to help. seams today when you save a dollar here someone is always there to take it away, like the walls have ears.

Hey I could complain about the cost of cooking gear, what can a $200 chef knife do that a $20 can't. I have a knife I got free with a grill very long time ago and still using it, cut through a car fender on TV and never needs sharping unlike my Farberware.
where are you buying this $18 pie? I'm paying $900 a month for my room, but I can walk out of it and in 5 mins hit any number for places for a $8 large pizza.
 
Couple more things, not sure about eggs in pizza dough, it must add flavor but doesn't make the fresh mealy crust I'm after. Yes, I'm after mealy crust.

Tomato paste is great for sauce, no hassle with skins or seeds. They must have a super duper machine that makes tomato paste. I'll have to try a garden sauce from fresh tomatoes. I've heard that seeds can make the sauce bitter, but I have blended whole tomatoes including the skins and they tasted great. Thing is you would have to reduce blended tomatoes for a while to get a thicker sauce, or add corn starch, or both.

As far as cheap pizza goes, I'm usually content when I get a slice for $1.50 or a whole pizza for under $15.

Fresh ingredients make all the difference for hot pizza, when it's day old (in the refrigerator) the cheese selection matters more.
 
Just take a look at the REAL Italian Caputo 00 flours listed here. And go make some crusts. You won't be disappointed as they're made of soft wheat and ground much finer that the southern White Lily flours here in the United States. Incomparable. A stiff bite with a chewy underchew once you bite into the properly made crust.
 
Discussion starter · #51 · (Edited)
Long island ny, $21 large, $18 medium, I think $13 for small, and this is cheese pizza. Its like $3 a slice now, whopper at burger king close to $5. Can't make my own cheese or grow tomatoes and would never kill a live animal to eat. Have to buy ingredients already made. I do make some meals from scrach all most. more into frozen vegetables, boxed potatoes and stuffing and cake and brownies along with ice cream chocolate sauce and whip cream. I do read lables and try to get lowest sodium/sugar content, they are out there on the shelves you just need the time to look. For many years I made thanksgiving meal, turkey potatoes and pumpkin bread stuffing, but getting tired of shopping and putting so much into a meal that is over in 10 minutes but takes hours. Shop rite will do thanksgiving again, oceans spray cranberries sauce, and them Hawaiian rolls. BJs we found makes a great tasting blueberry pie which still around we finish the meal. My family is down to just 2 now.

I don't eat pizza that often to use 5 lbs. Flour. I do buy Olio Carli Olive Oil, cost $$$ but its worth it. I have also tried their sauces and pasta very good. They now have 2 flavored oil bought, yes I guess I maybe grow olivez and press them under my feet like grapes but not into making own flavored oils. That I feel better left in the hands of trained people.

In closing not everyone can cook well enogh that they should. You can follow a recipe using the same ingredients and still not produce the same as others, so why try. I pretty much know my limits and they get greater every year
 
This is where a passionate home cook differs. Making a holiday meal is full of traditions and a I enjoy the process. I'm usually too tired to even eat anything but the process of cooking is spectacularly enjoyable for me. Our holiday meals are complex and drawn out, it takes hours to enjoy them from the appetizers to the main course and on to dessert and aperatifs. We linger over the meals and I spend days in the kitchen. The shopping is strategic because the shopping lists are well organized, my T-day shopping list is already up and running. The menu is thoughtfully put together.
 
KK ... I'm not putting anyone down. I was making a pre-emptive wisecrack to getting beaten up myself. I was expecting arguments about fresh tomatoes vs cans of high-quality stuff. Take it easy. I like the "doughier-quality" I get from the eggs for regular flat or pan/stuffed pizza-crust. For a "cracker-crust", such as for margarita or neapolitan styles, I'll use flat-breads. They're made in Chicago; @ .99¢/pkg for 6-8 lg-thin or 8-10 med-reg. Trust me here, you really can't make these any better from scratch.

FlipFlop ... The fresh basil and oregano is for a sprinkle over the top. It cooks up really nice. The sauce mix has everything in it already. The beauty is that it's a really good seasoned/textured sauce made from only opening up two(2) cans and mixing it up. I reduce the water from the tomatoes because I like a thicker sauce for pizza. I use the same 2-can mix without reduction for any other time I need an Italian tomato sauce.

Dagger ... that should answer you too. I like pizza sauce thicker than pasta sauce most of the time. If I want to go overboard with thickness I use a cup of minced sun-dried tomatoes sizzled up in some oil then blitzed through the food-pro. I make what I call "tomatoe-jam" that way too, by adding sauteed shallots, some steak seasonings, garlic and worcestershire sauce, all going through the food-pro. It's for my meat-loaf. I won't serve regular ketchup/catsup with my meat-loaf.

jake ... The cans of tomatoes I use cost $1.09, and the sauce is $1.69. The 2-can combo easily makes 4 pizzas. My regular/standard sauce, for whatever I use it for, is ready-to-go in 5-minutes. It IS as good if not better than fresh San Marzanos.
Here's the breakdown on the tomatoes:
Ingredients:
Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Calcium Chloride and Citric Acid.
Here's the breakdown on the sauce:
Ingredients:
California Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Canola Oil, Imported Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Imported Pecorino Romano Cheese (Pasteurized Sheep's Milk, Cheese Cultures, Sea Salt, and Enzymes), Spices, Garlic and Citric Acid. Gluten free.
Allergen: Contains milk.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 0.25 cup (63 g); Servings Per Container 7; Amount Per Serving: Calories 40; Calories from Fat 10.
(% Daily Value*)
Total Fat 1g 2%, Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 310mg 13%, Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%, Dietary Fiber 2g 9%, Sugars 5g, Protein 2g, Vitamin A 23%, Vitamin C 16%, Calcium 1%, Iron 5%
kuan ... Geno's East IS for tourists. The best "Chicago" pizza is from non-commercialized-franchised neighborhood places. Geno's East is almost always the #1 joint on the list of places closed for "Health-Code" reasons in the entire city. Geno's, Uno's, Due's, Nancy's, Edwardo's, Lou Malnatti's et al don't by any means suck ... they're just not the same as neighborhood places.
 
Discussion starter · #56 ·
I buy pollyo ricotta cheese when it's on sale and used to use their mozzarella but changed to Belgioioso. This stuff makes pollyo taste and feel like putty and I can get it in BJs 4 8oz pack for around $13.
 
Just to continue w/ my Chicago Food attitude ... and to throw gas on the fire ... "Nathan's" blows.
Chicago also has/makes the best hot dogs.

I hate to say it, but you're right. new york makes crap hot dogs. but, at least we didn't decide to turn it into a casserole and still call it a hot dog.
 
cas·se·role / ˈkasəˌrōl
noun
a kind of stew or side dish that is cooked slowly in an oven.
verb
cook (food) slowly in a casserole.

LOL. You guys sure love that word "casserole". Too bad you all don't use it correctly and don't have any clue what one really is. Pity.

 
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