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Nothing like some spaghetti sauce from a box rather than a jar. Yum!
Ever since arriving in Spain in September, I have been eating my spaghetti without sauce. I would put butter on it, or maybe some cheese, but never spaghetti sauce. Why? Here in Spain spaghetti sauce is only sold in boxes – not in jars — and until recently I just couldn’t bring myself to eat “fried tomato” from a cardboard box. In the USA when you want to have some sauce with your spaghetti, you buy a little Ragú in a jar and have at it. For the longest time, I just couldn’t comprehend how “cardboard box sauce” could be the same.
Anyway, things have changed now. I finally got tired of eating my spaghetti dry and bought a box of “fried tomato” at the supermarket down the street. As you can see in the above photo, the box came complete with a picture of a tomato on the front (for us foreigners to easily recognize it) and there was even an “easy open top.”
Of course, once I had made my “boxed sauce purchase,” I didn’t really know what to do next. Since I had never prepared spaghetti using sauce that literally came from a cardboard box, I didn’t know if there was something special I had to do like add water. Luckily, the same person who put the picture of the tomato on the front of the box for the foreigners also put directions on the side of the box detailing how to prepare it. Really, the directions were pretty simple and basically told me to “heat the sauce and then dump it on the spaghetti.” So, I heated up some sauce, boiled some spaghetti, and dumped the sauce on top of the spaghetti just as I had been instructed in the directions.
Really, the sauce tasted pretty close to what I’m used to having in the USA. I guess it was just a mental thing with me for a while: box sauce didn’t sound appetizing to me so I refused to try it. Maybe that’s the moral of this blog post: give things a chance before you come to a conclusion about them (and I suppose that can be applied to any cultural difference — not just food).
In any event, are there any Spanish foods that you just find too different to try? Have you ever been surprised by a Spanish food that you thought you wouldn’t like? I’d love to hear about your experiences with Spanish cuisine in the comments section of this post.
Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com
that sauce is nothing like american sauce. although i did find one that was better. that brand you have there is gross with nothing in it. if you had onions, bell pepers if you can find them, mushrooms will make the sauce better
@Rosalyn – Yeah, you’re kinda right. The brand I bought really didn’t have anything but “tomato extract” in it. haha I’ll have to try “fixing it up” with a little onion and what not the next time to make it a little more like what we use in the USA.
Hi Chris! I’ve been reading your blog since I found it. It’s very interesting to learn about a foreigner’s point of view about different aspects of my country. I don’t know where you live but it shocked to me you weren’t able to find more tomato sauces. There’s usually a big variety of these products at any supermarket…
From the brand in your picture:
Tomate frito product family
Home made variations. Much better
Solis brand. Under ‘gama solis’ you can find its products.
Knorr has some pasta sauces too. Productos-Salsas-Salsas-Salsas para pasta
Pasta brands also usually make their own sauces, like gallo
I can’t believe there’s none of this available at your local supermarket. Next time you buy tomato sauce take a closer look at the sauces section. You can also find the, cheaper, white brand equivalents to these products.
Espero no tener muchas faltas, en el fondo lo hacía más que nada para practicar inglés y suerte con esos spaguetti.
PS: Please, delete my previous message. I screwed it up.
@David – Thank you for the links. You’re right, I’ll have to take a closer look next time I go down the sauce aisle… I live in Burgos and have been going to a small supermarket, so that could make a difference but I’m sure if I check larger places like Carrefour they’d have more of a selection.
I’ve deleted your previous message as you asked.
Por cierto, hablas fenomenal el inglés… no había ningún error. Pero ya sabes… si te es más cómodo, puedes comentar en castellano.
A mí me da igual….
Thanks for visiting my site and for your comment!!
I always use one box/carton of Orlando fried tomatoe sauce as base for my tomatoe sause, especially when making lasagna. Add some fine chopped onion, some garlic, a bit of oregano and a good spoon of basil (albahaca) and your getting closer. Fry the onion/garlic slightly in a bit of olive oil before adding the sause and the spices. let simmer.
@Bjorn – Thanks for the info… I’ll have to try it next time, it sounds actually really good.
Thanks for some good reading on a sunday Chris
As far as i’m familiar to, the orlando tomato sauce is made by Heinz (correct me if i’m wrong on that). I use it always on my “cuban rice” (cubano arroz???), where I mix rice with an slighly fried egg (the plum well intact). Toss the sauce on there and stir together, mmmmm
@Espen – Yes, I do believe the sauce is made by Heinz. The “cuban rice” sounds good, thanks for sharing your tip!
They pack all kinds of product in Tetra packs back in North America so I’m not quite sure why you would be hung up on getting tomato sauce in one. That’s all that is in that box, tomato sauce. The same thing comes in cans and sometimes jars too.
David nailed it though, Gallo, Buitoni, and others (including the likes of Ragu I believe) can all be found in tomato, pesto, cream of mushroom, and more at Carrefour, Supercor, Hypercor, Mercadona, etc. etc.
Honestly though, why not make your own bolognaise, magarita, or similar? It’s not difficult. Fry up a little onion and garlic, ground beef or chicken, add some diced or whole canned tomatoes, some tomato paste and whatever vegetables you like with a few herbs. Doesn’t take more then 15 minutes to prepare, maybe a little longer with some simmering, and beats any canned sauce.
@Brad – Yes, since posting this I have found other sauce varieties. I’ll have to give preparing my own from scratch a whirl sometime though.
Hi!
OMG! im a spanish student living in London and i have been looking for orlando tomato sauce ever since i came to live here four years ago. ( i once even brought it back with me) Its THE best thing ever! one of the things i miss the most about spain, actually. Just think of it as the better version of the canned/chopped plum tomato cans, i used it as a base for eveything ( sauces mainly) it gives it a smoother much tastier texture, specially with bolognese and roasted vegetables, the colour is beautiful too. Much nicer than the tasteless and watery canned tomato i get over here in London.
ready made jar sauces is cheating!!! come on man , you live in spain now, make use of the gorgeous vegetables and ingredients around you!
@Mario – I can’t believe you miss the sauce from Spain so much. I prefer the ready-made stuff from the jar, like what is sold in the USA. I haven’t got time to “make use of the vegetables and ingredients around me” haha
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Want to know if you can buy Orlando tomatoe sauce is USA
I know of a lot of people they will live it and
besides they do have the “casera” which
means home made in Cristal jar awesome
wonder if we can buy it in USA?
@Blanca – I’ve never seen Orlando sauce in the USA; but, you could probably find something similar… have you tried Heinz tomato sauce? I “think” they have a similar product??? (Somebody correct me if I’m wrong)
@ Mario,
PLEASE PLEASE tell me you’ve found a place that sells the delicious and succulent Orlando sauce in London. I have been looking for this amazing sauce everywhere in Europe and the only place I found something similar was the Solis sauce in Geneva. But come on….Orlando sauce is the BEST!!! I’m thinking of trying the Borough Market, there is a Spanish store, fingers crossed they’ll have my sweet Orlando tomate frito sauce…..