My notes while trying to find the best jarred marinara you can buy (spoiler alert: it's Rao's, but you should make your own if you can afford the time).

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Really have discovered that jared sauces almost always suck. They always taste sugary. 

The best takeaway from trying over a dozen different sauce types: if it has "sugar" in the ingredients list, it's going to taste sugary. The degree will vary, and will not correspond exactly with the grams of sugar. 

Ultimately, this is the best plan: buy sauces that are good, like Rao's to have as backups, and then make sauce every 2 weeks or so and freeze it. 

To try to get discounts, go to https://www.facebook.com/raoshomemade/ and scroll down and search for "code" and try the ones they posted. 

Raos

Where to buy: basically, have looked around, and while some places offer some Rao's for $7.39 per 24oz bottle, basically none of them offer the 32oz and the selections are pretty sparse (none of the more unusual types, that I want with each order). The all also have minimum shippings (Kroger, Walmart, etc). So if you were buying bulk in Marinara or Arrabiatta, then maybe it would make sense, but because they don't offer 32oz, then you're probably paying the same or more because you're not getting the increase in volume. 


Raos Sauces to try: 
Garden Vegetable Sauce
	•	Lots of big chunks of mushroom, etc. It's pretty good, and a nice change from just standard Marinara. Definitely not a red flag or anything. Issue is you get less sauce for your buck because there's so many vegetables. 
Roasted Eggplant Sauce
	•	Is pretty good. Hard to tell how different from marinara it is, but could get it to mix things up slightly. Definitely is nothing like moms probably because it’s baked not roasted or something? Idk, it’s not dark eggplant. The chunks of eggplant are pretty tasty and I think you get more sauce per dollar than the garden vegetable, because there aren't nearly as many chunks of things. 
Roasted Garlic Sauce
	•	Do NOT get again. Wasn't that good. It was pretty garlic-y, but just ended up tasting kinda nasty. I mean it's definitely better than most sauces, but was just too much. 
Vodka Sauce
	•	Was VERY good. Definitely want to get regularly. Was smooth, not too cheesy or anything. Just the perfect Vodka sauce really. Was a great change and just overall a good sauce. 
Tomato Basil
	•	Not very good. Probably should NOT get again. It just tastes too green-ey, like I guess it's basil. But either way, it's edible but I mainly just overdo the pecorino to overwhelm the sauce taste. Wouldn't get it again. 
Tomato Herb Sauce
	•	TERRIBLE. Tasted and smelled like the kind of tomato sauce you'd get at Golden Coral. Can't believe Rao's made this. Never buy or eat again. 
Artichoke Sauce: 
	•	Not very good. The sauce tasted like, maybe okay. But the chunks of artichoke didn't taste good and just were annoying to deal with. Should not get again. 
Italian Sausage and Mushroom
	•	Honestly, pretty good. Would get again to mix it up. The meat wasn't that great, kinda just had to get through it. Tasted like cheap, bad meat, but the mushrooms were very good. 
	•	On second try: eh, not something I'd die to get. I mean, the meat yeah you do have to just get through. I mean there's not as much sauce because the mushrooms and meat take up volume, so that's a downside.
Puttanesca
	•	Actually, was rather good. Definitely not a red flag. Could get again. There were a couple bites that were really salty, because of the anchovies most likely, and I did have to avoid the olives, but it wasn't a terrible thing. 
Sensitive Marinara Sauce
	•	Tara got this, but honestly it just tastes kind of bland. Nothing worth getting again. 
Bolognese Sauce
	•	Actually very good! Would definitely get again. Very small bits of meat, although there may not be much per jar because of all the meat, there aren't big nasty chunks. Overall it tasted pretty good.
Four Cheese Sauce
	•	Nah, not very good. I mean it's not awful, but really not that good. Kind of tastes cheap. Wouldn't get again.




La Dispensa di Amerigo
Pancetta, Onion & Tomato Sauce 7 oz: not that great, more of a white-ish sauce. 
Ragu Bolognese 7.05 OZ; FUCKING INCREDIBLY GOOD. RESTAURANT QUALITY. BUY TO IMPRESS. LOW PORTION THOUGH. 

NIASCA PORTOFINO
Tomato and Vegetable Sauce 10.6 oz. not great

Mutti 
Salsa Pronta Al Parmigiano Regiano 
Actually pretty great, like worth getting again. Not something you could eat regularly, but it's a good occasional sauce. 




Cucina Antica 

Cucina Antica 

Cucina Antica to try: 
Arrabbiata 

Lydia's
None of her sauces are sweet it seems, so they're a safe alternative to Rao's.
The eggplant one is meh, because it has capers. 
The Arrabbiata IS NOT THAT GOOD. WAS WRONG. TASTES A BIT SWEET BECAUSE OF THE PEPPERS. 
The Marinara is also quite good, different tasting, not sweet, just a good sauce. Really should get some of this too. 
The Organic Marinara IS REALLY QUITE GOOD. TASTES ALMOST LIKE MOM'S SAUCE. 

Online Order #1: 

Raos:
Garden Vegetable
Roasted Eggplant
Roasted Garlic
Vodka Sauce
Tomato Herb Sauce 
Arrabbiata (2)
Marinara (2, and 32 oz, since it's only $1 more than 24oz)


Online Order #2:

Raos:
Arrabbiata (4, 32oz)
Artichoke
Italian Sausage and Mushroom
Marinara (2, 32oz)
Puttanesca (just to try, almost definitely won't like it)
Rigatoni Pasta (just to try)
Roasted Eggplant (2)
Vodka (4)


Online Order #3:

Raos:
Arrabbiata (3, 32oz)
Marinara (3, 32oz)
Italian Sausage and Mushroom
Puttanesca (2)
Bolognese Sauce (just to try)
Four Cheese Sauce (just to try)
Vodka (4)
Roasted Eggplant (2)
4 Pastas (just to try)