Why We Like It
- Nothing on the ingredient list is a preservative, colour or thickener — every line on it is a food.
- San Marzano leads the tomatoes, with Roma added for acidity because San Marzano alone runs sweet.
- Onion, garlic and basil go in fresh, not as powders or flavourings.
- Extra virgin olive oil does the cooking, not a cheaper refined or blended oil.
- Twelve months in the jar with no preservative on the list.
Ingredients
San Marzano tomatoes
The baseWhole peeled, packed in their own juice. The majority of what is in the jar.
Roma tomatoes
For acidityWhole peeled. Added because San Marzano on its own is too sweet to carry the sauce.
Tomato paste
For bodyConcentrated tomato and nothing else. It thickens the sauce, so no starch or gum has to.
Extra virgin olive oil
Cold pressedThe cooking fat, rather than a cheaper refined or blended oil.
Onion
FreshMinced fresh and cooked down, not added as a powder.
Garlic
FreshMinced fresh, not garlic powder or a flavouring.
Salt
For seasoningSeasoning only. Nothing in the jar is doing preservative work.
Basil
FreshThe herb that makes it a marinara rather than a plain tomato sauce.
Black pepper
GroundSeasoning. Ground pepper, not an extract or an oleoresin.
Lemon juice
For balanceReal juice, used to adjust acidity rather than an acidity regulator.
Water
For consistencyBrings the sauce to the right thickness as it cooks down.
Nutrition factsPer 100g
- Energy kcal
- 68.9 kcal
- Protein g
- 1.62 g
- Carbohydrate g
- 10.47 g
- Total sugars g
- 5.87 g
- Added sugars g
- <0.5 g
- Dietary fibre g
- 2.23 g
- Total fat g
- 2.28 g
- Saturated fat g
- 0.46 g
- Trans fat g
- <0.1 g
- Salt g
- 0.55 g
Pomoro Classic Marinara versus other pasta sauces
| What to compare | Purepicked | Other pasta sauces |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | San Marzano led, with Roma added for acidity | Often unnamed 'tomatoes', or paste alone |
| Added sugar | None | Commonly added to soften the acidity |
| Preservatives | None | Usually one or more |
| Aromatics | Onion, garlic and basil, all fresh | Often powders, or 'nature-identical' flavouring |
| Oil | Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil | Often a cheaper refined or blended oil |
| Shelf life | Twelve months unopened, with no preservative in the jar | Usually rests on preservatives |
Is It For You?
Good for
Pasta, pizza bases and baked egg dishes
Anyone avoiding added sugar in packaged sauces
Slow-cooked and simmered recipes
Keeping a shelf-stable staple in the cupboard
Avoid if
Thin, pourable sauces — this one is thick and paste-like
How to use
Stir through hot pasta straight from the jar
Spread over a base for pizza
Crack eggs into a panful and bake it for shakshuka
Simmer it down longer for a thicker, deeper sauce
Use it as the tomato layer in a lasagne or a bake
What to look for in Pasta Sauce?
Tomato should lead the ingredient list. If water or paste comes first, the sauce has been built back up rather than cooked down.
Added sugar is common in jarred sauce to cover acidity. A sauce made from good tomatoes does not need it.
Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate are the usual preservatives. Properly processed and sealed sauce can do without them.
Herbs and aromatics should appear by name. 'Nature-identical flavouring' is there to make up for weaker tomato.