Pay attention to which tomato sauce to buy: here is the safest

Today we are going to talk about tomato sauce: a cooked recipe that belongs to the group of preserves in jars. It is a very old recipe, more than two centuries old, whose first bibliographic citation is in the cookery text “L’Apicio Moderno” by Francesco Leonardi.
Being native to Central and South America, the tomato plant adapts more to the Mediterranean climate of southern Italy, but despite this, the fruits and products obtained from them are very popular ingredients in all the cuisines of the peninsula.

Tomato sauce is, in fact, a base that is mainly used as an accompaniment to starters and as a base for pizzas but is also used in the seasoning of various appetizers and main dishes. Tomato sauce usually contains tomatoes, a pinch of salt and various flavors such as basil, oregano, parsley but also chilli.

From the food technological point of view, tomato sauce is distinguished from the known past by the application of a higher level heat treatment (given by a higher temperature and time) which are necessary to obtain a greater density and above all a long shelf life. . . Let’s see together the nutritional properties of this food. Tomatoes have a very low calorie intake and its calories are mostly made up of carbohydrates, followed by small concentrations of protein and fat.

Carbohydrates are of simple type while peptides are of low biological value; it does not contain cholesterol and the fibers are present in rather moderate quantities. On the vitamin side, tomato sauce contains excellent levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and carotenoids (pro vitamin A, in particular lycopene, which is antioxidant, antitumor and which is beneficial for the metabolism.). It is also recalled that vitamin C is an easily degradable molecule due to its sensitivity to heat and oxygen, it is therefore present in less quantity in the sauce than, for example, raw tomatoes.

Tomato sauce is certainly a food suitable for all diets, presenting no metabolic harm and not aggravating overweight. However, some people accuse, when consumed, a feeling of increased gastric acidity and digestive difficulties but often this discomfort is justified by the presence of complications already present in the stomach such as gastritis or hiatal hernia.
This food is even suitable for the diet of people with celiac disease and lactose tolerances. It is even accepted by all vegetarian and vegan philosophies but since it cannot be prepared with temperatures equal to or lower than 42°C, it is totally excluded from the raw diet.