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I always put tomatoes through a food mill (smallest holes) to remove skins and seeds, which contribute the the bitter flavor people comment about. Nearly everyone I know puts sugar in their tomato sauce, even people "off the boat". Whenever I hear this, I know they aren't straining the tomatoes. It's a lot of work and makes a big mess, but I wouldn't make tomato sauce without doing it.

Ravara: Wut wut wut?!!! Of COURSE I have it! I've turned too many people on to Super Marzano not to have it Yes, yes, it's not technically San Marzano, it's better.....it's SUPER Marzano! Come on out to my tomato seedling sale and pick some up. I've always got a lot of Super Marzanos for peeps. www.GrowBetterVeggies.com

Does this constitute spam? Forgive me if so. Just trying to spread the tomato love....

This is the way I have always made my bacis tomato gravy (though not always with the carrot, though I can see using it for the sweetness it adds. This is a good basic tomato sauce. A good place to start off.

Okay, sorry, excuse me. Perhaps my attempt at humor was ill-conceived, and I apologize if I offended. It does seem to me that gmunger has a point about "an occasional well-placed expletive" being occasionally useful, but in an online forum such as this, the element of timing is lost, and that diminishes the effectiveness of it. So I'll be better behaved in the future.

I have been using this recipe since 1997 when it was published (exactly as written here) in the New York Post with the title "Mario's Secret Sauce Recipe." My note says "From Chef Mario Batali, Po's Restaurant." How far he has come since then!

I made this tonight. Excellent! Thanks for posting.

Unfortunately, I had a jar of leftovers ready to go in the freezer, dropped it, and it spilled everywhere! Ouch.

Thanks to everyone for commenting and congrats to our winners: tkln, bluebird, pezbabypez, JEP, nellopea, lorrior, dmbfanmd, jkiller5150, lekkercraft, lardarium.

Mark Bittman wrote a piece on the whole canned tomato issue in Cook's Illustrated of March/April 1994. A tasting was held with Anna Teresa Callen; Arthur Schwartz; Anna Amendolara Nurse; Iris Carulli; Julia della Croce; Tina della Croce; Tina Aprea, Jack Bishop and Mark Bittman. Really interesting article.

The final question though is not one of which tomatoes are "best" or which tomatoes are "authentic" in this case, for when someone writes a recipe as Mario did here, it is his perogative to say "This is how I make it and it is important (in order to do it my way) to use the ingredients as written". Alter the ingredients and you've got a different recipe - maybe just as good in taste to you, but different.

The Whole Foods canned tomato thing is amusing, though.

Neroda: They're Mario's words, and we try to add pictures to illustrate them. I made the mistake of using the wrong tomatoes. I apologize.

Gotta go with Mom on this one

I was just about to post "CAVEAT EMPTOR" in light of the deliberately deceptive label on the cans SOLD BY WHOLE FOODS MARKETS. Then I noticed others have posted the same warning. So, I'll add related comments:

1) I was fooled, too. It really is a marketing ploy, especially given the use of Italian words "Pomidori Pelati" in addition to retro-style graphics that are meant to appear Old World.

2) From what I understand, the prized tomatoes of San Marzano (near Naples) disappeared long, long ago. What I am writing here may not be accurate, so I am willing to stand corrected by an informed authority. However, I was told that seeds from these tomatoes were imported and grown elsewhere before the destruction of native crops and that "San Marzano" is now being used liberally as the name of a type of tomato whether or not the canned product can trace its lineage back to San Marzano.

Meanwhile, the area around San Marzano has become important both for living up to its traditional reputation for superior tomatoes and for processing tomatoes. Look for "DOP" on labels that promise the contents of the can were grown in San Marzano proper. Balducci sells them under the name La Valle for a low, promotional price; there are other brands that are also great. If the can does not say DOP, the tomatoes were shipped in from anywhere and merely processed near San Marzano. (And wait for a new article in The New Yorker about DOP tomatoes.)

3) I have to agree that there are other good brands of canned plum tomatoes. I've had luck w Ferrrara, recently. When in season, local plum tomatoes or even a mixture of different types of flavorful tomatoes produce a good sauce, though the yield on the latter is usually low if they're juicy and full of seeds. After all, local, seasonal, superior tomatoes honor the spirit of Italian cooking.

Chris Kimball here.