Marinara and Tomato

[cheflusch]

Can someone please tell me what the difference is between the two? The best definitions I've found so far were that marinara is a highly seasoned tomato sauce (oregano). Anyone else have a better explanation? Thanks

[DC Sunshine]

They're not very different. Going by what I've read, the tomato sauce would usually have celery and carrot plus a little sugar in addition to the basic marinara sauce. The basic marinara ingredients I found were garlic, basil, tomato, salt, pepper, parsley, olive oil. My book had no mention of oregano, but I put it in to both sauces. Depends on your recipes but yeah mostly the carrot and celery seem to be the difference.

[siduri]

Marinara is the kind of sauce you would use with fish, a sauce done lightly with fresh tomatoes, cooked for a brief time, with good, high quality fresh tomatoes, peeled, not pureed. I've never had it in italy with origano, though it might be used in some regions. Parsley would be it.
Basil, if i can recall, is usually not used on fish. Basil is considered "sweet" and not used on a sauce that would not be "sweet" - you'd use it on a sauce with onions, for example, or one with sweeter varieties of tomato. There's a tomato guy at the market i go to, who is an expert on tomatoes. He sells about 20 varieties, each of which in two or three stages of ripeness, and will offer advice on what to pair with what. I believe he's the one who told me this about the fish sauces.
Origano would be too strong, and is not used so much except in certain regions of italy. It's strange that origano is considered the italian flavoring par excellence (or to be in keeping with the country, per eccellenza) in the united states, while here it is not used all that much in my experience. It would certainly overpower anything you put it in. Perhaps more in the south, where there is a stronger greek influence.

Anyway, tomato sauce is any sauce with tomatoes, and there are infinite varieties, one for each cook, probably. While marinara sauce is a TYPE of tomato sauce. One with garlic, parsley, fresh tomatoes, olive oil. that's about it. If you were to put cheese on it you would be drawn and quartered and if you asked for cheese on it in a restaurant here, they would probably spit in your dish. I have no problem with these sorts of taboos, but italians do. Italians will double park anywhere, but don;t dare put cheese on a marinara, or on a fish sauce!!! anathema upon thee!!!