Spatini Spaghetti Sauce Mix*

By RJamoralin

By Todd Wilbur

Since the Spatini Italian Foods Company discontinued production and sale of its spaghetti sauce mix in December 2006, Internet discussion groups have organized petitions pleading to bring the product back. For more than forty years generations of families have enjoyed spaghetti made by mixing a packet of top secret powder with canned tomato sauce. But after Spatini disappeared from grocery store shelves, the only way to get that same flavor on spaghetti required locating leftover stock on the Internet - and paying dearly for it. On eBay, 10-box lots of Spatini sold for up to ten times what they originally cost in stores. Now you can save your hard-earned lira and still get real Spatini flavor, because after analyzing a packet of the mix, I've discovered a great way to clone this "Dead Food" at even less cost than the products retail price before it became extinct. The secret ingredient is a crushed-up beef bouillion cube, which contains the precise quantity of salt and natural flavors, plus autolyzed yeat extract a flavor enhancer, to mirror the orginal blend. Add a couple ground herbs, onion, garlic, powdered sugar, and cornstarch to substitute for the potato starch used in the real thing, and you'll have the exact amount of mix you need to recreate the spaghetti sauce you grew up with.

Ingredients

• 1 . Beef bouillon cube, crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• pinch ground black pepper

Details

Servings 1
Cooking time 10mins
Adapted from topsecretrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Pulverize the beef bouillon cube to a powder using a kitchen mallet or mortar and pestle. Mix with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. To make spaghetti sauce, follow the same instructions that appear on the original box of Spatini:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the seasoning mix, 1 tablespoon oil (optional), desired tomatoes, and amount of water listed on chart.

2. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring frequently, as directed below.

3. Makes about 1 pint sauce -- 4 (1/2 cup) servings.

1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste, Water 1 1/2 cups and simmer 5 min.

1 can (15 oz) tomato puree, water 3/4 cup and simmer 5 min.

2 cups (16 oz) crushed tomatoes, water 1/2 cup and simmer 15 min.

For a spicier tomato sauce:
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, water 1/2 cup and simmer 15 min.

For a chunky homestyle spaghetti sauce:
1 can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes, water 1/3 cup and simmer 15 min.
cut-up and undrained

1 1/4 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes, pureed, omit water and simmer 40 min.