For Your Table
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Picking a winner
Costco supplier Rao’s uses Italian tomatoes
by OWEN ROBERTS
Some cooks say it’s their choice of tomatoes, or a secret ingredient, that makes their signature sauces stand out. Farmers, though, say it’s the climate, the landscape and the soil—known as the terroir—that impacts flavour. The truth is, they’re both right.
Costco tomato sauce supplier Rao’s and its current parent company Sovos Brands believe their San Marzano-style tomatoes are hard to beat. They’re a special variety developed exclusively by their supplier and grown in Italy’s volcanic soils, in the footprint of the legendary and still active Mount Vesuvius.
And for these tomatoes, volcanic soils are among the best. Imagine soils rich in potassium, phosphorus, sulphur, organic matter, trace minerals and ash, which is a natural fertilizer.
“It’s a perfect situation for growing tomatoes,” says Sovos Brands Chief Growth Officer Yuri Hermida.
For tomato sauces, San Marzano tomatoes have become a top choice for discerning chefs. These tomatoes have it all: sweet taste, thin skin, not many seeds, meaty texture and low moisture content. That makes them perfect for thick, fragrant, mouthwatering sauces that cling effortlessly to pasta.
After being harvested, washed and steam-peeled, the tomatoes are simmered in open kettles at a southern Italy processing plant. Additional ingredients are minimal. For example, the company’s popular marinara sauce features just olive oil, whole leaf basil, fresh onions and garlic and other spices.
Better yet, the ingredients are all grown by a nearby multigenerational family-farming operation.
Hermida, a Costco member, says Rao’s is now targeting US$1 billion in sales. He bases that goal on consumer interest in quality retail, and on the authentic roots of Rao’s sauce (see “Restaurant quality”).
COURTESY OF RAO’S
Restaurant Quality
Besides a taxi, one of the hardest things to find in New York City is a table at legendary Rao’s. After the restaurant was awarded three stars by an influential New York Times restaurant critic in 1977, reservations for Rao’s southern Italian food became hard to get. To cope, the restaurant abandoned reservations altogether, and instituted assigned seating instead—for lucky regulars and their friends. The restaurant went on to develop its own retail brand, Rao’s Specialty Foods, and Sovos Brands bought it in 2017. So now, you can jump the queue and head to your own kitchen for an authentic Rao’s culinary experience.—OR
Owen Roberts is a Champaign, Illinois-based agricultural journalist.
COSTCO CONNECTION: A two-pack of Rao’s Marinara Sauce (Item 1460350) is available in Costco warehouses and for delivery through Costco Grocery at Costco.ca.