What is the No. 1 product available in supermarkets, as chosen by four experts? Great debate! Let’s talk about the ultimate pasta sauce!
Nissin Flour Wellna "Ma Ma", SB Foods "Reservation-Filled Restaurant", Kewpie "Aeru Pasta Sauce", etc.
Let’s decide on the best commercial pasta sauce!
Commercial pasta sauces are a quick and easy way to enjoy classic pasta dishes such as meat sauce and carbonara. There are dozens of different products available at supermarkets. There is a wide range of sauces, including retort-type sauces that are ready to use simply by heating in boiling water or in the microwave, and sauce-type sauces that are simply poured over boiled pasta. In this issue, we asked four people, including Mayuko Imaizumi, a nutritionist who has appeared in the media as the “Queen of Retort Pouches,” Akiko Kazama, a chef, Sayaka Tamari, a food coordinator, and Takahiro Esawa, a restaurant consultant who learned local cuisine in Bologna, Italy, to decide the “best commercial pasta They engaged in a heated debate to determine the “best commercial pasta sauce.
Kazama: The first indispensable manufacturer is Nissin Flour Milling Werna, which began selling macaroni in 1955 and was a pioneer in introducing pasta in Japan. It also leads the pasta sauce industry with “Ma Ma” in the low price range and “Ao no Doukutsu” in the high price range.
The product in the middle of the pack is ” Ma Ma Tomato Pulp Meat Sauce,” which is not only cost-effective at approximately 200 yen per two-serving bag, but also has the greatest feature of nostalgia. Many people probably have fond memories of their mothers quickly preparing this dish for Saturday lunch. When you eat it as an adult, there are some parts that bother you, such as the amount of meat being one more step. However, the nostalgia that transcends these concerns is what makes this dish so special.
Tamari: “Ma Ma” has an image of a low-priced restaurant, but in ’14, we launched “Rich Select. Ma Ma Rich Select Meat Sauce ” has more ingredients than the regular “Ma Ma” and is richly flavored with savory vegetables.
Imaizumi “Ma-Ma” also has “Aeru” type. I recommend the ” Ma-Ma Mar Aerudake Pasta Sauce with Sesame-Scented Oba Sauce,” which is rare among pasta sauces. You can taste the flavor of shiso leaves, which is rare in pasta sauces. The same series also offers unique flavors such as ” Sudachi Tarako Raw Flavor “. The “Ma Ma” brand has a surprisingly wide range of flavors.
Ezawa: However, the “strongest” and the most authentic is the “Ao no Doukutsu” series, which is not cheap at about 300 yen per serving, but all of them are excellent. The perfection of the ” Ao no Doukutsu Bolognese ” is particularly exceptional. Bolognese is a dish originating from the Bologna region, in which ground meat is fried with aromatic vegetables, browned and hardened, and stewed with wine and tomato paste for a long time.
Kazama: It is often confused with meat sauce, but they are very different.
Ezawa: To begin with, meat sauce is a tomato-driven sauce that was adapted by Western restaurants for the Japanese when it was introduced to Japan through the United States. The traditional Bolognese is a sauce that allows you to taste the texture and aroma of meat, and meat is the main ingredient. This product follows authentic ingredients and production methods, including the use of brodo (Italian soup stock). The taste is comparable to that of Bolognese from a restaurant in Bologna. I was surprised that it is possible to reproduce the authentic taste so well.
Tamari: In addition to the flavor of beef, pork is used to emphasize the juiciness of the beef, and the flavor is well balanced.
Kazama: “Ao no Doukutsu (Blue Cave)” brings the flavors of the ingredients to the forefront, doesn’t it? Carbonara ” in the same series also has a strong bacon flavor.
ImaizumiI recommend the ” Bongolevianco. It is filled with a lot of scallions, and the flavorful soup is one of the best. The fried garlic and Italian parsley, which are served separately, add color and texture that are often lacking in retort-packed foods.
Pouring and Ate
–How about Esbee Foods?
Esawa: I would like to recommend ” The Premium 100% Ground Beef Bolognese ” from a restaurant full of reservations. The series is supervised by Chef Tsutomu Ochiai, a leading chef of Italian cuisine in Japan, and has a suggested retail price of 330 yen (excluding tax). It is a popular brand in the high price range along with “Ao no Doukutsu” (Blue Cave). This “Bolognese” is also a high reproduction of the authentic taste, and is hard to compare with the “Ao no Doukutsu” one. Ground beef and beef fat are also added to emphasize the beef. If “Ao no Doukutsu”, which also contains pork, is a sauce for tasting “meat”, “Reservation~” can be said to be a sauce for tasting “beef”.
Kazama: The flavor is more pronounced. The “Ao no cavern” has a taste that makes you want to eat it over and over again, but the first bite of the “Reservation” is probably better than the “Ao no cavern. I would recommend ” Pomodoro with Ripe Italian Tomatoes ” in the same series. You can really taste the flavor of the tomatoes. The optional cheese topping is also a great value.
Tamari: You use multiple tomato ingredients such as tomato paste and tomato puree to create a rich flavor.
Ezawa: The tomatoes are coarsely chopped, leaving the fibers intact and recreating the “graininess” of the tomatoes. The aroma of basil is also pleasant.
Tamari: Another important feature of this series is that the entire box can be heated in a microwave oven by simply opening the lid. In the case of regular retort pouch, you have to transfer the sauce to a separate container. Another advantage is the short heating time: “Pomodoro” takes only 20 seconds at 600W. Normally it takes about a minute, so it is too fast.
Imaizumi Speaking of Esbee Foods, the company has been a leader in the “stir-fry” category along with Kewpie. The ” Spaghetti Sauce with Just Mixing” has a wonderful spiciness with a hint of spicy cod roe. I feel the skill of SB Foods, a “spice company.
From the October 3 and 10, 2025 issue of FRIDAY
