After all the complex and rich dishes of holiday celebrations, some pasta with sauce from a jar is not only convenient, but satisfyingly delicious—especially when that sauce is made locally! Maybe that’s why January 4 is National Spaghetti Day.
Guglielmo’s Sauce is a marinara that’s made right in Rochester and has a remarkable story. Paul Guglielmo runs the company today and the recipe for Guglielmo’s Sauce goes back the 1930s and the Great Depression, Guglielmo’s website states. Paul’s Great-Grandmother Mary Petrocelli-Guglielmo created the sauce when she was trying to feed a family of 10. To save money, the ingredients for this sauce came from a garden that took up nearly every inch of her yard.
Enjoying this sauce became a Sunday tradition for Paul’s family. And they weren’t the only ones who enjoyed it. Family and friends often asked for it, and Paul’s generous Great-Grandmother Mary usually gave it away for free or traded it for vegetables.
When Paul was in his 20s he delighted his Grandpa Pete— Mary’s son—when he asked to learn how to make the sauce, which involves sautéing garden-fresh onions, garlic, and peppers in hot olive oil. Then a special jar of fresh-picked tomatoes cooked with basil and parsley is added, along with a few other secret ingredients.
You can find Guglielmo’s Sauce at stores throughout the Finger Lakes and in Western New York. To learn more visit guglielmosauce.com.
Made in the FLX is a weekly column highlighting the small scale food producers of the Finger Lakes. Each week we will feature a locally made food product that is distributed widely throughout the region and beyond, showcasing the strength and quality of our local resources.
