I tried the store-bought, jarred pasta sauce from 2 iconic NYC restaurants and think the cheaper one makes a better pantry staple

Rao’s (left) and Carbone (right) sauces on penne pasta. Rachel Askinasi/Insider I compared tomato basil sauce from Carbone and Rao’s respective retail brands.   Rao’s was tasty and versatile, but it was a little too thin to feel luxurious over pasta.

Carbone’s was distinct in flavor, but held up beautifully to fresh-cooked noodles. Rao’s and Carbone are two iconic New York City restaurants that also sell jarred sauces in stores. Carbone (left) and Rao’s (right) restaurants in New York City.

Gotham/Contributor/Getty Images and Bobby Bank/Contributor/Getty ImagesCarbone, the Michelin-starred restaurant by chef Mario Carbone, sits on Thompson St. in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood. The hard-to-get-into Italian restaurant is known for its spicy rigatoni and veal Parmesan dishes, and has become a hotbed for celebrity sightings.

 Rao’s in East Harlem is known as New York’s most exclusive restaurant — you have to know someone with a connection to get a reservation.  Luckily, those of us who haven’t been able to dine at either eatery can still get a taste at home with their respective retail sauces.  While each brand makes a variety of sauces, I chose to compare the delicious but basic tomato basil option.

Rao’s sauce (left) and Carbone sauce (right). Rachel Askinasi/InsiderWhen I reach for a jar of sauce at the supermarket to replenish my pantry stock, I almost always pick up tomato basil sauce. I think it’s multipurpose and versatile while also being more robust in flavor than marinara.

 So when it was time to compare these two labels, I thought this variety would be the best and the most wide-reaching.  To keep things consistent, I tasted both sauces at room temperature.  Rao’s sauce is always my go-to when I find it on sale.

A jar of Rao’s tomato basil sauce. Rachel Askinasi/InsiderThe suggested retail price for a jar of Rao’s tomato basil sauce is $8. 99, according to a company representative.

 While that’s not an outrageous price tag, it’s still on the higher end of the spectrum (for comparison, this jar of Rao’s is $7 more than widely-recognized Ragú sauce). However, sauce is something I’m willing to pay more for when I know I’m getting a tastier product. That being said, I usually wait until it goes on sale to stock up — I’ve once gotten a jar for as low as $6.

 The sauce from this Harlem eatery is flavorful when eaten on its own. A look inside the Rao’s tomato sauce jar. Rachel Askinasi/InsiderThe first thing I noticed about the Rao’s sauce was that it was definitely wet in texture as opposed to paste-like.

When I tasted it, I noticed how it felt more like hand-crushed tomatoes instead of a purée because of the inconsistencies of liquid and chunky bits.  I could see tiny specks of basil along with tomato seeds just by looking at the sauce.  It was acidic, but not overwhelmingly so, and it tasted like I could dip fried calamari or mozzarella sticks directly into the jar without doctoring it up at all or heating it.

I thought it was delicious and perfect at room temperature.  It pairs well with a flavorful pasta, but much of the sauce ended up pooling at the bottom of my bowl. Rao’s tomato basil sauce on penne.

Rachel Askinasi/InsiderI noticed how loose this sauce was when I spooned it over my freshly-cooked pasta. While it pooled at the bottom of the bowl, it didn’t separate into liquid and tomato chunks, which was a plus.  The sauce coated each noodle nicely, added a tanginess to the flavor of the pasta, and felt like a complete dish while I was eating it.

It’s simple and delicious.  I recently tried the sauce from Carbone for the first time. A jar of Carbone tomato basil sauce.

Rachel Askinasi/InsiderI started seeing the restaurant’s jars pop up on shelves over the past year.  I had never been to the restaurant, and I never saw the sauce on sale from its suggested retail price of $9. 99, so I always stuck to buying a sauce I knew I already liked.

 But after I made Mario Carbone’s meatball recipe at home using Rao’s sauce, he mailed me a few jars of his namesake brand to try, and I started with the spicy Arrabbiata. For this article, I purchased a jar of the Carbone tomato basil sauce, and this was my first time tasting it.  The West Village-based eatery makes a thicker sauce that I thought felt like more of a restaurant item.

A look inside the Carbone tomato sauce jar. Rachel Askinasi/InsiderI also noticed a similar oil sheen on this sauce, along with basil flecks and tomato seeds. A visual difference I picked up on was that the Carbone sauce was more orange in color than Rao’s, which had a deeper red hue.

 This sauce was thicker than Rao’s — I noticed that right when I dipped my spoon into the jar — and the texture was more like puréed tomatoes with its pasty consistency.  The flavors here were also acidic but less sweet, which meant it was a little more of a biting acidity that I felt could be mellowed with other dish ingredients. I could see myself cooking with this sauce from Carbone.

I’d use it in an eggplant or chicken parm, a baked pasta dish, or another special recipe I wanted to invest time in. But I don’t think I’d use it as-is for dipping.  This sauce clung to each pasta piece more intentionally, and I wasn’t left with the same soupy pool.

Carbone tomato basil sauce on penne. Rachel Askinasi/InsiderI thought this sauce gave a slightly better eating experience. It really stuck to each piece of pasta and also remained intact.

 In terms of flavors, I thought the Carbone sauce tasted better on pasta than it did when I tried it plain. That made me more confident in my theory that this sauce should be used with intention. I don’t think it would suit the needs I have for a pantry-staple sauce, but I would purchase it to use for a special, specific recipe.

 I’ll stick to stocking up on Rao’s, but I’m glad to know that I can use Carbone sauce for special occasions. I loved both sauces. Rachel Askinasi/InsiderBoth sauces are delicious, but they are definitely very different in taste and texture.

After spending probably too much time thinking about them both, I realized that Rao’s sauce reminds me more of a classic red-sauce joint, while Carbone’s sauce transports me to a fancy pasta restaurant.  I take my pantry staples seriously, and I need items that are versatile but also reliable. I keep a jar of sauce on hand for things like last-minute pasta nights, but also for fortifying beef stews, making Sunday gravy, and salvaging vegetables that are close to going bad.

 The Carbone sauce I tried would not fit those needs. It’s too distinct in its flavor, in my opinion. Rao’s sauce, however, is more malleable, takes on other flavors well, and boils down nicely.

I wouldn’t want to alter the Carbone sauce like that.  While I feel Rao’s is ready to go at room temperature, I wouldn’t dip a mozzarella stick into the jar from Carbone. So if you’re looking for an all-purpose sauce to keep in your kitchen, I’d recommend purchasing Rao’s.

But if you’re buying jarred sauce for a pasta recipe or to make a dish like Carbone’s meatballs, I’d recommend trying his namesake sauce.  Read the original article on Insider.