CHESHIRE — Greater than two years and three new sauces later, Angela’s Kitchen Sauce remains to be increasing all through the state whereas retaining a give attention to high quality components and selfmade recipes.
Husband and spouse Angela and Keith Massimino started the company in July of 2018 with an Angela’s Kitchen meat sauce. With a gradual and regular mindset, the couple has added three new sauces and now have jars in 56 shops throughout the state with hopes to increase over the Connecticut border.
The couple added a marinara sauce that December, a tomato basil sauce July of this 12 months, and a vodka sauce simply final month. From the beginning, the objective has been to share precisely what Angela Massimino makes in her personal kitchen with the world by jarring it.
“My grandmother, my mom and myself, how we do it in our personal kitchens is how we do it in our personal jars,” Angela Massimino mentioned. The recipes for a lot of the sauces have been handed down now to 4 generations, together with to Angela’s personal youngsters.
Angela’s Kitchen Sauce ended up unexpectedly rising in the course of the coronavirus as many shops noticed product depletion of merchandise in the course of the first couple months when residents had been stocking their pantries in concern of quarantine.
“When COVID began again in finish of March, April, (shops) had been unable to get your regular sauces— Prego, Ragu and all of that— so all of the native sauces had been capable of take advance,” Keith Massimino mentioned. “We had been doing a little huge deliveries into Massive Y’s as a result of their sauce aisle was mainly depleted.”
They had been additionally pressured to discover a second producer as their common one needed to shut down briefly as a result of an worker contracting the virus. Angela Massimino mentioned it ended up working rather well as a result of now they work with two producers, Gracie’s Kitchens and Onofrio’s Final Meals.
The final two years have introduced lots of new experiences however Angela Massimino mentioned she’s loved assembly individuals probably the most, particularly at tastings.
Earlier than the coronavirus pandemic, Angela Massimino and her household would arrange tables in grocery shops and provide buyers samples of the sauces. Gina Massimino, one of many couple’s youngsters who helps with the enterprise, mentioned it was generally emotional to listen to what tales individuals had been impressed to share after attempting the sauces.
“They make you cry in the course of the tasting. You are like, ‘Why did you inform me about your mom, and that you have not had sauce like this since your mom died 10 years in the past,” Gina Massimino mentioned, expressing gratitude for the shared expertise.
“Like Gina mentioned, we’ll cry with them. We hear lots of humorous tales too, however lots of instances you hear ‘Ever since my mother; I by no means realized (to prepare dinner her sauce).’ They had been crying, saying it brings them again,” Angela Massimino mentioned.
She mentioned these reactions are what they hope for.
They hope the sauce brings individuals again to their childhood days and reminds them of a beloved one, as a result of that’s what the sauces imply to the Massimino household too.
The Massiminos determined to start out the enterprise after Angela’s sister Anita died of most cancers on the age of 51, whom she has fond recollections of constructing sauces and different meals with.
The saying “no corners minimize on this kitchen” comes from Angela Massimino’s father who would use the phrase typically. Massimino mentioned it speaks to their dedication to high quality components.
Massimino describes the marinara sauce as having a thicker consistency than the meat sauce, with a sweeter tomato used. She mentioned it’s nice to make use of in the summertime particularly, on fried mozzarella or calamari, or in rooster or veal parmesan. The marinara is their greatest promoting sauce.
The tomato basil sauce is prominently used for seafood and rooster, she mentioned, because it has 50 % extra basil than the marinara.
“The vodka sauce, it is a completely completely different animal than all the remainder,” Angela Massimino mentioned.
The vodka sauce is creamy and made with recent components like butter, onions and high shelf vodka. Not one of the sauces use preservatives or added sugars.
Angela Massimino mentioned they nonetheless wish to hold increasing by including extra sauces— perhaps a Fra Diavolo— or increase into salad dressings or merchandise like apple butter. The enterprise additionally ships its product and is engaged on a solution to make on-line ordering simpler.
To seek out the place Angela’s Kitchen Sauce is offered, go to the corporate’s Facebook page.
bwright@record-journal.com203-317-2316Twitter: @baileyfaywright
