One And Done: How Ooma Tesoro’s Found Success With Its Singular Sauce

When Michael Tesoro was a boy, they couldn't get him to say Nonna, the traditional Italian word for grandmother. Instead, he called his grandmother Ooma, and the name stuck. Forty years later, when Michael and his wife, Robin, jarred their first batch of sauce, it was clear they should name the company after Ooma, who taught Michael how to make the family recipe.

The Tesoro marinara recipe originated in Avellino, Italy, where it was kept alive through multiple generations and brought with the family when they immigrated to New York and settled in Brooklyn. The recipe was passed down through word-of-mouth—nobody ever wrote it down—and instruction. Picture a little boy swirling around his grandmother's apron and you get the idea.

The thing about Ooma Tesoro's marinara is that it's a perfectly uncomplicated tomato sauce that's free of preservatives or added sugar. Ooma's is as close to homemade as you can get from a jar, and after all these years, the Tesoros haven't varied the recipe even a smidge. They use just a few fresh ingredients —whole plum tomatoes, fresh onions, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, pepper, sea salt, herbs, and spices.

Ooma Tesoro's Mussel Fra Diavolo. Photo by Julia Vandenoever. Get the recipe here.

We can't share the exact recipe, but we can tell you that Ooma's sauce includes basil and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, but oregano isn't one of the herbs that make up this versatile sauce made at their factory kitchen in North Adams. "Oregano is an intense herb that overpowers the taste of tomatoes and other ingredients in marinara," Michael says.

For years, guests tried to convince Ooma to jar and sell her sauce, and Michael and Robin heard the same thing when they made it for their friends. One Friday night after a long week, Michael and Robin were making sauce, and it hit them that they actually should jar the sauce and sell it. The next day, they dragged their dusty mason jars up from the basement, sanitized them, and made the most enormous batch of marinara they could.

After handing out jars to family and friends, Michael and Robin took the rest to a farmers' market. People loved it, they sold out, and the rest is history. Although Ooma's is now sold in 11 states (and growing), you can still find Michael and Robin every September at the Fresh Grass Festival in North Adams sampling their product alongside their kids, Francesca and Nicholas, who literally grew up on this sauce.

Locally, you can find Ooma's at independent fine food stores such as Guido's, Berkshire Food Co-Op, Spirited Wines, Nejaime's Wine Cellars, Olde Hudson, LaBonne's, Sharon Farm Market, Davis IGA, and Bantam Market. You can find it around the rest of New England at Whole Foods Market, Big Y, and Wegman's. If you look, you can't miss it. The vibrant green label has a presence on the shelf, in part because other than offering two sizes—16 and 26 ounces —they only make one product. It may be a New England sensibility, but in a world that often teaches "more is more," Robin and Michael have proven that a brand can succeed while keeping things simple.

Ooma's doesn't have a separate pizza sauce or a vodka sauce. They don't have a Bolognese or a tomato basil sauce. Instead of having a whole line of products, Ooma's focuses on doing one thing and doing it right, which you can enjoy on its own or add a few ingredients and transform it into something different. "People ask if we're going to make a pizza sauce," Robin says, "And we respond that this is a pizza sauce —you can do anything you want with it."

Preparing weeknight meals can sometimes feel like a Sisyphean task —especially during the holiday season —but using Ooma's as a base gives you a running start to a healthy, home-cooked meal. You can use Ooma's marinara as a base for any soup or stew recipe that calls for a tomato base, such as minestrone or this fish, bean, and tomato stew.

If you think marinara can only serve as a base for Mediterranean dishes, think again. Even though the relatives back in Avellino might cringe a little, Ooma's marinara makes an excellent base for Mexican recipes such as this beef and bean chili mole or this North African shakshuka.

At home in Windsor, Massachusetts, Michael and Robin quickly turn their marinara into a vodka sauce by adding ¼ cup of vodka from Berkshire Mountain Distillers, 1 cup of heavy cream from High Lawn Farm, and a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes. For a fun holiday meal to share with friends or family, try Ooma Tesoro’s Mussels Fra Diavolo. We’ve included the recipe over here.