Spatini sauce mix is a dry, packaged

seasoning mix Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt, ...

produced by

Lawry's Lawry's is an upscale gourmet restaurant chain specializing in prime rib and the brand name of a seasoned salt blend spun off by the restaurant founders that evolved into a food products company today owned by McCormick & Company. The original ...

. Originally developed in 1952 to be added to other ingredients (such as crushed tomatoes or tomato puree, and ground meat) to make an Italian-style "

spaghetti sauce Tomato sauce (also known as ''salsa roja'' in Spanish or ''salsa di pomodoro'' in Italian) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are c ...

", it is also used variously to make a dip, in

meatloaf Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that has been combined with other ingredients and formed into the shape of a loaf, then baked or smoked. The final shape is either hand-formed on a baking tray, or pan-formed by cooking it in a loaf pan. It ...

, to season

meatballs A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types ...

, and more. Its formulation includes (in descending order by weight) salt, sugar, onion, potato starch, spices (including red pepper, turmeric, black pepper), corn maltodextrin, garlic, beet (for color), dextrose, yeast, guar gum, and carrot.Spatini, at Lawry's (2022)
/ref> The mix was manufactured and distributed originally by Spatini Co., subsequently by

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

and its subsidiary Lipton Foods, prior to Lawry's, a subsidiary of spice giant McCormick Co.

History

Spatini spaghetti sauce mix was originally developed and marketed by Russell G. Lakoff and Harry Seidman of Overbrook Hills, Pennsylvania, who registered their business in Philadelphia as Spatini Co. on September 4, 1952, selling the dry powdered mix packaged in boxes of three packets. The Spatini Co. also manufactured a brown gravy mix that was sold under the Spatini brand. In 1962, Spatini spaghetti sauce added a version with tomatoes already included, which was discontinued.

Lipton Lipton is a British brand of tea, owned by Ekaterra. Lipton was also a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, later sold to Argyll Foods, after which the company sold only tea. The company is named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton, who fo ...

, an

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, whose population at the 2010 United States census was 5,281.Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

, purchased Spatini Co. in 1976, and took over the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of the Spatini brand. Unilever shifted it from Lipton to its subsidiary

line in the mid-1980s, and Lawry's continued to promote and sell Spatini spaghetti sauce mix for home consumers, and introduce new recipes using the mix for commercial users. Retail manufacturing of Spatini spaghetti sauce mix for home consumers ended in January 2007, but it continues to be manufactured and distributed commercially for restaurant and institutional use by Lawry's, which was sold by Unilever to

McCormick & Company McCormick & Company, Incorporated is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. Thei ...

in 2008.

Ingredients

At some point prior to the 1980s ingredients in earlier versions of Spatini spaghetti sauce included (in descending order by weight) sugar, salt, dehydrated onions, potato starch, spices and herbs, artificial color (beet and carrot powder), egg white powder, whey, monosodium glutamate (flavor enhancer), natural flavor, and vegetable gum. In the 1980s, Spatini spaghetti sauce listed ingredients as sugar, salt, dehydrated onion, potato starch, spices, natural flavors (contains dairy), garlic powder, maltodextrin, beet powder (for color), autolyzed yeast extract, and guar gum. In 2017, the listed ingredients for Spatini spaghetti sauce include salt, sugar, onion, potato starch, spices (including red pepper, turmeric, black pepper), corn maltodextrin, garlic, beet (color), dextrose, yeast extract, guar gum, and carrot. In 2022 the formulation was salt, sugar, onion, potato starch, spices (including red pepper, turmeric, black pepper), corn maltodextrin, garlic, beet (for color), dextrose, yeast, guar gum, and carrot.

Nutritional information

The commercial version of Spatini spaghetti sauce mix lists a serving size of two teaspoons or six grams, which seasons a half cup when prepared. One serving contains 20 calories, 620 milligrams of sodium (26%

Daily Value The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of health ...

), 2 grams of sugars, 4 grams of carbohydrates (1% Daily Value), with no fat, protein, cholesterol, or fiber.

Marketing

Spatini spaghetti sauce began to emphasize television advertising in 1964, when the company shifted its advertising agency from Weightman, Inc., to Firestone-Rosen, Inc. Because Firestone-Rosen had conflicting assignments from the Ronzoni company, Spatini moved its account to Ron Bloomberg Advertising in 1969, after which Spatini was advertised on broadcast media by singing the words "Spatini spaghetti sauce" to the tune of "

La donna è mobile "" (; "Woman is fickle") is the Duke of Mantua's canzone from the beginning of act 3 of Giuseppe Verdi's opera ''Rigoletto'' (1851). The canzone is famous as a showcase for tenors. Raffaele Mirate's performance of the bravura aria at the opera' ...

" from the opera ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

''.

References

External links

Lawry's Spaghetti Sauce, Spatini
product page on manufacturer's website
spatini.info
a current source for Spatini sauce {{Tomato sauces Tomato products Tomato sauces Italian sauces Kosher food Products introduced in 1952 1952 establishments in Pennsylvania