FIRTH — The heavenly aroma of homemade tomato sauce often wafts through downtown Firth.

It’s Sorrisos pasta sauce — formerly known as Mick D’Angelo’s — and soon the smell will tempt New York City.

The brand’s original recipe, Sweet & Savory Sauce, is a finalist in the 2008 Gallo Family Vineyards Gold Medal awards, which honor carefully concocted, family-made artisanal food products.

“It’s cool that someone recognized us, that they might agree, ‘Yes, this stuff is really that good,’” said Betsy Ashman, who owns the company with husband, David.

A blind taste-off is set for today in New York. Its judges include “Good Morning America” and Food Network star chef Sara Moulton.

The honor couldn’t have come at a better time for the business.

Fans may have wondered why Mick D’Angelo’s pasta sauce has been hard to find lately.

The name was changed this winter after the Ashmans learned of an existing trademark on the name D’Angelo’s.

“It felt like I got punched in the stomach,” Betsy Ashman said. “It’s just like starting over.”

Without money for advertising, the company has been trying to spread word of its new name, Sorrisos, based on the Italian word for smile.

The road has been rough, Ashman said.

“So many people love the sauce, we  had to keep doing it,” she said.

The first jars were sold in 1996 based on a family recipe.

David Ashman’s father, Mick,  had perfected his sauce over the years, often sending jars of the stuff home with his three sons when they came for a visit.

Then, for Christmas 1996, the boys gave their father a case of clean jars, each one filled with cash for starting a sauce company, and a note that said, “follow your dreams.”

So, Mick Ashman sought advice from the food processing program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and began selling his sauce at farmers markets.

It became a family affair, and a Firth one, too.

Together, Mick and sons Matt and David opened Sadie’s Grocery Store in downtown Firth in 2002, and later, Papa D’s Pizzeria in the back of the store, using the family recipes.

Back then, the sauce was made right in the restaurant.

It was a dream situation for David and Betsy, who moved home from Arizona to start the family businesses.

“As soon as we got pregnant with the first grandchild, we knew we wanted to come to Nebraska,” she said.

The couple took over the sauce company in 2005, moving production into a building next door. Now they make 35,000 jars a year.

But the Ashmans are conscious of keeping up that small-batch quality, which comes from David Ashman gradually stirring in each ingredient as the sauce cooks.

“We always joke that he’s got one big right arm,” his wife said.

He’s at the vats from 5:30 a.m. to midnight most days, except for a nightly break to eat dinner and play with his sons, now 4 and almost 3.

Father Mick and brother Matt help by keeping the businesses next door running while David focuses on the sauce.

Together, they help keep the faith in their product.

The Sweet & Savory sauce up for the award — Mick Ashman’s original recipe — is a straightforward red sauce without many spices.

It has a savory, well-balanced tang, although its ingredients are simple: Tomato paste, onion, oil, sugar, lemon juice and garlic.

“It’s more about the method than recipe,” Betsy Ashman said.

Sorrisos also introduced three new varieties: Hearty Garden, Traditional Marinara, which is less sweet than the original, and Tomato & Basil. The Ashmans also sell a no-sugar-added version of Sweet & Savory.

They’ve expanded distribution to 12 states through an affiliated food network. In Lincoln, it’s sold at most grocery stores.

And out-of-state fans can order by the case, Betsy Ashman said. One woman in North Carolina served the sauce at a dinner party, then handed over an empty jar after guests demanded it. That led to orders from a boutique in Kentucky.

Betsy Ashman said her kids are the brand’s biggest fans, donning aprons and whipping up sauce in their play kitchen, “just like dad.”

When the Ashmans entered the contest, they threw in a photo of their youngest son as a tot, beaming with joy, his face covered in sauce.

“I’m convinced that’s what got their attention,” Betsy Ashman said. “I’m glad it did.”

Reach Kendra Waltke at 473-7303 or kwaltke@journalstar.com.