Pasta Sauce - the ongoing issue w/ my sauce?!
Pasta Sauce - the ongoing issue w/ my sauce?
My ongoing issue is that my pasta sauce (spaghetti sauce) does not stick very well to the pasta. (I use my own homemade tomatoe paste and everything except the olive oil I used came from my garden)
What's the secret of getting saucy sauce?
1 day ago
I use store bought dry pasta, I always cook ala dente (or how ever you spell it). I never rinse my pasta, and I do not use oil or salt in my boiling water. When I mention olive oil, that is in my pasta sauce receipe. It takes me 2 days to cook my sauce. I reduce it until I can't reduce it any more! I want my sauce to stick like the store-bought sauce, and thought there was something magical that I could use. I'm going to give the cornstarch a shot!
and whoever is giving the thumbs down, stop it! they are all good answers!
Answers: 1 day ago
I use store bought dry pasta, I always cook ala dente (or how ever you spell it). I never rinse my pasta, and I do not use oil or salt in my boiling water. When I mention olive oil, that is in my pasta sauce receipe. It takes me 2 days to cook my sauce. I reduce it until I can't reduce it any more! I want my sauce to stick like the store-bought sauce, and thought there was something magical that I could use. I'm going to give the cornstarch a shot!
and whoever is giving the thumbs down, stop it! they are all good answers! Don't be too quick to compare your sauce to store-bought (and expect identical results--or even want to).
Manufacturers often use ingredients that "help" a sauce along, such as "stick-to-it-iveness."
Like you, I never add oil to the water since I don't see the point; a full boil and a bit of attention to the pot during the initial cooking takes care of the pasta sticking together.
There may be something in the sauce that needs to be reduced in intitial quantity prior to "reducing" (the type of tomato would be a first guess),or you can use pasta that better holds your sauce because of its shape.
I vote for your homemade sauce. A tasty homemade sauce that can be eaten with pasta and a fresh, crusty Italian bread to sop up the sauce as you go along--how does it get any better than that? Are you dressing the pasta before the sauce, some people add oil or butter to their cooking water or stir in after pasta is done. This would certainly keep the sauce from adhering to the pasta. The best way to cook pasta is to cook it until it's al dente or just under this, then add it to a bit of sauce simmering in a shallow pan to finish cooking off in the sauce. Add a bit of pasta water to this and put on to simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens properly. Thick sauces are more about reduction than anything. Cooking the pasta in the sauce not only helps it adhere to the sauce but also draw some of the flavors into the pasta as it absorbs the excess liquid in the sauce. The only other suggestion might be to seed your tomatoes if you not doing this already to remove the excess liquids there. maybe it's too thin- after pureeing it, tip it back into the pan and cook it down for another 10 mins or so until it thickens. Another idea would be to take a few tablespoons of the pasta water and mix that back into the strained pasta in a pan, the starch that from the pasta should hopefully thicken what ever sauce you add fry the paste after sauteing your onions and garlic fry the paste until its all combined (its an important step that's often overlooked also never rinse hot pasta you'll wash away the starch that help it "the sauce adhere I also use home canned foods from my garden, there are several reasons that the sauce may not be sticking to your pasta....
use a good quality pasta....a good quality pasta is extruded from brass plates that leave microscopic ridges or spirals on the pasta to hold the sauce,
follow the directions on your pasta package and cook accordingly....(research on the net cooking pasta) making sure you add plenty of salt to your water (do not add oil) this is the only time you will have to season your pasta so it won't be bland
then when the pasta is cooked properly (to the correct doneness) drain and shake slightly to remove excess water DO NOT RINSE...when you rinse commercial pasta you are washing away the starches that are released...and your sauce has nothing to stick to.....don't add oil to the pasta...it also prevent the sauce from sticking....
now for the sauce itself....it your having a problem with its consistency...maybe add a small amount of cornstarch (small amount mixed with cold water) also maybe add some shredded carrots during cooking and let it cook down... After cooking your pasta al dente, drain well, but DO NOT RINSE! The starch residue from the pasta water will help the sauce adhere. If your rinsing your pasta after cooking it this could definately be the problem! Don't rinse your pasta, and are you maybe using too much olive oil? I'd hold back on that and see what happens. I'm with Chiquita, tone down the olive oil. I'm older than, what it seems most, on this posting. I still add a touch of cooking oil to the water before adding the pasta. So I don't think that having oil in the cooking water does any damage. But maybe the combo of oil in the water and oil in the sauce can be overkill. So don't add oil or butter to the water and cut down on the oil in the sauce. After you drain your pasta, put it back on the stove, and add a couple of large spoons of sauce to it. Stir well. Add more, if you feel like it. It will coat the pasta, and help the rest of the sauce stick to it when served.