[Sca-cooks] Spaghetti sauce- long- was Mock Beef Stroganoff

[Nick Sasso]

> -----Original Message-----
> Basicly, what I do, except where I slow cook, you add the
> baking soda. I'm
> glad of that idea- I'll try it some time. I slow cooked
> because the slow
> cooking brought out the sweetness and blended the flavors, and I just
> tolerated the acid when I didn't have time to slow cook. And,
> sorry, folks, I
> know there are a lot of fans of adding sugar to spaghetti
> sauce on this List,
> but it just ain't going into my spaghetti ;-)
>
> Phlip, always happy to learn something new ;-)


My quick sauce went from pretty good to sublime when I learned a technique
that "bloomed" the tomato flavor in my sauce.  I, too, thought it heretical
until I tried it in a fit of proving it foul.  Make your general
marinara-ish sauce.  Simmer for your stated time.  Instead of soda or other
acid reducing stuff, I add sugar just until it starts to taste sweet.  THEN,
balance back the tartness using some combination of wine and/or vinegar of
choice.  By adding a little at a time, you can balance the sweet and sour,
and hit the perfect balance of that particular sauce every time.  The tomato
essential flavor is brought to the front and is supported by the sweet/sour
balance.  Besides, most people want to add wine anyway . . . this way you
can season it to balance the tastes.

Got this from a trusted cooking techniques magazine, and it is a game that
is worth playing in my kitchen.  Quick cooking, and accounts for variations
in product lots.

niccolo difrancesco