My spaghetti sauce mystery took 5 years to crack

I always wondered why my sauce came out bitter no matter what I did. Then last month my buddy Dave laughed at me for dumping the whole can of tomato paste in without frying it first. Turns out cooking it in the pan for like 3 minutes before adding liquid changes everything. Anybody else learn a basic trick that late in the game?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmawood12d ago

Burned the crap out of my garlic for like 10 years before I realized you're supposed to put it in after the onions. Thought I was just bad at cooking. 😅 But seriously the tomato paste trick blew my mind too. My grandma saw me dumping it in raw once and gave me this look like I'd personally offended her entire Italian heritage. Now I fry it until it gets dark red and it's like a whole different sauce.

oscarc5312d ago

Wait, are we really acting like not frying tomato paste is some kind of culinary crime? I mean i get that it adds a little depth but i've been dumping it in raw my whole life and nobody's ever complained. My spaghetti sauce tastes fine, maybe i'm just not that particular. Feels like half the stuff people act like is a "game changer" is really just a minor upgrade that normal people won't even notice. At the end of the day it's still just tomato sauce on pasta.

wesley38512d ago

Hold up, nobody's mentioned the acidity factor yet. Raw tomato paste has this weird sharp bitterness that cooking breaks down into something way smoother. I actually started adding a pinch of baking soda to my sauce after frying the paste - it neutralizes the acid so you don't get that harsh aftertaste. Total game changer for anyone who still gets a little bitterness even after frying it right. Also check if you're using aluminum pots, they can react with tomatoes and give everything a metallic taste.