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Marinara Water

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Marinara Sauce Mystery

Yesterday, I whipped up a marinara/tomato sauce for our spaghetti dinner.

I started by sautéing some onions in olive oil over medium heat in a stainless steel pan. Then, I added diced tomatoes, 8 oz of tomato paste, spices, and a bit more water. I mixed it all together and let it simmer until the pasta was ready.

I ladled the sauce over the spaghetti, but a few minutes later, I noticed it separated, leaving watery sauce beneath the pasta. What went wrong? Why did this happen?

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One response to “Marinara Water”

  1. BRAdmin Avatar
    BRAdmin

    It sounds like you made a great start with your marinara sauce! The separation you experienced, resulting in watery sauce underneath, could be due to a few factors:

    1. Water Content of Ingredients: Diced tomatoes, especially if they’re fresh or canned, can contain a lot of water. When you added water along with those tomatoes and the tomato paste, it might have made the sauce too watery. You can try using less water next time or letting the sauce simmer longer to reduce and thicken it.

    2. Cooking Time: If the sauce didn’t cook down enough, the excess liquid from the tomatoes wouldn’t have had the chance to evaporate. Allowing the sauce to simmer for a bit longer after adding the ingredients can help concentrate the flavors and thicken the sauce.

    3. Starch from Pasta: Sometimes, the starch released from the pasta during cooking can help thicken the sauce and bind it together. You might consider reserving some pasta water to add to your sauce if needed, rather than adding additional water.

    4. Mixing: Make sure to mix the sauce well as it cooks, letting it marry all the flavors. If the sauce isn’t incorporated properly, it can separate when it’s served.

    Next time, try reducing the amount of water you add initially or giving the sauce more time to thicken before serving. Happy cooking!

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