Is There A Difference Between Canned And Jarred Pasta Sauce?
That said, Corazzina definitely recommends making your sauce from scratch. "Neither [canned nor jarred] compares to the clean, vibrant taste of a fresh homemade sauce," he says. "Homemade sauce just hits differently. You're working with fresh ingredients like ripe tomatoes, real garlic, herbs, good olive oil, and cooking them slowly so the flavors can develop naturally." He also warns against sugars and preservatives in canned and jarred sauces because they can make them come out one-note, lacking depth and true, natural flavor. "Making your own sauce is simple and so rewarding," he continues.
Following Corazzina's advice, it's not that hard to make an all-purpose, homemade tomato sauce. There are some easy tips to follow to get your pasta sauce just right — use fresh, seasonal ingredients and, depending on the dish, start with a good veggie base, so the flavor will be baked in (or sauteed in, rather). But if you're starting with a store-bought sauce, how can you jazz it up to get it near homemade?
Read more: 12 Store-Bought Buffalo Sauces, Ranked Worst To Best
First of all, start with a good base sauce. We have already ranked popular store-bought marinara sauces to help give you some direction. You probably want something without too many unnecessary additives (as mentioned by Luca Corazzina), like sugar, corn syrup, or lab-created preservatives. Take a look at the label and go with something made with natural ingredients and good, fresh tomatoes.
"A few simple additions can transform a jarred sauce," Corazzina says. "I like to saute garlic or onions in olive oil, then add the sauce and let it simmer with fresh basil, a pinch of chili flakes, or even some roasted vegetables." Letting your store-bought sauce simmer down with some aromatics will thicken it up and give it more natural flavor. You can also make store-bought pasta sauce taste better with a splash of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Add some tomato paste for a boost of tomato-packed umami flavor, or chop up some canned whole tomatoes and add them to the mix. It's possibly the closest way to get close to the flavor of fresh, stewed or sauteed tomatoes.
And to finish it all off, don't forget about the olive oil. "A splash of good olive oil at the end gives it richness and body," says Corazzina. "Don't be afraid to make it your own and experiment!" Take a look in the fridge and pantry and find the obvious choices — fresh or dried Italian herbs, a bit of Parmesan, maybe even a splash of olive juice if it needs more salt. Start with a good base sauce, and you can stack on the flavor pinch-by-pinch or spoon-by-spoon from there.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
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This Is the Most Overlooked Step in Every Recipe—and It Takes 5 Seconds
"Season to taste" isn't a vague suggestion, it's a fundamental cooking technique. Salt is a primary cooking ingredient, but it works best when used incrementally throughout the cooking process and not just at the end. When done properly, you're seasoning the food to maximize deliciousness and also create harmony with other flavors, such as acid, sweetness, and bitterness. If you do accidentally oversalt, we offer some tips on fixing the seen the phrase a thousand times, probably at the end of every recipe ever read: Season to taste. It sounds so casual, so… unhelpfully vague. If you're anything like me, your early encounters with that line left you staring as if it were a pop quiz you had forgotten to study for. What taste? Whose taste? Are we talking about one pinch? Two? After nearly a decade of working in restaurant kitchens and another ten years as a professional recipe developer and editor, I now understand what "season to taste" actually means (good news: it doesn't take nearly that long to figure out). Learning to do it well is one of the best things you can do to enhance your cooking, no matter what's on the stove. With a few smart habits on your side, you can season like a pro and get restaurant-worthy results without breaking a sweat (or oversalting your soup). When a recipe says "season to taste," 99% of the time, it's talking about salt. There are exceptions to this rule when the instruction may be about sugar, vinegar, or even oil; however, a good recipe will be very clear about that (and I'll discuss it further below as well). There's hardly a dish in the world that will taste good if it doesn't have salt added, though how much depends on the recipe itself and your personal tastes (foreshadowing: that's the "to taste" we're going to be talking about). Salt isn't just about making food salty—in most cases, if the food is noticeably salty, you've likely added too much. The goal when seasoning with salt is to amplify flavor. When used right, salt makes tomatoes taste more tomato-y, mushrooms more mushroomy, and meat more…well, you get the idea. Salt wakes food up and is your first line of defense against blandness. Too little, and everything tastes dull. If you find yourself asking, "What does this dish need?" the number one answer is going to be: salt. Too much, though, and you're in panic mode trying to "fix" it. Not all salts are created equal, and when it comes to how salty your food turns out, the type of salt you use can make a big difference. At Serious Eats, we love kosher salt and typically reach for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. It's the gold standard in many professional kitchens thanks to its light, airy flakes that are easy to pinch, spread evenly, and dissolve quickly. It also contains less sodium by volume than most other salts, which makes it ideal for seasoning gradually and with control. However, if you're using a different salt, such as another brand of kosher salt like Morton or table salt or sea salt, you'll just need to adjust the amount you use to achieve the desired salinity. A teaspoon of one salt can weigh twice as much as another, and that means it can be nearly twice as salty when measured by volume. I recommend you pick one salt and stick with it. Whether it's Diamond Crystal or something else, using the same brand and type consistently helps you build instinct. Your fingers will learn what a "pinch" feels like, and you'll have an easier time properly seasoning without guesswork or oversalting disasters. The short answer is that you taste it. And not just once at the end, but repeatedly, throughout the cooking process. Begin with a light hand. Add a small amount of salt, stir it in thoroughly, and then taste to check the seasoning. Pay attention not just to how salty the food is, but to the broader experience of flavor. Does it taste flat or dull? Are the flavors cohesive, or does something seem to be missing? Does the flavor linger pleasantly, or vanish almost immediately? These are the kinds of questions that guide good seasoning. From there, you adjust. If the food still seems muted, add another small pinch, stir again, and taste once more. With each round of seasoning, you're not just trying to make the dish saltier, you're trying to make it taste complete and balanced. 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Here are a few smart strategies to help keep your seasoning in check before things go off the rails: 1. Season gradually, not all at once. Salt builds. Start light and build up in small increments. Remember that you can always add more, but you can't take it out (see also: regret). 2. Taste after every adjustment. Don't assume. Don't trust your memory. Trust your spoon. Taste-testing frequently is how you catch yourself before you go too far. 3. Write it down, especially if you're developing a recipe or doubling one. Tracking how much salt you've added and when can save your future self a lot of second-guessing. 4. Be extra cautious when reducing. When you simmer a sauce, stew, or soup, water evaporates, but salt doesn't. That means the salt concentration increases over time. If something tastes perfectly seasoned early on, it might tip into oversalted territory by the end of cooking. 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Prime Day Deal: This Portable Induction Cooktop Saved Me During a Kitchen Remodel and Right Now It's 21% Off
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