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How To Thicken Tomato Sauce? Easy Guide To Thicken Tomato Sauce?

Homemade tomato sauce, which can be made with simple ingredients, is incredibly easy to make.

Simpler still is the cooking process. There are many ways to prepare the tomato sauce, including serving it fresh and cooking it with other foods.

In this article, you will know the answer to the query “How To Thicken Tomato Sauce?“.

When food is served hot, some people feel tomato sauce is too watery.

Sometimes, though, someone complains about the thickness of the sauce.

Besides messing up your tablecloth, runny sauces can stain your surface if they are not eaten right away.

This problem can be solved by thickening the sauce as it cooks so that it does not overflow.

The process of thickening tomato sauce can be done easily if you follow some basic guidelines.

To thicken tomato sauce during cooking, we will discuss this topic in this article.

How to Make Tomato Sauce at Home?

Sauces made from tomatoes are not only delicious on their own but can also be paired with other foods.

Tomato sauce is most commonly paired with pasta.

The sauce is sometimes topped with pasta, according to some people.

Many people believe that the pasta and sauce should be mixed before eating it. They add Parmesan cheese and stir well.

You can make homemade tomato sauce easily by following a few simple steps.

It is a known fact that some people dislike the texture and flavor of canned tomato sauce, but prefer homemade because it has a more natural taste and texture.

When making this sauce from scratch, the ingredient needs to simmer for a while because the seeds must be removed from the sauce.

To make sure that tomato juice does not stain your kitchen towel, you should process or sieve the tomatoes.

Making homemade tomato sauce is easy if you follow these steps.

  • Begin by chopping up a celery stick, onion, and garlic cloves. Using fresh tomatoes, halve them and remove the seeds to prevent them from being included in the final product. On high heat, sauté the ingredients, stirring occasionally until they are cooked.
  • Basil, oregano, and ground pepper can be added to the vegetables. Next, add three tablespoons of tomato paste and cook for a minute or two until everything is well blended.
  • To make it boil, place 1 tablespoon of salt in a medium-sized pot. Pour the water slowly into the pot. Stir occasionally for at least one hour while pouring over the vegetable mixture.
  • Approximately an hour after cooking the sauce, you can add tomato paste and season to taste. The sauce should be well blended after adding tomato paste and seasoning to taste. Adding a little more time will result in a thicker tomato sauce.

To achieve a thick and rich sauce, you will need to cook it for a considerable amount of time.

The richness of this delicious dish stems from adding grated Parmesan to tomato sauce. If you like cheese with your pasta, grated Parmesan is usually the recommended topping.

Putting unused sauce in containers and boiling it will sterilize it if you plan to store it for later usage.

By doing this, bacteria will not be able to form on the food.

Common Mistakes When Making Tomato Sauce

It is common for people to make homemade tomato sauce incorrectly because they don’t understand how to make tomato sauce properly.

If you follow a few tips when making this dish, it will taste even better than you would get at any restaurant or store, and you will have the honor of saying that you made your delicious tomato sauce from scratch.

Make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes rather than powdered ones to avoid making the most common tomato sauce mistake.

To keep yourself healthy, you should use fresh tomatoes because they contain all of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you need.

On the other hand, if you are unable to obtain fresh tomatoes regularly, a brand found in the market may be sufficient.

In addition to using too much sugar and salt when making tomato sauce, people make another mistake by adding too much sodium.

You should add these ingredients only after the cooking process is complete, and you should use only a little bit of each instead of adding them all together.

As a result, you will have an awful-tasting meal.

It is necessary to cook tomato sauce at a low temperature for an extended period to get thick tomato sauce.

Adding the ingredients to the pot or pan creates a paste after simmering and breaking down into the ingredients rather than mixing in seconds.

You will not get that thick consistency if you add your ingredients right away; there will be too much liquid.

Too many types of meat and vegetables can also cause the sauce to become bland.

Tomato sauce is easily ruined by them, since their ingredients change tomatoes’ mild, sweet taste into unnaturally spicy ones or stronger flavors than tomatoes, leaving a bad aftertaste.

After the sauce is already cooked, you can add the other ingredients. They must simmer as well, so your final recipe will have the right balance of flavors.

How to Thicken Tomato Sauce?

In addition to cooking the ingredients until they have been combined into one paste, cooking them until they are thick is an effective way to thicken tomato sauce.

For those who are short on time or looking for a faster solution, there are several other ways to thicken tomato sauce:

1. Use Cornstarch

Add one tablespoon of cornstarch to 1/4 cup of water and mix until it’s smooth. Use a spoon to apply the mixture evenly to the sauce.

After cooking the sauce for a couple of minutes, stir in the cornstarch to thicken it.

You can put some cornstarch and water into a container and shake it quickly to dissolve the starch.

Once the mixture has been mixed, add it to your tomato sauce.

2. Slow Boil, Add sauce to taste

Over low heat, simmer your tomato paste for half an hour or until desired thickness is reached.

If you want to use it as is or together with other sauces, you can.

3. Use a Slow Cooker

Slow-cooker ingredients include tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, and spices. Blend on high speed for eight hours, then cook for another eight hours on low heat.

When all the chunks of anything except the herbs are gone from the tomato sauce, it has been ready.

4. Add Pureed Vegetables

Using your stovetop pan, put the vegetables in water and peel them if necessary.

Water should be brought to a boil, then cooked until soft.

Pour off any excess liquid from the vegetables before you add them to the tomato sauce.

5. Sauté Onions or Other Ingredients First

The onions will release water and thicken the tomato sauce if you sauté them before adding your other ingredients.

Add your remaining ingredients once your onions have become translucent or golden brown.

6. Add Less Liquid

If you are using fresh tomatoes, you will be able to create a thick sauce by reducing your liquid amount to half or more.

Ensure you cook the broth for a sufficient amount of time to allow the liquid to reduce completely.

Conclusion

As a result, thickening to perfection is an important part of making a perfect tomato sauce, which is fundamental to Italian cooking in general.

The best way to thicken tomato sauce is to naturally learn how to do it rather than relying on the various options mentioned above.

You will be able to make a fresh-tasting sauce by keeping the ingredients minimal.

If you want to read more about cooking, read here: Cooking Tips and Tricks.

Ayub Khan

Ayub Khan is an accomplished culinary author with a passion for cooking and 6 years of experience. His creative ideas and valuable tips inspire readers to explore new flavors and take their culinary skills to the next level.

Rehmat Dietitian

Rehmat is a certified food dietitian having experience of 10 years in reviewing and practicing on foods different aspects.

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