More than just a condiment that's simply an add-on to food to enhance flavor, tomato sauce usually forms part of the dish. Simple yet appealing, the tomato sauce is a perfect match for pasta dishes and is also commonly served as part of meat or vegetable dishes. What makes tomatoes very ideal to be made into sauces is that they have a rich flavor and their soft flesh breaks down easily. They also have a high liquid content, and their just right composition can thicken into a sauce when cooked without the need of a thickening agent.
Tomato sauce can be prepared in a wide variety of ways, so why settle for store-bought ones when you can bring a homey taste to your dishes by making your own sauce? Be a home chef and learn how to make a basic tomato sauce, then later vary it by adding more flavorful ingredients.
The basic ingredients usually include fresh or canned whole tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, onion and salt. Fresh basil, oregano, freshly ground black pepper and parsley may also be seasonings. To prepare a homemade tomato sauce, heat olive oil in a skillet over low-medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Don't heat it too long that it begins to smoke, as you'll need to sweat the onion and garlic. Sweating is a process where aromatic vegetables such as onion and garlic are cooked over low heat, just enough to draw out their moisture, extracting and concentrating their flavor.
You know the aromatic vegetables are properly sweated when they turn translucent but with no or very little golden color-the golden color means the sugars of the vegetables have already caramelized and not enough moisture was retained in them. After sweating the onion and garlic, you can then add the tomatoes. Take note that the interior jelly-like pulp of the tomatoes carry great flavor, so don't discard them; simply add in the whole tomatoes. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for about 10 minutes. Add fresh basil, salt and black pepper to taste, turn the heat off and puree or push the sauce through a small-hold strainer.
Related tags:
Tomato sauce,
juice concentrate,
tropical fruit processing
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