If you are a fan of Western cuisine, you can not ignore Spaghetti – a famous Italian dish. More specifically, cooking spaghetti is quite simple, and almost anyone can make it at home for hygiene and cost savings. However, making spaghetti sauce is quite different, especially to a newbie.
So, let us give you a hand. Those following tricks will show you how to thicken spaghetti sauce in the right way!
How to thicken spaghetti sauce?- Done in a minute
With an easy-to-make dish like Spaghetti, a variety of sauces have been created with different thickening methods. Here are 2 of the most common techniques you can refer to:
Thickening without changing flavors
With these ways below, we sure that they will not change your spaghetti flavor!
● Reduce by cooking at a low boil
This method works well for most dipping sauces as the sauce heats up, the water will evaporate and leave a thicker sauce.
Whisking the sauce will mainly focus on the sweet, sour, and salty flavors, but can also take away some of the herbs and spices. Therefore, you can taste the sauce while thickening and prepare to adjust the seasonings when it is completely thickened.
● Add some starch to the spaghetti sauce.
To form a thickening gel, most cooks choose cornstarch as it creates a distinctive aroma compared to other flavors like potato starch or tapioca flour.
Is it acceptable to use the flour?- The answer is no, as its flavor is very strong and cannot thicken sauce and others.
These are the notes that you should keep in mind, and then you can follow the guide like this:
- Estimate a certain amount of starch, then take it into a bowl separate from other ingredients.
- Take water equal to the starch amount, then mix them until the powder is completely dissolved in the water.
- Slowly pour into the pot, heat this mixture, and wait until the sauce thickens.
● Add breadcrumbs
As it’s primarily flour, breadcrumbs are the most relevant thickening agent out of the others. Bread crumbs increase the consistency of the sauce, but won’t affect the taste of the Spaghetti.
Thickening with Flavor Boosters
● Add tomato paste
It’s more favorable to add tomato paste in the first stage of the cooking process. Why? It allows the pulp of tomato to turn into a quick, thickening agent.
● Add cheese
Cheese has a higher salt taste, so bear in mind that there will be a significant change in the flavor when adding cheese to your sauce.
● Make a Roux
Any fats can make a Roux. However, the flavor of the dish will be influenced by the fat used.
To make a roux, you add butter to melt, then add flour. The amount of powder is equal to the amount of fat in a 1: 1 ratio. You stir continuously at low temperatures.
When the mixture is boiling, the mixture will bubble and keep stirring until the bubbles are small, you will get the white Roux.
Cook for another 3-4 minutes, the mixture will turn dark yellow, smooth but not solidified, you will get golden Roux. After that, you still need to stir both the inner and outer rings of the mixture.
● Add vegetables to your sauce.
If you want to eat more Spaghetti, but the sauce is too tiring, it’s okay; you can add some vegetables like potatoes, carrots, lettuce, or seaweed.
Delicious vegetable stir-fry spaghetti will make an ideal meal as it provides more nutrition and lessens fats.
You should pay attention to the vegetables because when kept in the pot for too long, the vegetables can be mushy, and your Spaghetti will not be good enough to eat.
● Add whipped cream
Heavy cream is more accessible to apply than cheese as you don’t need to melt it. All you have to do is pour the whipped cream into the pan and turn the heat low. Remember that in this process, you need to stir constantly, evenly, until the sauce is slightly smooth.
Final words
Now, we guess that the question of how to thicken spaghetti sauceno longer bothers your mind. For dishes like Spaghetti, the sauce is considered as the soul that makes the exquisite taste.
Each different sauce has its own characteristics, but you can adjust it to suit your taste. You can easily realize that these sauces are made from the basic ingredients, and it takes only 5 minutes for you to make. So, be ready and have yourself the know-how for thickening spaghetti sauce.