I am working on a new sause, tired of buying it in a can. I have it made and it is pretty decent just feels like it is missing something here is the recipe:
8oz Tomato Sause
6oz Tomato Paste
1.25 cup Hot water
1 tbsp Oregeno
1 tsp Basil
1 tbsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 tbsp Honey
and I cook all this up in a pot. It has a pleasant sweet taste to start and then is spicey and a little hot at end. I feel like this is missing something in the middle, and ideas to make this sause sing to the tastebuds?
Where are you getting the heat from ?
Not quite sure but its not like a hot heat, more like a very mild tingle, possibly from the italian herbs or the pepper?
Are you sure you want to go with a cooked sauce? A couple things to keep in mind with a cooked sauce:
- If you cook a sauce, there is always the possibility that you might scorch it, thus relegating the whole pot to the trash container.
- All those great flavors released as a result of cooking are lost and will never be enjoyed by your customers. Ther sauce wil be cooked on the pie.
- Your health department will want you to do either of two things; Keep the sauce stored at a temperature of 160F or above, or keep it refrigerated. Remember the 4-hour rule, now subtract the time it takes to cool the sauce down to 40F or lower. You have significantly eroded the 4-hour time limit. To make matters worse, some health departments are imposing a 2-hour rule not a 4-hour rule, making things even more difficult.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Would you suggest I just use the same recipe just cold mix it and then it will get cooked on the pie? Or should I change it for the cold recipe? Still need to figure out something to make it taste better in the middle, tastes nice and sweet to start, then the after effects are a little spicy which I think is the result of the pepper, going to tone it down in the next batch. Any ideas to improve the middle of the taste cycle?
One of Tom’s favorite ingred is parm chz (mine too!) a little less pepper is in order - I don’t use that much in a 10 qt batch
Parm Cheese was just the right thing!! Sause tastes great.
Now should I do this as a cold recipe for the next batch and just let it get cooked in the oven?
I’m in the NEVER pre-cook your sauce camp. The addition of the cheese should give you a nice mellowing of your flavor profile, you may want to experiment with just a shot of lemon juice in there as well. It gives you a nice “brightness” and won’t leave a lemony taste at all.
Surprised noone asked what tomato products you use. The two major brands (Stanislaus and Escalon) have slightly different flavor profiles (Stanislaus uses citric acid where Escalon does not, I think). Have you experminted with Full-Red’s or 6-n-1’s? In my opinion, both products give you a nice consistency with a very bright tomato flavor.
As for cooking the sauces, I agree - no cook. You will want to let the flavors blend for several hours though…
I’ve read where some people at pizzamaking.com microwave their spices in a small amount of liquid before adding to the sauce. They claim it “releases” the flavors. I’ve never tried and am not vouching for that method. I also don’t know anyone that’s tried it in a commercial setting. But it may be worth experimenting with.
FWIW, I tried the Stanislaus Fully prepared pizza sauce this weekend and thought it was every bit as good as my regular 6-n-1 based sauce (to which I add honey, siracha, red pepper, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic).
Why the honey… is it for the same reason some would use sugar ?
Honey gets rid of some of the “Tang” of the tomato. Leaving the sweetness and fullness of the tomato sause in my opinion.
Than it is the same as some would use sugar… 