17
votes
How do I tame the "tongue bite" in my tomato-based meals?
The acidic "bite" is caused by acids in the tomatoes.
The easiest way to avoid it is to add some sugar to the sauce. How much to add is a personal taste thing and depends a bit (I find) on ...
15
votes
How do I tame the "tongue bite" in my tomato-based meals?
The "bite" is indeed acidity as you identified. The surest way to reduce acidity is with a base. Add a small amount of baking soda to your canned tomato product to neutralize it. Start with ...
12
votes
Accepted
It seems, acidity prevents pasta from being overcooked?
No, it has nothing to do with the acidity of your sauce.
It took a lot longer to cook because of the prevalent temperature throughout the pan, and the mass of the material being heated.
Sauce + ...
9
votes
Accepted
How do you measure 2 ounces of dry thin spaghetti pasta?
When you make spaghetti, pay attention to the size of the bundle before cooking and then pay attention to whether it makes the desired amount, so that you get used to the correct sized bundle for the ...
9
votes
Accepted
How do I tame the "tongue bite" in my tomato-based meals?
I'm simmering some of these sauces for 5-6 hours
Contrary to popular myth that "cooking tomatoes for a long time" will make them less acidic, it actually does the opposite, the longer you ...
8
votes
Making Carbonara in Canada; what kind of cream should I use?
"Authentic" carbonara does not have cream. It's made with just guanciale, egg (yolks and whites), pecorino romano, and black pepper. Thanks to @GiuppeP for the clarification.
However, at least in ...
8
votes
Accepted
How is this machine used? (for, I think, peeling the skin from the tomatoes)
That's a manually operated Food Mill/Ricer/Puree-Maker.
The Wikipedia Article for Food Mill shows a pic of the same model you have and from that article:
Uses of a food mill include removing the ...
8
votes
Is there a known 'lifehack' to facilitate the picking back up of the bay leaves after cooking with them?
In Germany there is a „Spickzwiebel“ especially for red cabbage. You put your bayleave on the onion and attach it with cloves. For other dishes I use onions the same way but substitute the cloves with ...
7
votes
How long do I boil store bought or canned tomato sauce for spaghetti?
If the canned good is already "spaghetti sauce", it simply needs to be heated. There is no need to cook it for hours. If you are beginning with canned tomatoes, and making your own sauce, 20 to 30 ...
7
votes
How do you measure 2 ounces of dry thin spaghetti pasta?
If you are willing to spread out a whole box of pasta (so you know how much you are starting with - 16, 12, 8 or whatever number of ounces) you can divide the spread out pasta into, say, 8 (roughly) ...
7
votes
Interpretation of a braised lamb dish description from a menu
I agree that the "lamb & minced meat" phrasing makes it sound like these will be present as separate components and a different phrasing would have been clearer – but I think the thing ...
6
votes
It seems, acidity prevents pasta from being overcooked?
You can not prevent your pasta from overcooking but you can make it more mushy (and unpalatable)
The effect of acidity is very noticeable with potatoes, adding a shot of vinegar will let you cook ...
5
votes
Accepted
Is there a known 'lifehack' to facilitate the picking back up of the bay leaves after cooking with them?
I make a spice bundle and tie them all together with a clean shoelace (was the only piece of rope like material I had lying around) or some other rope.
You can then tie the other end to the pan handle ...
5
votes
Accepted
Is spaghetti and bechamel sauce an authentic Italian dish?
In Italy, besciamella is usually only used on pasta when it's going to be cooked in the oven: pasta al gratin, pasta al forno, or as part of lasagne.
As for your question - is it authentic to just ...
5
votes
How to make spaghetti stick together?
Easy....cook per the package instruction, with no oil in water. Drain well through a strainer. Allow to sit in the strainer or in a bowl long enough to allow the moisture to flash off. Your pasta ...
4
votes
What is the difference between Pasta Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce?
Marinara sauce is a specific sauce, made with tomatoes, and probably garlic, onions, and herbs.
Spaghetti sauce, in the US, means something tomato-based, possibly with meat. I suppose it's based ...
4
votes
How to fix separating spaghetti sauce?
Par-blending the sauce (eg with a stick blender) could thicken/emulsify it just enough to stop it from separating but without adding any thickener.
4
votes
Techniques and ingredients to make marinara sauce from canned spagetti sauce
If for some reason, you only have canned goods available in your area, I would start with canned tomatoes -- either crushed, diced or a mix, depending on how chunky you like your sauce. (some people ...
4
votes
Is there a known 'lifehack' to facilitate the picking back up of the bay leaves after cooking with them?
I finally used an old cheap "stainless snap ball tea strainer" I had lie-ing around not in use for 15 years for the job.
Crush the leaves into small bits to fit inside and submerge in the ...
4
votes
Is there any difference between wholewheat pasta and wholewheat sphaghetti besides the shape?
Spaghetti is a type of pasta. "Pasta" is generally used as a generic term for Italian noodles; you can see more shapes of pasta here. If the ingredients are the same, the processing is likely the same–...
4
votes
Is there a known 'lifehack' to facilitate the picking back up of the bay leaves after cooking with them?
A bay leaf or two hardly seems problematic, but you can always create a satchel for herbs by using cheese cloth. When you are finished, lift the satchel out.
4
votes
Can I substitute fresh tomatoes for canned?
Recipes that call for canned tomatoes usually do so because these are picked and preserved when at peak ripeness, as well as saving you the trouble of peeling. For whole or chopped canned tomatoes, ...
4
votes
Can I substitute fresh tomatoes for canned?
Yep, fresh tomatoes will work fine. You'll likely need to cook them longer than you would canned tomatoes, and you may need to use more. If you like, you can skin them first: slice a wide, shallow &...
4
votes
How to fit spaghetti in small pan without breaking it
I think your process is pretty close. Add more water to your pan. If necessary, add more salt. At the boil, drop in your spaghetti. I like to use tongs, but a spoon or fork will work. Gently stir ...
4
votes
How do I tame the "tongue bite" in my tomato-based meals?
I think it is likely that the overly acidic taste is due to the brand(s) of canned tomatoes you have been given. Many cans of tomatoes (usually the cheaper ones) have Calcium Chloride added to them, ...
3
votes
It seems, acidity prevents pasta from being overcooked?
I think it is because your ingredients are not up to 212 F. I takes them a while to cook up to 212 F. The water may be boiling but a lot of the pasta is touching the ingredients.
3
votes
Is there a known 'lifehack' to facilitate the picking back up of the bay leaves after cooking with them?
Because I grow my own bay, I tend to put a sprig or two of bay in (with slight tears in the leaves, but not torn into pieces). This means I have one or two bits of bay to find, rather than lots of ...
3
votes
Should I use whole eggs or only yolks in Spaghetti alla Carbonara?
A few concepts here are a mistake. I'm a Rome native and all I can say is that my mom would kill me if I use the whole egg. As stated before, temperature is key, having said that, the whites and the ...
3
votes
Accepted
I want to make straight spaghetti
To add to the existing answer. The easiest method would probably be to bake the spaghetti.
If you cook the spaghetti in a casserole in the oven instead of cooking them in a pot of water, they get less ...
3
votes
Interpretation of a braised lamb dish description from a menu
I wouldn't expect anything except that there's some kind of meat involved. The description is clearly gibberish, either because of poor translation from another language, or being written by AI or by ...
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