# Water separation in marinara sauce



## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

Hi all, new member here! Let me know if this needs to be in a different thread...

I'm looking for some advice on my marinara sauce. I cannot seem to cure my water problems. I get a significant amount of water everytime I plate and it's both off putting to guests and frustrating when serving over things that can get "soggy." A little background on the sauce: I've tried all sorts of tomatos and brands ranging from store brand to San marzanos to garden fresh so I can't imagine that being the culprit. The sauce contains a variety of herbs, garlic, onion, and butter. Cook time is usually around 6 hours. 

Any advice? I look forward to meeting you all!


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## CraigC (Jun 9, 2019)

I start with chopped onions sauteed in olive oil, then garlic until fragrant. Then I add in 3-4 Tbsp of tomato paste and stir it until it starts to brown, next red wine. I add my spices and fresh basil sprigs. If I need more liquid Ill add chicken stock. It gets cooked uncovered for a couple hours, adding stock if needed. I don't add butter. I've never had Watery sauce. I reserve a cup of pasta cooking water and drain the pasta before adding it to the sauce.


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## taxlady (Jun 9, 2019)

Welcome to DC Tyler. Are you using fresh or canned tomatoes?


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## larry_stewart (Jun 9, 2019)

I usually fix a thinner sauce either by cooking it longer ( lid off) or adding some tomato paste.

The obvious would be making sure the pasta is drained thoroughly ( to make sure the liquid isn't coming from the pasta itself, especially if its a shaped pasta that has areas where the water could hang out even after draining).



Fresh vs canned tomatoes could make a difference.


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

Generally I use San Marzano canned whole tomatos, but I have had the problem with fresh before too.


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

larry_stewart said:


> I usually fix a thinner sauce either by cooking it longer ( lid off) or adding some tomato paste.
> 
> The obvious would be making sure the pasta is drained thoroughly ( to make sure the liquid isn't coming from the pasta itself, especially if its a shaped pasta that has areas where the water could hang out even after draining).
> 
> ...



Originally I pointed to the pasta too, now I give it the plate test. If I put the sauce down on a plate by itself a good amount of water immediately runs off.


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## Andy M. (Jun 9, 2019)

Cook it uncovered to thicken it via evaporation. After draining the pasta, add it to a pan with the sauce and stir it over heat for a minute.


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## blissful (Jun 9, 2019)

One thing I remember from my mom's cooking was water on the plate when we had spaghetti with sauce. I didn't like the watery sauce.



So when I make sauce, I make it to can in quarts. I start with 20 quarts of cored quartered tomatoes, cook it, then hit it with an immersion blender (or run it through a mill to remove peel), and cook it until it is reduced by half. This takes a whole day and if I start at night, it goes overnight in a roaster with the lid cocked at low temperature. So 20 quarts of tomatoes for 10 quarts of thick sauce that doesn't puddle on the plate.


Last summer I repeated this 10 times, for a total of 100 quarts of canned thick tomato sauce. Not paste, not juice.



It really depends on how much water is in the starting sauce. More liquid, more cooking time, less liquid, less cooking time needed.


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

blissful said:


> One thing I remember from my mom's cooking was water on the plate when we had spaghetti with sauce. I didn't like the watery sauce.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Maybe more time is my answer, I normally go 6 hours or so but today I started early this morning. So I plan to simmer the heck out of it and see what happens!


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## Andy M. (Jun 9, 2019)

In order to thicken the sauce you must simmer uncovered so water can evaporate. If you leave the lid on, simmering longer won’t help.


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

Andy M. said:


> In order to thicken the sauce you must simmer uncovered so water can evaporate. If you leave the lid on, simmering longer won’t help.



Yep, the sauce never sees a lid.


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## Cooking Goddess (Jun 9, 2019)

Hi, *Tyler*, and welcome! For that saucy sauce, do you use just the tomato products, or are you adding water? I ask because when Himself and I got married, he taught me his Mom's recipe for spaghetti meat sauce. Originally, it called for cans of tomato sauce and paste, and near equal amounts of water. It took forever to get the sauce thick enough. Over the years I've tweaked the recipe and eliminated all water. What was once a runny sauce like yours can now be thick enough to trowel on like plaster if I don't mind it carefully. Like others suggested, and I did in the past, simmer for enough time with the lid completely off until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 9, 2019)

Remember, veggie additions, such as bell peppers, and fresh onions,contain a fair amount of water..Saute these before adding to the sauce and cook them as the tomato products reduce.  I use purred tomato, or crushed tomato rather than fresh tomato, as it is canned at its peak ripeness, and has no added seasonings, except salt.  I add tomato paste to thicken, and if I want to get a little more involved, will make up the french mother sauce, Sauce Tomat. then add oregano, basil, thyme, garlic, and rosemary to give it the herb profile I like.  The sauce should be thick into to coat a spoon.

There are two ways to serve pasta with tomato sauce, either by bringing the sauce and pasta to the table as separate items, or by combining the sauce and pasta, and baking it for a bit.  Both are equally good.  The latter will guarantee that your past and sauce will cling together, with no water oozing onto the plate.  Even so, I prefer having the sauce spooned over the pasta on my plate, especially if it's a meat sauce, or has meatballs in it.  And then there is the cheese.  But that is another topic. 

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## tenspeed (Jun 9, 2019)

I use Giada de Laurentiis's marinara recipe:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe-2103577

  In her cookbook it includes the final step of blending in a food processor, but the web version makes no mention of this.  I use a good immersion blender, and the sauce is quite thick.


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

Thank you everybody for your input/advice so far! I don't add any water but some brands of canned whole tomatos come in a lot of liquid, so that could be adding to my time. I'm passing hour 8 of simmering now and I am finally starting to notice an improvement. Looks like patience and a few more beers is going to be my answer!


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

tenspeed said:


> I use Giada de Laurentiis's marinara recipe:
> 
> https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe-2103577
> 
> In her cookbook it includes the final step of blending in a food processor, but the web version makes no mention of this.  I use a good immersion blender, and the sauce is quite thick.



I'll give it a look, thanks!


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## tenspeed (Jun 9, 2019)

Tyler9999 said:


> I'm passing hour 8 of simmering now and I am finally starting to notice an improvement. Looks like patience and a few more beers is going to be my answer!


8 hours?  Something is grossly wrong.  Can you post your recipe?


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

tenspeed said:


> 8 hours?  Something is grossly wrong.  Can you post your recipe?



Start with onion and garlic. 
Then add canned whole tomatos (usually in 10 can batches)
Add other dry seasonings. 
Add butter, a few tablespoons. 
After cooking awhile I add planked whole carrots for about an hour then remove.


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## tenspeed (Jun 9, 2019)

Tyler9999 said:


> Start with onion and garlic.
> Then add canned whole tomatos (usually in 10 can batches)
> Add other dry seasonings.
> Add butter, a few tablespoons.
> After cooking awhile I add planked whole carrots for about an hour then remove.


Saute diced onions and carrots until softened to drive off the water.  Break up the tomatoes before adding (your hand will work just fine) to let the water escape.  After everything has thickened (should be less than 2 hours) use a good immersion blender (or a food processor or blender) to blend the works, including the carrots.


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

tenspeed said:


> Saute diced onions and carrots until softened to drive off the water.  Break up the tomatoes before adding (your hand will work just fine) to let the water escape.  After everything has thickened (should be less than 2 hours) use a good immersion blender (or a food processor or blender) to blend the works, including the carrots.



I'll definitely give it a try, can part of the tomatos be reserved to not be blended? We enjoy some "chunk."


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## Cooking Goddess (Jun 9, 2019)

Then you might want to break the tomatoes up before you put them into the pot, *Tyler*. If I'm making something that I don't want to be too juicy, I do like *tenspeed* said and break them up with my hands. That gives you the chance to leave juice behind and cook up just the tomato meat. It's like playing in the mud as a child, but tastier.  If you want it a bit smoother once it's cooked, you could use a potato masher to get a more rustic texture.


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## Roll_Bones (Jun 9, 2019)

Tomato Paste.
Get the right ratio to water/wine or both and the gravy is perfect.  Can always add a bit of water as well when using again for other dishes. 
This I use with canned Nina Whole Italian tomatoes.  Then use it for pizza, pasta and other Italian dishes that require marinara sauce.


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## Tyler9999 (Jun 9, 2019)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Then you might want to break the tomatoes up before you put them into the pot, *Tyler*. If I'm making something that I don't want to be too juicy, I do like *tenspeed* said and break them up with my hands. That gives you the chance to leave juice behind and cook up just the tomato meat. It's like playing in the mud as a child, but tastier.  If you want it a bit smoother once it's cooked, you could use a potato masher to get a more rustic texture.



I'm on board with you guys now, I'll definitely give it a try next time. Thanks for the tips.


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## Andy M. (Jun 9, 2019)

You could also drain off some of the liquid the tomatoes are canned with.


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## blissful (Jun 9, 2019)

A friend gave me a tip on removing the clear water/liquid on top of steaming tomatoes. Put a tea towel, or cheese cloth, over the tomatoes, then dip out the clear liquid above the cloth with a big spoon or small cup measure. Now don't throw it out, it is delicious. Chill it and drink it down. We canned up some of that 'juice' and when winter came, my son and I drank 6 quarts of it and wished we had more.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2019)

Andy M. said:


> In order to thicken the sauce you must simmer uncovered so water can evaporate. If you leave the lid on, simmering longer won’t help.



What Andy said. Leave the lid off and allow it to simmer until it will thicken on its' own when the water evaporates. Stir every so often to make sure what is on the bottom can release the water. 

I grew up in an Italian town, and ate at many Italian homes as a child. Never have had pasta sauce that was watery.


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## tenspeed (Jun 10, 2019)

Tyler9999 said:


> I'll definitely give it a try, can part of the tomatos be reserved to not be blended? We enjoy some "chunk."


  I've never done it, but I can't think of a reason why you couldn't run the carrots and onions through a food processor before sauteeing, and then only mildly chopping the tomatoes with an immersion blender if you want a chunkier sauce.  I like using carrots in a marinara, as the sweetness of the carrots offsets the acidity of the tomatoes.  Driving water out of carrots brings out the sweetness, which is why roasted carrots taste sweeter than raw carrots.  if you are fine with carrot chunks in your marinara then you could always just finely dice them.


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## skilletlicker (Jun 10, 2019)

*Regarding the carrots and onions*



tenspeed said:


> I've never done it, but I can't think of a reason why you couldn't run the carrots and onions through a food processor before sauteeing, and then only mildly chopping the tomatoes with an immersion blender if you want a chunkier sauce.  I like using carrots in a marinara, as the sweetness of the carrots offsets the acidity of the tomatoes.  Driving water out of carrots brings out the sweetness, which is why roasted carrots taste sweeter than raw carrots.  if you are fine with carrot chunks in your marinara then you could always just finely dice them.


My carrots and onions disappear into the sauce if I begin with a fine dice, almost a mince, on the onion, and the carrot finely grated on a microplane.
Credit to Mario Batali on the carrot & microplane part.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2019)

You don't have to squeeze them hard. Just enough to let out the juice. I would suggest you just break them up with your hand over a strainer so the water and juices are saved in the event that you may need them to place in the sauce if it gets just too thick. And don't forget. Just simmer the sauce on low with the cover off. Stir often and check the thickness as it cooks. If needed, then you can add back some of the juice from the tomatoes. A little at a time. Wait until you see all the juice you will get by breaking up the tomatoes and you will then understand why your sauce has been watery. 

If squeezing with your hands is not an acceptable practice for you, then cut them with a knife. Just place your cutting board over the strainer that is over a bowl over a bowl and then scrape the chopped tomatoes into the strainer. Including any of the juices on the board. I once had a very serious bad cut on my hand with a thick bandage on it. Squeezing and touching food with that hand was out of the question for me and I had no rubber gloves in the house. So using my finger tips to control movement of the food was the only way I had to cut up the food. I am sure you will find a way to do this squeezing the juice out of the tomatoes to your liking and ease of doing this. Don't do this though when the pan is on the stove and the heat has been turned on the burner. 

Do let us know how you make out. You have received some very excellent advice. These folks here know their cooking stuff. Glad to have your aboard. Good luck.


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