The Best Way To Heat Tomato Sauce Without Burning It

An ingredient that stars in many delicious meals is homemade tomato sauce. Food Network notes that tomato sauce can turn eggs into a wonderfully fragrant shakshuka. It can transform some of your favorite risotto and pasta recipes, serve as the base of a yummy soup, make every bite of your pizza pop, or turn your fish into a dish bursting with flavor. Some people like their tomato sauce to be meaty, thick, and chunky if they make marinara sauce, while others prefer a thinner, creamy smoothness for other uses (via Lidia's Italy). Tomato sauce is quite versatile, and there are plenty of ingredients that will change your tomato sauce and help you place your signature culinary style on it.

It's also one of those ingredients you can make in advance and have on hand for busy work nights or kid-filled activity days that only seem to end when it's time to eat. However, this basic sauce is not without its perils. When it comes time to heat or reheat your tomato sauce, it's easy to wind up burning it and ruining your quick meal in the process. But don't despair; thanks to Leaf.tv, we've discovered the best way to heat your tomato sauce without burning it, so everyone gets fed and leaves the dinner table content.

Patience is a virtue. According to Leaf.tv, tomato sauce needs a little TLC and patience when it comes to heating it. You want to take a low and slow approach, so it doesn't burn and develop a strong charred flavor. How do you dodge this hazard? Leaf.tv goes on to explain you want to use a heavy-bottomed saucepan, medium-to-low heat, and add a minuscule amount of liquid to the sauce. They recommend a few drops of hot water or stock. When you stir your sauce, they caution that you do not want to drag your spoon or spatula along the bottom of the pan.

Additionally, you will want to break out the cooking thermometer to check the sauce's temperature every 10 minutes. The Old Spaghetti Works says you may see that the sauce has both "thickened and reduced," which signals that your tomato sauce is probably ready. If you want to add other items to your tomato sauce, be sure to do this before it starts to simmer to get the full effect of your flavor.