Spaghetti juice

The other night I made an excellent tasting spaghetti. However, despite the pasta being well drained, the spaghetti was quite liquidy. I'm presuming it came from the sauce. Anyone else ever had this problem? What am I doing wrong?

Making too thin a sauce?

How did you make it? Was your sauce from fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, a canned or jarred sauce to being with? How long did you simmer it?

HI nutrax! This time it was a jarred sauce (I know, I know) to which I added fresh sauteed mushrooms (sauteed in a bit of olive oil which I drained) and fresh sauteed plum tomatoes (seeded and drained). Sometimes it's just jarred sauce (to which I add herbs and spices). But I have had the same problem when making it from scratch. I simmer the jarred sauce about 15-20 minutes a lot longer when from scratch, but I haven't made it that way in a long time so I don't remember how long. (Now that I'm laid off again, I'll probably make it from scratch again)

when you drain the pasta, it still holds some water, i just pop it in a warm oven for a few minutes to get rid dry off the excess water

no , i dont let it get that far, jus enough to dry it enoug so its not slimy, and allow the sauce to coat it better

Won't the pasta get sticky when you do that grannie?

Cool Thanks! Granny smith's are my favorite apples.

i like my pasta firmer , al dente as its called , sloppy pasta is BAD

What #3 says, also tomatoes can release more liquid than you might expect.

do as they do in italy mix. the sauce and well drained al dente pasta together and return it to the pot and heat under low heat for approximately 5 minutes. this sets the sauce to the pasta.

That also sounds like it's worth trying. Thanks gengis!

Yes, what #9 says is well worth doing - you don't necessarily need quite as long as five minutes.

I have also heard it suggested that you should put the pasta into the sauce rather than the sauce into the pasta. Any views on this? I'm not sure what the rationale is.

I cook my sauce down till it's very thick (with the lid off). Also add pasta back into the sauce.

I think maybe I'll try putting the spaghetti in the oven for a bit and then adding it to the sauce. Best of both worlds. I'm not planning on making sauce for a few weeks (I only make it on occasion and my husband is going out of town soon) but I will try to let everyone know how it goes when I try it.

I wasn't sure that I would get any good info out of this thread. I am pleasantly surprised.

Thank you guys!

barneyuk it just hit me of course add the pasta to the sauce as the sauce is cooking in its own pan- it does away with a whole transfer step so all you have to do is continue to heat the pasta/sauce for 3-5 minutes. this will vary depending on the type of pasta used as some are more retentive than others

I always cook my pasta until slightly before el dente and then add it to the sauce and let it finish there.

Makes for wonderful pasta.

I see you have gotten the same advice from others.,

#14 yeah, it is slightly simpler and makes the washing-up a bit easier (only one pan with sauce) - these are the only reasons I've ever been able to see!

Actually, I used to put the spaghetti on the plate then pour the sauce on top. It makes for a nice presentation and I don't hear any complaints about the pasta to sauce ratio, since my daughter puts her own sauce on. She used to want her sauce served separate from her pasta and poured a bit on at a time as she ate. She'll just have to get used to living with the pasta she's served. I'm sure she'll make it through.

You are over cooking the pasta. You want it Al dente and not soggy. Bolognese is best cooked the day before for at least 2 hours using a base of finely chopped carrot, celery, onion and (garlic last 2 mins) fried for ten mins low then add browned Half beef half pork mince, tomatoes, herbs, stock etc. Never add the sauce to the pasta in italian cooking but the other way around.

Also the more tomato puree you add, the thicker the sauce. The trick is to cook the sauce for as long as you can on the lowest heat until reduced to the thickness you like. 100% always better made the day before.

9/14/15 etc definitely the way to go, if your daughter lets you away with it.

Linfield - the spaghetti is not soggy! I never overcook pasta and if I did I would immediately dump it. It leaks water after being plated.

Fear - they sounded good to me too. I still haven't made spaghetti since then but will be soon.

Oh, then its obvious your not draining the water from the pasta properly. Try straining it then putting it back on the heat low while gently shaking it until the heat evaporates the remaining water. When you get rid of the water coat the pasta in a couple of tablespoons of extra virgen olive oil.This adds flavour to the pasta and prevents it from sticking together. Hope this helps.