Sauce delicious at night, bitter and not right next day! help.

[pmoores]

Been following something similiar to this recipe from:

http://www.food.com/recipe/ultimate-pizza-sauce-114392

I liked the way it tasted in the slow cooker after letting it simmer for a hour or 4, technically it was actually warming up most of the time to cooking temp with the occasional stir. Tasted so good after the flavors started to blend that I would regularly taste test.

Problem is after I refigurated overnight as I make the pizza next night, sauce was somewhat bitter and had lost that 'zing'. Still edible but wish I could bottle the previous nights taste. Ive experimented with diferent ratios of sauce to paste up to 4 to 1 and still had the issue with something missing next day.

Any idea what I might be doing wrong? Oh yes, tried no heat overnight and sorta liked the heated version, abeit on the same night before refridgeration.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup onion , chopped (only used 2 tablespoon)
¼ cup celery , chopped
1 garlic clove , minced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt (skipped salt)
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seed

[TXCraig1]

Flavors change over time. Food oxidizes, acids and enzymes break things down, microbes do their thing, etc. With respect to the sauce question at hand, I suspect oxidation is the biggest culprit. I know I don't like my sauce very much the second day after a night of refrigeration either. Ironically, mine seems to get sweeter - not bitter.

The simple solution is make it and use it. If refrigeration is important for timing, you might try pressing plastic wrap down to the surface of the sauce to minimize oxygen contact (or ideally vacuum pack it). Do this as soon as it has cooled enough to do so.

Craig

[dmcavanagh]

I'm another who doesn't care for sauce after it's been in the refridgerator for any length on time. Don't care for tomatoes that have been frozen either, they always seem to seperate and be watery.

[pmoores]

Excluding the water tomato thing, have you immediately froze some sauce, did it hold the original taste or was it similiar to the bad stuff next day?

Not above doing the vacuum seal thing if that would hold the sauce flavor.

[pmoores]

Ok first batch kept airtight did seem better, 2nd half I unfroze today to make pizza subs and it too tasted quite good. Added some sugar, balsamic vinegar and a little lemon juice after defrost to match what I did with the original.

Ill confirm after I make another batch though.

[BBH]

Fennel has tendency to change the flavor profile the next day.  If you want to keep it, increase the sugar by 1 tsp to compensate.  I've used ground fennel with better luck, but still slightly bitter the next day.  I've removed fennel from my sauce for this same reason (sorry to say) Try it with and w/o and you can see for yourself.  Oregano is the other issue, gets stronger overtime and has a tendency overpower the the sauce.  If it's going bitter it's no good day 2 and if you need a day 2 and want close to the same flavor, take sugar to 1 tsp, reduce Oregano to 1/2 tsp and Fennel seed to 1/2 tsp and try again.   

BBH

[apizza]

Not an expert, but I think you have a little too much flavor added to that recipe. With that many ingredients there can be a lot of flavor changes. I think I would try for a sauce with less seasoning.
Marty

[Tscarborough]

I do not serve gumbo without it going through a cooling cycle.  It changes a lot for the better.  Normally, I can't detect any change in my pizza sauce after refrigeration, but the only fresh ingredient is possibly the tomatoes.  Celery and onion are definitely subject to flavor change after a heat-cool cycle.

[cosgrojo]

I agree that I think it is the dried herbs are probably the culprit. As they continue to rehydrate they tend to release bitter compounds into the sauce. If you have access to cheese cloth you can make a bouquet garni. Simply stated, but the herbs in the cheese cloth, tie it with some butchers twine, cook the sauce to recipe, then remove the bundle prior to cooling and refrigerating. Another thought... I don't know what you are storing the sauce in... But tomatoes and metal dont play well together, so make sure it is stored in a plastic or ceramic container.

Good luck!