mivler,
Those are some good questions, and I'm glad you asked them. I've been wondering for a while whether I should post more info about the microwaving process and its significance.
"Do you add all of these seasonings or one from each flavor profile?"
The main reason why I broke them down into separate flavor profile components is that I (or someone else) can adjust each one on its own if he/she likes their sauce to be more spicy, or less sweet, etc. I use every last herb and spice in the list, and in the proportions listed. However you may like it to be a little spicier, so you might want to raise the spicy component by 100% so that it's 2 units of paprika and 2 units of black pepper. If you're into sweet sauces, you may decide to raise the sweet component (in addition to possibly more sugar) by 50% so that it's 6 units basil, 3 units tarragon, and 1.5 units fennel seed. If you just raise the amount of fennel seed, typically you just get a more "fennelly" taste. Each ingredient within each flavor profile component is meant to work together in those proportions. Of course, this is by no means a warning against experimenting on your own, it's just the way I set it up.
"If I do not want to add any water to my sauce, will the flavors mingle as well if I mix everything the day before or will I never get as much flavor without the microwave method?"
That's the question I've been wondering whether I should answer before someone asks. One reason behind using the microwave assisted extraction (MAE) process is because when working with either fresh tomatoes or freshly opened boxes/cans of tomato product, you're racing against the freshness clock. You want your sauce to be as fresh as possible, but waiting for flavors to be infused in the sauce runs counter to your goal of fresh sauce. The magic ratio I've found when testing the difference is 1:2.5. Meaning that if you elect to avoid microwaving, your wait time to achieve the same level of flavor is two and a half times as long as using MAE. I get full flavor using MAE about 2 days after making the sauce, and about 5 days after making it without the microwave. In summary, in consideration of the flavor, you can forgo the microwave process if you just keep your sauce around longer. The other reason behind MAE I mentioned in a previous post: "the enzyme commonly found in Allium bulbs (e.g. onion, garlic) breaks down and no longer poses a threat of reacting with the pectin in tomato." If you use straight onion or garlic, whether it's fresh or powdered, there's a chance your cold-prepared sauce will turn into gelatin.
Another trick that works well and addresses your concern over water in your sauce (which is on the order of a few grams anyway) and addresses the tomato freshness goal, is to use MAE on your herbs and spices, but afterwards leave them in the container with a lid or plastic wrap not tightly sealed and keep it in your refrigerator until the herbs and spices are nearly dried out. I've kept it in my refrigerator for as long as two weeks, although that was just to test how long I could go without loosing flavors or creating new and unexpected ones. During this time, the alkaloids and resins have a chance to seep completely out of the cell structures. I don't have an exact time-scale for seeing the maximum benefit on this trick, but I can tell you that the herbs and spices I kept for two weeks before including it in my strained tomatoes added instant full flavor.
"Can you clarify how much water I need? Can I use a spray bottle and mist so everything is moist?"
What I said earlier, "seasonings are moist, but not suspended in water" is pretty much the best guideline I can give you. You can use a spray bottle if you want. Maybe envisioning the following will help you understand the hydration level your seeking: imagine a paper towel that is completely saturated with water but when you hold it up by the corner, it doesn't drip any water. That's what you're going for. Pretend all those flakes of herbs and particles of spices are tiny paper towels that need to be completely saturated so that there are no dry spots, but not so wet as to able to drip water.
One thing I didn't mention because I didn't know how people felt about alcohol in their sauce, is that you can use absolute alcohol instead of water and extract more in less time. More because alcohol is a better solvent for plant resins, and less time because alcohol evaporates much more quickly.
"Does the microwave timing work if I want to make a huge batch of sauce?"
Yes, just increase the microwave time. Prepare for some math, or tell me your exact parameters and I'll figure it out for you. Here's what you need to know if you want to be precise:
1 watt = 0.42992261 F/g/s (i.e. degrees Fahrenheit per gram per second)
1 microwave watt = 1 watt (0.42992261) * wave scatter coefficient (0.125) = 0.0537403262 F/g/s
The first objective is to keep the power between 300 and 420 watts. So if you have a microwave oven in the power range of 1000 to 1400 watts, use 30% power. Next calculate the exact power you're using, so if you have a 1200 watt microwave, you know you are using 1200 * 0.3 = 360 watts of power. The second objective is to radiate the mixture to the point it reaches no higher than 160 F. To determine how long you microwave for, use the following equation:
(160 - [water temp]) * [water mass] / ([exact power] * 0.0537403262)
Example:
(160F - 67F) * 10g / (360W * 0.0537403262) = 48 seconds
"It sounds like this works with real onion and garlic. Is this the case? Do you just prefer the powder versions or is there a reason you do not use them? Does the microwave timing differ if I have onions and/or garlic?"
You mean fresh or raw onion and garlic? I would hope the onion and garlic powder you buy is from real bulbs. It will work, but then you have to factor in how much water is in the raw bulbs. Raw onions are 89.1% water and raw garlic is 58.6% water. If you use raw onion and garlic, just add the extra water from the bulbs to the [water mass] variable in the equation. So if you decide to add 2 grams of minced onion, add 1.782g to the water mass.
Well that wraps up the longest post I think I have ever made on a forum. If you have any more questions: 1) I'll be impressed 2) I'll be happy to answer them.
- red.november
EDIT: Corrected prefactored coefficient and clerical errors.