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Mazzarella/Basil Cheese Sauce

post #1 of 17
3/12/10 at 7:43pm
Thread Starter 
I'm trying to make a Mozzarella/basil cheese sauce to cover cooked tortelloni, but the cheese stays too thick to pour, even with heating. I'm using fresh Mozzarella. What can I use to thin the cheese/basil to make a sauce?
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post #2 of 17
3/12/10 at 8:15pm
Would mascarpone work better here than mozz?  Either one I'm thinking slowly melting it in warm cream might be the way to go.

mjb.
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post #3 of 17
3/12/10 at 8:27pm
You could either make a mornay or use a softer, fresh cheese like ricotta.  Teamfat's mascarpone suggestion isn't bad at all, but (as he recommends) it's as a replacement for mozzerella not a compliment.  You can't mix melted mozz with mascarpone unless you go through the bechamel - mornay sequence because it will seize.

Personally, I'd just mix a simple basil pesto with some ricotta.

BDL
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http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #4 of 17
3/13/10 at 5:11pm
Can't add to this as the two suggestions are very, very acceptable.   You'll never be able to get the mozzarella to melt down to that level.   It's too thick a cheese... even when you're making it you can't get it to that consistency.

Out of the two... BDL's suggestion has my vote... pesto with the ricotta.
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post #5 of 17
3/13/10 at 7:17pm

Yea, thats what i would do, add it to a pesto and blend it.  But, to give a new idea instead of going with the most probable to work idea, here's something you can try. If you really are using fresh mozzarella, use some of the brine an put it in the blender with some finely chopped mozzarella. Then, put it in a saucepan with a bit of cream and add your pesto and whisk alot. Then, slowly add more mozzarella. Other than that, just do the pesto ad mozzarella in blender thing that he said, as far as I know there's not much else you can do.

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post #6 of 17
3/13/10 at 10:36pm
Brine and cream is a great idea to thin the sause. will keep more of the mozzarella flavour too!
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post #7 of 17
3/14/10 at 2:08pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all! What a great forum! 
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post #8 of 17
3/14/10 at 3:18pm
Not to burst any bubbles but you can't "thin" melted mozzarella with the package brine (or any other sort for that matter) or cream to make a sauce.  Nor can you heat cream and/or brine and add grated mozzarella to it in order to make smooth sauce.

If you don't start with a roux and use it to build a bechamel or veloute first, the cheese will seize and make a gloppy mess.  That's very basic food awareness and technique.  Cooking 101, if you will.

Also, while it depends on what you're trying to do, mozzarella, whether fresh or aged, isn't a great choice as the only cheese in a cheese sauce.  There are exceptions though.  For instance you might mix in some spinach and use it as a combination sauce / topping for pizza bianca.

Hope this helps,
BDL
What were we talking about?
 
http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #9 of 17
3/14/10 at 5:01pm
Actually, you can if you know how, I just don't wanna give the secret away because I study chemistry about an 1-2 hours a day and I found out myself. I just don't wanna give the secret away but it is possible. It's a good technique because you taste more of the mozzarella than you would if you had to make a bechamel as a base.
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post #10 of 17
3/14/10 at 5:47pm
Originally Posted by mgchef View Post
Actually, you can if you know how, I just don't wanna give the secret away because I study chemistry about an 1-2 hours a day and I found out myself. I just don't wanna give the secret away but it is possible. It's a good technique because you taste more of the mozzarella than you would if you had to make a bechamel as a base.

Okay,
BDL
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http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #11 of 17
3/15/10 at 7:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mgchef View Post

Actually, you can if you know how, I just don't wanna give the secret away because I study chemistry about an 1-2 hours a day and I found out myself.  I just don't wanna give the secret away but it is possible.
 

Um, it might be just me, but if you have a secret you have no intention of telling it might be better not to mention it at all.  To say "I have a solution to your problem but I ain't gonna tell you what" seems a bit rude.
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post #12 of 17
3/15/10 at 10:02am
[deleted]

BDL
What were we talking about?
 
http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #13 of 17
3/15/10 at 1:23pm
Another way to approach this is to reduce the cooking of the tortelloni of a couple of minutes, then chop mozzarella to dices of 1/2" or less. Pour tortelloni and mozzarella (plus basil leaves) into a saute pan. Once Mozzarella melts i would start to "string out". Stop immediately. If needed a little cream or a little butter or a little olive oil, the latter is the best as I don't reccomend to mix mozzarella with any other diary or cheese. You might prefere to add the basil leaves after sauteing.
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post #14 of 17
3/15/10 at 4:56pm
Oh, well I'm sorry if I sounded rude to BDL. I mean, im 14 and when I see chefs that have amazing creations I just want to have my own findings to, which is why I keep some secrets that I have learned to myself. Also, I'm from Switzerland and speak english good,no accent, but every now and then my sentence structures are wrong, so yea, i'm sorry if I was rude.
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post #15 of 17
3/15/10 at 5:34pm
You don't have to apologize to me.  And I don't think you were rude.  I'm mystified though as to why you would give instructions how to create a sauce in one post, saying: 
But, to give a new idea instead of going with the most probable to work idea, here's something you can try. If you really are using fresh mozzarella, use some of the brine an put it in the blender with some finely chopped mozzarella. Then, put it in a saucepan with a bit of cream and add your pesto and whisk alot. Then, slowly add more mozzarella.

But then in your next post you indicated your own instructions wouldn't work without some sort of secret process.
Actually, you can [make a smooth sauce] if you know how, I just don't wanna give the secret away because I study chemistry about an 1-2 hours a day and I found out myself. I just don't wanna give the secret away but it is possible.

If you were rude to anyone it was to the OP for giving him instructions which you now claim you knew at the time wouldn't work absent a certain mojo you had no intention of sharing.  It just seems so implausable.  From my standpoint that's a much bigger problem.    

Hoping I'm wrong,
BDL 
What were we talking about?
 
http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #16 of 17
3/16/10 at 4:03pm
First post was just a suggestion of something you could try out. It won't work as you said trying to thin it out just like that, but, as I said in my second post you actually can if you do a certain process which is one I learned on my own from experimentation. Sorry if it's confusing. Basically, unless you know the process, it isn't possible to thin it out, and you'd need to make the mozzarella sauce with another (most likely white) sauce as a base.
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post #17 of 17
3/18/10 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
I used the suggestion of mixing the diced mozzarella with the pesto in a vita mix blender at a slow speed.  It mixed well, making a fairly thick spread, which I spread on top of the hot tortellini.  Then I microwaved it on med heat, which slowly melted the cheese in place.   The combination was delicious...Thank you all for the suggestions.
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