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  1. #1
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Alfredo sauce question.

    I just made alfredo for the first time. It came out all right but it took almost three times the recommended time (8-10 minutes) to thicken. It was simmering the entire time. I finally just added the mozzarella and served it because I was afraid I was cooking the life out of it. By the time it got to the table, the thickness was fine.

    Could any of these be factors?

    1.) I used a pan with a fairly narrow bottom so that I could use the smaller burner.
    2.) I stirred it a LOT.
    3.) The parmesan was cold.
    4.) The estimated time was just wrong.

    It tasted fine. I'd like to do it again but that was awfully time intensive. I admit that I'm paranoid about cooking dairy. I've curdled quite a few things in the past.

  2. #2
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    I would say the thin pan was part of it, as you can't put as much heat to it. I've never used mozzarella in mine, just butter, heavy cream, parm, garlic and a bit of fresh parsley.


    Just out of curiosity, what kind of parm did you use, shredded or grated???

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    My guess is the size of the pan. I use a 12" skillet. I don't put mozzarella in it, just cream, butter, parm, salt and pepper. If the cream, etc., was simmering and the parm grated and stirred in, in a large pan it shouldn't really cool down the mixture that much and stirring shouldn't be a problem, you don't want it sticking to the bottom of the pan. I also run into recipes that take me much longer than the recipe suggests, which totally hacks me off when I've followed the recipe exactly.

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by barry581 View Post
    I would say the thin pan was part of it, as you can't put as much heat to it. I've never used mozzarella in mine, just butter, heavy cream, parm, garlic and a bit of fresh parsley.


    Just out of curiosity, what kind of parm did you use, shredded or grated???
    I grated it.

  7. #5
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smartrock View Post
    My guess is the size of the pan. I use a 12" skillet. I don't put mozzarella in it, just cream, butter, parm, salt and pepper. If the cream, etc., was simmering and the parm grated and stirred in, in a large pan it shouldn't really cool down the mixture that much and stirring shouldn't be a problem, you don't want it sticking to the bottom of the pan. I also run into recipes that take me much longer than the recipe suggests, which totally hacks me off when I've followed the recipe exactly.
    I'll definitely use a skillet the next time. It turns out that it took 32 minutes to thicken. Not really a quick recipe at that rate.

  8. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by janedoe View Post
    I grated it.
    Ok, that's what I use, works much better that the green can stuff.

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  10. #7
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by barry581 View Post
    Ok, that's what I use, works much better that the green can stuff.
    I'm pretty good with ingredients. It's the cooking technique thing that I don't have a lot of experience with. Not a lot of intuition either. I'm a recipe person all the way.

  11. #8
    House Broken kaialeena's Avatar
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    I am curious about the recipe you used. I haven't heard of mozzarella in alfredo before?

  12. #9
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kaialeena View Post
    I am curious about the recipe you used. I haven't heard of mozzarella in alfredo before?
    I used this one:

    Better Than Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Food.com

    One of our favorite restaurants puts mozzarella in their alfredo so that's why I went with it. It adds a nice texture.

  13. #10
    House Broken kaialeena's Avatar
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    Ah, it has been over 15 years since I've been to Olive Garden. After reading the recipe, I am wondering a couple things. The use of olive oil I also find curious. I wonder if that makes the cream take longer to thicken? I wonder if they are using it in place of more butter. This I am not sure of.

    It also says to simmer it the entire time. While you never want to put dairy on high heat because it will burn easily, I would probably put it at a slightly higher heat than simmer. Maybe low medium and then stir constantly.

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