Exactly When To Add Parmesan Cheese To Tomato Sauce

Every home cook should learn to perfect tomato sauce from scratch. The process is simple, albeit lengthy, but there are small tweaks here and there that infuse the sauce with the depth and flavor it deserves. Adding parmesan cheese is one of such tricks, if only you get the timing right. In fact, we spoke to Scott Conant, a chef who created a new line of jarred pasta sauces called Martone Street, about this very idea.

"I like to add that parm rind right in the beginning of the process once the wet ingredients hit the pan," Conant explains. Parmesan rind holds a lot of flavor, so it's the perfect addition for your sauce if you wish to infuse it with cheesy undertones. Throwing away your parmesan cheese rinds is a huge mistake, and this chef notes why. "A scrubbed parm rind adds a great umami depth," Conant adds. "It's one of the great usable byproducts in kitchens."

Working with the rind is not the same as working with grated parmesan, though. In fact, the form of parmesan you're using dictates when you should add it to the sauce. "Grated Parmigiano shouldn't be added to the pan until the cooking is finished and there's no more heat on the food," the chef explains, contrasting it with the rind. "Otherwise, it gets overcooked and becomes very stringy."

Despite being big fans of homemade tomato sauce, we can't deny that jarred sauce is the more convenient option. When asked about potentially using parmesan rind to improve jarred sauce, Conant advised against it. "Typically, when using a jarred sauce, you're not cooking that for a very long time," he says. As such, the rind doesn't really have time to infuse the sauce.

"I would say anything less than an hour of being cooked the rind won't have its full extraction of flavor and won't reach its best potential," Conant explains. Therefore, adding grated parmesan right at the end of the cooking process is the better option when using jarred sauce. Still, parmesan rind is an absolute treasure in the kitchen.

It's the cheesy leftover that Giada De Laurentiis uses to elevate red sauce, but it can be used for so much more than just sauces. "I like to use Parmigiano rinds for long braises, for soups, for stocks, for [making] parmesan broth," Conant reveals. According to the chef, the rind belongs in "anything that's cooked low and slow." If you're new to cooking with this flavorful cheesy bit, we have a delicious recipe for parmesan rind broth you can start with.