Lasagne......why milk?

Bongedone

I use milk or cream and it does make a difference. It works with the tomato's. Tomato soup has cream/milk in it also.

aliasojo

Well dinner is now over.

Got mixed feelings tbh. I [strike]stole big spoonfuls [/strike] tasted the occasional morsel from the pan as the mince was cooking, just so I could compare it to the taste and texture of the 'milky' version, you understand.

Anyway, my first thoughts were that I preferred the texture of the milky version, but the taste of the unmilked one iyswim. I just felt some of the flavour was lost once the milk was added.

I think we'll do this recipe again but omit the milk next time so I can have a proper comparison as to which I like better.

Oh yay! Another excuse to eat. :rotfl:

Bongedone

Glad it was good.

I am doing the full three course Ramsey meal this weekend for friends.

I like the look of the diet Syllabub.

I did the salmon encroute last week and that was divine.

Princess_kate

I think milk works like a bit of sugar with tomatoes, reduces the acidity. Sure someone told me that once!

sistercas

I have a bolognaise recipe that includes milk it says its to stop the mince feeling 'gritty' it softens it. I always use it and you cant taste it but you do have to get over the urgh factor lol

livalot

My mother who is Italian and 70years old makes the most divine ragu and bolognaise sauce ever (and I have tasted some fantastilc sauces!) and has very often added either milk, cream or butter to her tomato pasta sauces. She has taught me to do it too. It is one of the trade secrets of Italian cooking..... but she taught me to add it right at the end of cooking as it makes the sauce richer and softer..... as the tomatoes can be quite acidic, But adding it is a matter of taste .... so def leave it out if you don't like the taste of it.

Raspberry_Swirl

I cooked this lasagne at the weekend and I have to say that it wasn't as good as the usual recipe I use which is from an issue of Delicious magazine a couple of years ago.
Gordon's lasagne was nice but lacking something.

Mamabear

They don't do this in Toscana (Chiantishire, darling) but I remember Valentina Harris saying that the northerners (Lombardia, I think) add milk to their ragu to soften the meat.

HTH

greenbee

The milk is to stop the sauce from becoming too acidic when the tomatoes are added. I use Marcella Hazan's 'The Essentials of Classic Italian Cookery' and she does it this way. When I can be bothered to do it properly, everyone always says its the best lasagne ever (even my Italian friends).

Lizzieanne

I have a Nigella recipe where milk is stirred into some tomato puree before being added to the sauce. It tastes good!