The One Ingredient You Need For Extra Creamy Vodka Sauce

There are some things the world just doesn't know about vodka sauce. We don't know whether it first came to be in the 1960s, 1970s, or even 1980s. We don't know whether it was created by a restaurant in Rome, one in Bologna, one in New York City, or perhaps dreamt up by an Italian actor. But there are also some things we do know about vodka sauce: It must have a bright, orange-pink hue. It must be rich, tangy, and spicy. And most of all, it must be creamy.

The source of that creamy texture can vary — some vodka sauce recipes might call for half and half, while others might suggest yogurt — but Matt Harding, Chief Concept Officer for Piada Italian Street Food, says that a specific ingredient combination will take the sauce to the next level.

"If you want to make the most decadent vodka sauce," he told Food Republic, "make it with heavy cream and finish with a dollop of mascarpone cheese." Many traditional recipes do call for heavy cream, which lends richness to the dish, but mascarpone — an Italian-born cheese made from heavy cream and tartaric or citric acid, or sometimes a starter culture — is the real secret. It's got a slightly tangy taste, but it's a little sweeter than its common substitute, cream cheese — and it has a much higher fat content, which is why it works so well as an ingredient to add for a creamy pasta sauce.

If creamy penne alla vodka is your goal, fat is where it's at. Although it isn't the only source of the creamy sensation, a dairy ingredient's butterfat content will impact the texture and flavor of your sauce. 

"So, fats are a lubricant," Matt Harding told Food Republic. "The more fat a dairy product has in it, the creamier the consistency, especially if it is fermented or cultured like mascarpone." Cultures, which are added microorganisms that create fermented dairy products, give dairy a richer texture.

To determine the resulting creamy consistency, you just need to look at the percentages in your chosen dairy product. "Normal milk has about 3.5% fat, half and half around 15%[,] and heavy cream up to 40% fat," says Harding. Mascarpone cheese, on the other hand, has around 60 to 75% fat content. Even just a dollop of the lavish, fat-rich ingredient, as Harding suggests, will lend your sauce a silky, full-bodied quality.

There are many ways to cook with mascarpone — its mild sweetness and acidity are equally delicious in sweet desserts and savory dishes. It can even be used to add a luxurious spin to deviled eggs! However, if a decadent vodka sauce is on your homemade menu, a little mascarpone cheese is a must.