How to substitute the butter with olive oil?

Does anyone know how best to substitute the butter with olive oil? The original recipe calls for "5 tablespoons butter" and I'm wondering if the substitution ratio is 1:1. Thanks for any culinary wisdom you may be able to share!

StevenJC123
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Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce With Onion & Butter
Recipe question for: Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce With Onion & Butter

3 Comments

StevenJC123
StevenJC123 January 30, 2021
Hi Lori / Hi Kristen, thanks for sharing your culinary wisdom with me!

My first go round came out fantastic! I ended up using Bianco Dinapoli Tomatoes - Whole (only bc The NYT recommended them!) and 4 TBSP of Olive Oil (no extra onion or added sugar). Also, I left the onions (more deliciousness)!
 
Kristen W.
Kristen W. January 28, 2021
In addition to what Lori said, the sweetness of the butter helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes in this recipe, so without it you might want to add a bit of sugar or even 1/2 - 1 extra onion, depending on the acidity of the tomatoes.
 
Lori T.
Lori T. January 27, 2021
I think I'd opt to use 4 tablespoons of the olive oil to substitute instead of 5. Butter comes with a bit of water, in addition to the butterfat and milk solids. Olive oil is of course, all fat. As the sauce cooks down, the water would evaporate, though the fat will not. I think if you use the full 5 tablespoons, it may end up a bit on the oily side. You can always add in extra oil if you think it's a bit on the slim side, where it can be messy to try to spoon off extra.
 
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