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Question by Jay: How to make a tomato sauce that isn’t bitter and acidic?
I do add carrots, sugar, but the sauce still tastes awful.
Dried oregano, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, fresh basil, salt/pepper, red pepper flakes.
The sauce comes out extremely bitter and acidic. Just smelling it, it smells like a chemical.
Could it be the brand of canned tomatoes I’m using? Should I switch to San Marzano?
Best answer:
Answer by JennyP
Interesting……are you using fresh or canned tomatos? San Marzano tomatos are more expensive, but the flavor is amazing! I tend to use canned tomatos, or tomato sauce in most instances. To one 28 oz can of tomato sauce (Hunts or an organic one):
1/2 onion, chopped and sauteed with
3 cloves garlic, minced in,
2 T good olive oil.
I add
2 T dried Italian herbs,
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
I’m wondering if its your oregano. I prefer the dried Italian herbs and then add chopped fresh basil if I have it on hand. Good luck!
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I haven’t tried those tomatoes, but it may be that. Maybe you’re burning it? Saute the garlic, onion, carrot in olive oil on low, add the tomatoes, sugar, spices and simmer on low. Those are the same ingredients I put in my marinara sauce and it’s quite sweet (don’t add the basil until it’s finished cooking).
add a little bit of white table sugar to cut the acidity, and the bitter flavor is from being burnt.
anything with tomato sauce youll want to simmer on low rather than boiling it, and stir often
switch to fresh Roma tomatoes. (the oval shaped ones) Fresh tomatoes have a natural sugar in them. Keep it simple – saute sweet onion, garlic and celery til the onion is transparent. Stir in 3-5 fresh tomatoes cut up, basil, oregano, parsley and a little savory. Add a small can of tomato paste to thicken. Don’t over cook it, just heat it through.
the secret to getting it a little ‘hot’ is to add a few slices of pepperoni while its cooking.
it will still be acidic – they are tomatoes – but should taste a lot better.
It does sound like the brand of tinned tomatoes. Try ones that don’t have added citric acid.