Canned tomatoes (like Hunt's & Del Monte) often make my meals taste acidic. Is there a way to cut that taste?

Answer 1

First, don't cook in aluminum or cast iron pots. Use non-stick coated pans or tempered glass pots to avoid the acid reacting with the metal. And as someone already pointed out, avoid using metal spoons or spatulas. Use plastic or wood to avoid the acid interaction.

If you are using canned tomatoes, you can add a little sugar to cut the acid taste or just a pinch of baking soda. Either one will help.

And if you can find tomatoes in the cans with white inner liners, use those instead of the regular cans. By the time you open the container, the acid in the tomatoes has already started to interact with the metal in the can. Tomatoes in white-lined cans don't have that metallic taste quite as much.

Or, consider freezing fresh tomatoes in the summer for use in the winter months. To prepare them, plunge them into a pot of boiling water for a few seconds, then immediately place them in a bowl of ice water. The skins will slip right off.

Then you can dice or slice the tomatoes and place them in plastic freezer boxes or freezer bags. They'll be a lot fresher and have less of a metallic taste than the canned ones will.

Answer 2

As mentioned, use a wooden spoon. Use good quality tomatoes, i.e. san marzano, or fresh tomatoes & squeeze the seeds out by hand. And, keep cooking them down (simmer) for 1- 1 1/2 hrs. Keep tasting. You'll notice the change in the flavor.

Answer 3

For 8 ounce can - 1 teaspoon sugar

Answer 4

Add a teaspoon of sugar to cut acid.

Answer 5

Add sugar, or if you are cooking a meat sauce you can add quarter cut of milk, which sounds odd but it will tenderise the meat and also reduce the acidic value.

Answer 6

Sugar works best,

Answer 7

Add some sugar.

Answer 8

add a teaspoon of sugar!