Help – Tomato sauce too acidic!?

Question

I took a jar of prepared spaghetti sauce and added a can of crushed tomatoes [plus cooked ground beef and sautéed mushrooms]. Now upon cooking it on low for a few hours it tastes way too acidic and bitter. Without dumping a bunch of sugar into it (something I prefer to avoid) what can I do?

Answer 1

I once had a recipe that suggested adding shredded carrots to the sauce. This does cut down the acid without causing a sweet taste. (I hate sweet entrees!) Of course you get the bonus of the extra vitamins, fiber etc. Make sure to add a little salt too. Salt counteracts bitterness. That's why it's often added to coffee and eggplant.

Answer 2

Tomato sauce is supposed to be acidic. When I want to get carbon marks off of my pots from previously burning sauces, I cook tomato sauce in it. Works every time. And it doesn't harm the sauce at all. If you feel that you MUST cut the acidity, perhaps adding some baking soda would help.

Answer 3

Do you have enough sauce to cook it down some more? Because some red wine would help, but it would need to cook at least another half hour. I would just add the sugar. Grated carrot would have the same swetening effect. If you use a food processor, you can hardly see it in the sauce but it adds a nice flavor. It also would need to be cooked down a bit.

Answer 4

Honestly I think adding sugar by a teaspoon at a time is the BEST way to cancel out the bitter. You might try honey or molasses.
Whatever you add it's GOT to be sweet and acid free.
Invest in some raw sugar for these occasions it's got more good stuff in it since it's less refined, but it's more about the taste. It tastes more hearty and healthy to me.

Answer 5

Chalk this answer up to Rachel Raye. She explained that the longer you cook your tomato sauce, the more acidic that it will get. That was news to me, but it is true. At this point, your option of add sugar is about that all that is left, but next time you will be able to cut down on the cooking time and you will notice a huge difference.

Answer 6

Stir in a few drops of herbal stevia extract (replaces sugar). Buy it at GNC. It has no sugar in it but is all natural. Sweeten the sauce is the only thing to balance it.

Answer 7

add sugar or honey
For ever tomato used add 1/8 spoon of sugar

Answer 8

try some baking soda to cut the acid down a bit.

Answer 9

Try something like apple juice or honey....use small amounts til you get the taste you like.....

Answer 10

Sorry Hon, you have to add sugar