Tomato sauce too sweet! Help!
Help Eaters!
I've been simmering a basic tomato sauce all afternoon, San Marzano tomatoes, a shredded carrot (a la Mario), garlic, onion, basil, some thyme, a few pepper flakes etc.
I put in a splash of balsalmic vinegar, b/c I read that it can make the sauce pop a bit, but found it too acidic. So in went a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar to try and round out the flavour. Now? It's too sweet.
Any ideas on how to save my sauce?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
18 Comments:
Well, you could try adding a bit more acid. You might try rice wine vingear(mildly acidic) a drop or two at a time or add a bit of orange juice or lemon juice. Another thought is a bit of tomato paste. Don't go big on the amounts. It sounds like you need to tweak it, bit by bit.
Hmm, maybe, as odd as it sounds, some green olives or capers to give it some savory, briny flavor? Or maybe some anchovy paste? (Going down a puttanesca route there.)
The other thought is of course to go with a bit of heat to round out the sweet--have any crushed red pepper flakes around?
Good luck, hopefully my suggestions will hit pantry items you already have on hand.
dhorst at 6:09PM on 03/07/09
@BananaMonkey- I also once read that a splash of red wine vinegar would add to the sauce...wrong! Maybe it could overcome your sweetness problem, but as dhorst suggests, go easy and adjust accordingly.
dmcavanagh at 7:38PM on 03/07/09
I would add small amounts of salt and tomato paste; tasting between each addition.
Carnal at 7:58PM on 03/07/09
I always start with tomato paste and fry it for a bit in the olive oil and then add in the wine to delgaze. I never use sugar then I cook my onions, then garlic. I never use carrot its full of sugar and sometimes can taste off.
You must fry the tomato paste or you just add more sweet.
JerzeeTomato at 10:14PM on 03/07/09
salt might actually accentuate the sweetness, and tomato paste is pretty sweet initially ... try minced garlic, a touch of oregano, a little more pepper flake, or blitz some celery in the blender ... carrots might be what you´re tasting, these show up in bolognese sauce and too sweet is a common fault in preparing it
kindageeky at 10:20PM on 03/07/09
If nothing else works, amp up the sweetness, add some ground meat, and make sloppy joes!
BangieB at 12:44AM on 03/08/09
Thanks all. I think more acid of a different sort is just the thing. I tried, believe it or not, some of the juice from a jar of sour pickled onions. Probably mostly white vinegar, but it seemed to have worked.!
Thanks for all the advice! This community is fantastic.
BananaMonkey at 11:46AM on 03/08/09
add in another can or half can of tomatoes.... i don't understand why people cook a simple tomato sauce so long. i can see if it has meat in it. for the most part i do a marinara sauce in about 30 minutes at most.
i like my tomatoes to remain alive. i never use carrot. and i cook it in a shallow pan so that it thickens up naturally. good luck....
pooch at 11:59AM on 03/08/09
I've done that way as well pooch, and if I ahve fresh tomatoes that is usually my MO, but lately I've been playing with a recipe that was on here a few weeks ago (which i can't find for the life of me), that had you cook the tomatoes and other additions down until a lot of the liquid was gone, then add wine, reduce again, and then add a bit of cream. It ended up being a concentrated layered flavour that I really enjoyed. I just lost the balance somewhere.
BananaMonkey at 1:08PM on 03/08/09
There is no sugar in tomato sauce. No way. No how. Nosireebob.
Sugar in tomato sauce is an abomination. It's a cheap technique employed to mask "less than desirable" tomatoes.
Simmering basic tomato sauce for eons and hours is only going to concentrate the sharp flavor. Next time, no more than 15-20 minutes max.
therealchiffonade at 1:13PM on 03/08/09
*chuckles*
I look forward to each and every sugar in tomato sauce thread to see chiffonade show up. :P
feriorrenna at 1:33PM on 03/08/09
LOL--consider me learned.
BananaMonkey at 2:41PM on 03/08/09
Well now... if you want to get rid of the sugar taste, I'd suggest a good stiff rocks glass full of Lagavulin Scotch and a slightly smaller than fist sized chunk of ice... drink.... repeat as needed.... eat sauce.... enjoy!
After repeating that step enough times, monkey ass will taste yummy!
chances are, you won't taste the sugar... but the neighbor may find you on the hood of your car with the keys in your arse!
Pavlov at 3:01PM on 03/08/09
I agree with "therealchiffonade" never any sugar, nor carrots, nor onions for me. All contain sugars, and I don't want any sugars in my sauce.
dmcavanagh at 5:26PM on 03/08/09
HAHAHAHA!
Pav, How I've missed you.
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 12:34AM on 03/09/09
Sounds like you made a super awesome ketchup! I fully endorse what has been said above - never add sugar, or thee will surely have fancy ketchup.
I've never tried this, but it just may be crazy enough to work. It has been recommended, by culinary powers the be, that a potato in a too-salty pot will absorb the salt and make the sauce less salty. Maybe it will work with sugar, too?
Otherwise, I would save this for sloppy joe sauce, or meatloaf, or something that may warrant a sweeter tomato-based sauce.
WickedGoodDinner at 10:17AM on 03/09/09
Sounds like you sorted it out, but yeah, add me in as another who refuses to add sugar or carrots to tomato sauce. Onions are ok, but the others make the sauce too sweet no matter what else is in there or how long you cook it!
Amandarama at 12:21PM on 03/09/09
I always add a teaspoon of sugar to my sauce. I dont mean to sound cocky, but I have never tasted a sauce as good as mine.
Also I call it gravy.
ChefJeffSD at 6:31PM on 03/09/09