In article ,
says...
"rosso" wrote in message
...
I find some tomato sauces very bitter and acidic.
I don't have easy access to cheap tomatoes
so I use canned ones.
How do I ensure my sauces will not be bitter?
I tried using sugar but it was only slightly
effective.
(snip)

I use either Del Monte, Progresso or Contadina tomatoes, and my sauce
simmers for only about 30 minutes (I'm not patient enough to allow simmering
for long periods of time). I add a couple of "glugs" of white wine just
before the sauce has finished simmering. The wine has just enough sugar to
balance the acidity in canned tomatoes.

Funny that you mention sugars. My grandmother, father and now myself
adds about a tblsp of sugar to a large batch of tomatoe sauce to cut the
acid. I would imagine thought that a good red wine would also work.

Time to experiment.

In article ,
says...
LurfysMa wrote:
On Tue, 23 May 2006 14:05:25 GMT, "rosso" wrote:

I don't have easy access to cheap tomatoes

Do you live in antarctica?


Danish prices are around $3-6 for a pound.

Funny - prices around my part of the world, RI, USA happen to be about
$2 to $3 a pound. Cherry and grape tomatoes are astronomical.

But shop around. For example, I love asparagus. The local Shaw's
(Albertsons, soon to be CVS/SuperValue) has thick stalks for $2.99 a
pound while the Stop & Shop near my office has nice thin stalks for
$1.99 a pound.

That's just two stores, and there are quite a few more in the 3 mile
radius I just mentioned.

Supposedly Price Rite in my area has the best produce.

In article ,
says...
SBarbour wrote on 23 May 2006 in rec.food.cooking

"rosso" wrote in message
...
I find some tomato sauces very bitter and acidic.
I don't have easy access to cheap tomatoes
so I use canned ones.
How do I ensure my sauces will not be bitter?
I tried using sugar but it was only slightly
effective.
(snip)

I use either Del Monte, Progresso or Contadina tomatoes, and my sauce
simmers for only about 30 minutes (I'm not patient enough to allow
simmering for long periods of time). I add a couple of "glugs" of
white wine just before the sauce has finished simmering. The wine has
just enough sugar to balance the acidity in canned tomatoes.

Sharon




A pinch...And I mean a pinch of Baking soda...This will reduce the
acidity in a tomato sauce without effecting the taste.. But I can't
Stress enough a pinch only.

Mmmm - interesting. An antacid for the tomato sauce.

Ted Campanelli wrote:

The longer you simmer the sauce the less bitter/acidic the sauce will
be. In addition it blends the flavors more.

The longer, or the shorter. Rule of thumb is to cook fresh tomatoes
either less than 15 minutes or more than 3 hours. In between is when
the sauce is most likely to have a bitter tinge. Especially in the
summertime when good tomatoes are available, I like to cook the
non-tomato components of a sauce (like the onions, garlic, mushrooms,
or whatever) first, then add the tomatoes and fresh herbs at the end
for no more than about ten minutes. -aem

tried using sugar but it was only slightly effective.

Add a carrot or two. Whole (so you can remove it) or cut into
retrieveable pieces. They have natural sweetness and will also add
some flavor to your sauce. This is an old Italian Granny type trick.
I think I picked it up from Lidia Bastianich.

Just add a little sugar. That usually works.

The OP said...in your quoted text, even:

I tried using sugar but it was only slightly effective

In article .com,
says...
tried using sugar but it was only slightly effective.

Add a carrot or two. Whole (so you can remove it) or cut into
retrieveable pieces. They have natural sweetness and will also add
some flavor to your sauce. This is an old Italian Granny type trick.
I think I picked it up from Lidia Bastianich.

I recall that her Bolognese sauce, which I've made several times, has
the trio in it, onion, carrot and celery. I do have to say, that trio
rocks in lots of other dishes. The other secret is a combination of
beef, pork and veal.

Most delicious.

"rosso" wrote in news:FEEcg.19743$M94.15423@newsfe3-
gui.ntli.net:

I find some tomato sauces very bitter and acidic.
I don't have easy access to cheap tomatoes
so I use canned ones.
How do I ensure my sauces will not be bitter?
I tried using sugar but it was only slightly
effective.
Someone told me to use fromage freis. Does
this work and it must change the character
and colour of the sauce?

Caramelize some onions, they will sweeten the sauce naturally.

--

Charles
The significant problems we face cannot be solved
at the same level of thinking we were at when we
created them. Albert Einstein