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