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Acidic tomato sauce

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in The potting shed
I was trying to find another way, apart from sugar to reduce the acidity of my tomato sauce. The sugar just seems to mask it.
One site suggested a small amount of baking soda.
Has anyone tried this?
In London. Keen but lazy.
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  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    It's so bad that just after tasting a teaspoonful, I think I'll need a Rennie!  
    I wonder if I'd end up with fizzy tomato sauce😕
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I'm sinking into oblivion. Has anyone tried it? 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    No but I've never had the problem.   Were your tomatoes ripe? 

    If you don't want to add sugar - and it would only take a little - try adding grated carrot when cooking the tomatoes down before you purée them.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    They are dark red so I suppose they're as ripe as they'll get. Thanks for the carrot idea. I'll try it, but I need to remove acidity rather than add sweetness, if that makes sense.  I can't tolerate orange juice or acid things like that.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    There'll be natural sweetness and some fibre in the carrots which will reduce the proportion of acidity and help with digestion.  Try it in one batch and see if it helps.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Will do . Thanks @Obelixx. Plenty of experimental material available😊
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    I've had exactly the same issue this year!  It's only my second year making sauce.. last year with cherry tomatoes that resulted in a sickly sweet sauce.. and this year my sun ripe tomatoes were too acidic!  I cooked them all day, didn't include the seeds.. just flesh and skin.  I searched the internet for ideas too.  By the time I tasted it, it was too late for a base of caramelized onions and carrots.. sliced the tomatoes tasted great, so no hint as to the acidity as a sauce.  I had added onions and garlic as part of the recipe, so it wasn't just straight tomato.  I tried per internet advice 1. More olive oil - didn't notice a difference.  2. A half stick of butter - tasted more 'rich'.. but just as acidic.  3.  Several spoonfuls of white sugar - didn't notice too much, I didn't want it sweetened.. still acidic.  3. A massive pile of fresh basil and cheese sprinkled over the top of the plate upon serving - helped a bit to disguise the acidity.  

    I saw the baking soda thing too.. said it add just a small amount and skim off any froth. Didn't try it though.. I figured acidic was better than tomato tooth paste.  It's disappoint though, growing all those tomatoes and spending hours cooking.. for something that taste worse than a store own brand jar of sauce. 

    This weekend I am going to try mixing in some cherry tomatoes with the cooking tomatoes to see if that will mellow the flavor.  My chocolate cherries are a nice balance without being overly sweet like my sun gold and sun sugar.  

    Let us know if you find a solution!
    Utah, USA.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I’m wondering if adding some roasted and skinned red peppers to the mix would help 🤔 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I have a large batch of tomatoes slow  roasting in the oven.
    I took a small quantity of the juice and added a tiny bit of bicarb. The juice was definitely less acidic. I gradually added more and more and  tasted each time until, eventually, it was cloyingly sweet, but I couldn't at any stage taste the bicarb.
    I don't see how you could scrape off the fizz as the whole glassful was fizzing like a dose of Andrew's ( whatever happened to Andrew's Liver Salts and Alka -seltzer?)
    I'm definitely going to add some to the whole batch this time and label it for future reference.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I would normally a whack of ketchup to smooth things out.
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