My aunt told me to put a pinch of sugar in my tomato sauce and I thought she was nuts

She said it cuts the acid and makes the flavor richer. I argued that real Italian cooks don't do that, but she just shrugged and said 'try it once.' So last Tuesday, while making a big pot of sauce from some San Marzano tomatoes, I tossed in maybe a quarter teaspoon of plain white sugar. I didn't tell my partner. We sat down to eat and the first thing he said was 'wow, this sauce is really good tonight, what's different?' It was smoother, not as sharp. I felt a little silly for fighting it. Has anyone else been given a tiny kitchen tip that sounded wrong but actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

iris5743h ago

So did you use fresh tomatoes or canned, and @margaret_taylor42, what's your go-to brand?

margaret_taylor423h ago

Wait, really? I always heard that was just a band-aid for using cheap, acidic tomatoes. Good tomatoes shouldn't need any sugar at all in my book. What kind were you using?