The Secret Ingredient to Perfect Tomato Pasta Sauce
An Italian chef shares her surprising tip for reducing acidity in tomato sauce, and it's not sugar.
- שירה דאבוש (כהן)
- פורסם ט"ו אדר ב' התשפ"ד

#VALUE!
When it comes to pasta expertise, the Italians certainly have a lot to offer.
Recently, on the popular cooking site Great Italian Chefs, an Italian chef shared a tip for cutting the acidity in tomato sauce, and it's not what we learned from our mothers.
Some of our mothers added sugar to tomato sauce - something that doesn’t really eliminate the sourness, but rather adds a touch of sweetness. So, how do you actually get rid of that 'acidic' tomato taste?
There are plenty of tips circulating online that make you want to try them, ranging from boiling the tomatoes before cooking them (which completely negates the use of ready-made sauces), to extending the cooking time (for example, if you're making matbucha or another salad with tomato sauce, cook it for no less than four hours), or adding sweet spices and vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes.
But we are focusing on the trick from the Italian chef, who suggests - without overdoing it - adding a pinch of... baking soda to the tomato sauce. According to her, incorporating baking soda neutralizes the acidity level of the tomatoes.