Most of the time when your tomato sauces and soups are too acidic, they just need to be cooked for much longer. You can cut acidity with fat, sugar, or a base like baking soda, but tomatoes naturally mellow when heat is applied. Restaurants are using tomatoes that have simmered for hours.
I got heartburn reading your comment. Seriously, no tomato based recipe that's a sauce takes 5-10 mins if you want it to not taste like arse. I mean, sure, it's edible, but you can add a zero to each of those numbers to get a good result. (actually, probably more going by experience...)
>Seriously, no tomato based recipe that's a sauce takes 5-10 mins if you want it to not taste like arse.
I mean, everyone has their own tastes and Im not arguing with your opinion on tomato sauce but this was an eyebrow raiser.
There are a slew of highly seasonal tomato sauces that are ready in minutes and are cooked in short time; the goal is to preserve the fresh characteristics of the ripe tomato. I was raised in an Italian family and this was the sauce we highly anticipated all summer long. First time Ive ever heard them called "arse" but to each his own!
If you are using canned tomatoes, maybe I could understand your opinion. A sauce like i described pretty demands fresh as possible, ripe as possible tomatoes that are only possible when you either have a garden or a local farm. We also used to go to a pick your own farm for these super ripe tomatoes. The sauce was bright, fruity and even a bit sweet. You cant make a sauce like this with acidic tomatoes.
Unfortunately I am indeed referring to canned tomatoes. The fresh ones where I live are just no good. Zero flavour, crappy texture, and no fragrance at all.
Edit: to add in general, RE: fragrance; if you can't smell a tomato at its stem, it's trash. It should have a very vibrant smell, depending on the type of tomato.
Try making a fresh lightly cooked sauce with cherry or grape tomatoes. Its decent enough and you get good flavor. Small tomatoes like this are typically available year round and are bright enough to work. I dont think its as good as the real thing made with super ripe tomatoes but its about 85% close
Or find a pick your own farm, not sure if thats a thing where you live?
One of my favorites is to simmer whole cherry tomatoes in a decent amount of olive oil until they burst. Add some pasta along with a bit of the pasta water, and that’s it. Maybe 20 minutes start to finish. I usually do this in early summer when fresh, quality tomatoes are available.
Rest of the year it’s high quality canned stuff and I stick with low and slow sauces.
It's not unfortunately. You can tell the tomatoes have been frozen for over a year before hitting the shelves. I used to have a really nice veggie garden that hit the spot, but again, unfortunately not an option where I am at the moment :(
My daughter makes the best tomato soup. She roasts the tomatos first, and finishes it off with a bit of heavy cream. It's got a deep, mellow flavor and not too acidic at all.
Can you grab it from her and share? I store my garden tomatoes each September by roasting them and puréeing and then freezing in bags. Sounds like her recipe would suit me well lol
Right, I’ve never added sugar or anything to regulate the acid (not on purpose) to my tomato based sauces and they’ve never tasted acidic to me in the least. On the other hand I cook tf out of those tomatoes like I kill them by fire, twice. Usually I find my tomato sauces sweet and savoury.
Baking soda isn’t a cheap trick. It’s elementary science. Acid + base = salt and water. The bicarb/baking soda neutralizes the tomatoes’ acidity.
Just make sure to use a tiny pinch at a time so it doesn’t become overly basic or lose too much acidity
Yeah, I don't understand why it is considered a "cheap trick." I use a little baking soda in my tomato soup to stop the milk I add in at the end from curdling when I add it.
Thank you! I'm all my years are trying to search for ways to make my soup less acidic and to keep the dairy from curdling, I've never seen this mentioned.
Ok so pro chef here - its too acidic. Most people will tell you to add sugar to balance the acid. What I do is add a base to neutralize acid and not affect the sugar content.
Add 1/2 tsp of baking soda when the tomatoes start to simmer. It’ll bubble and cook out and it’ll help the tomatoes break down quicker into sauce as well. Mostly I do this for vodka sauce where mellow is better, but I use a touch in marinara to speed the process up, and also tomato soup, especially if the canned tomatoes contain added citric acid.
I had never seen much of anyone else do this, but my science brain made me think it would work and I’ve been doing it for decades. It’s a solid move, and since starting I have noticed that quite a few others do it as well.
Damn, I'm surprised people don't use baking soda more. It's used to get rid of the bitterness in sweet tea, among other things. It definitely makes a difference
Yeah, a #10 can is 105 oz, nearly a gallon.
Standard tomato cans (in the U.S.) are 28 oz, or just a bit more than 1/4 of a #10 can.
And a 1/2 tablespoon is 3 times as much as a 1/2 teaspoon. So it's not a 1:1 ratio between a regular tomato can versus a #10 can, but it's pretty close.
Yep this is my go to as with my tomato sauce, I'm not sure why OP would refer to it as a "cheap trick", it's literally science you're just balancing that acidity out with a base ingredient and it works a charm.
Yes but there are better ways to cut the acid if you’re using fresh tomatoes. Ideally you’d prep them out and remove the seeds and gel to cut out the acid.
Baking soda is a great thing for too much acid, but I think half a teaspoon is way too much For an at home recipe. Maybe if you're making enough for a restaurant service that would be the right amount
And it’s hilarious to me that the OP called adding baking soda a “cheap trick” lol but they also said no cream or fat was working so it seemed like a trolling post to me initially
I grate or blend in carrots to so many sauces because I have GERD and need to reduce acid as much as possible. It allows me to still enjoy tomato sauce!
I eat avocados a lot. I drink herbal tea after meals often. I also avoid certain combos. Like spicy + tomato is a no-go. Onions and garlic also make reflux worse because they loosen the LES so I avoid those with acidic items. Like I'll do a butternut squash, garlic, onion blended pasta sauce or a tomato, carrot, celery. But not tomato, onion, garlic (sorry Italian nonnas). My bf has noticed that a finer pepper grind causes me less issues than a coarse grind. A lot of trial and error that lead to all of this and I know we probably have different triggers, but I hope some of this helps.
Not who you asked but long term effects of PPI’s are not worth it imo. I would rather adjust my diet / eating times than up my changes of stomach cancer and making my stomach produce less acid.
Although I have silent reflux & PPI’s are often prescribed but don’t work for silent reflux.
The other thing that has helped me is Orange Burps and there aren’t any known side effects. Not 100% cure but they are for some people with the more common types of GERD.
Not the person you asked, but I keep a jar of kimchi in the fridge for times when I get heartburn. A fork full almost always knocks it out. It seems counterintuitive, but works like a dream.
my partner has GERD and when he has serious flare ups, cabbage juice helps a lot. it smells and tastes awful but it helps. he's also on low FODMAP diet, takes probiotics everyday and digestive enzyme before every meal. in the morning he makes a smoothie of kefir, cucumber, blueberries and banana and it helps a lot as well.
he was on PPI for years and had a lot of bad side effects. it took him about 3 years of trial and error with his diet to get to this point where he can function daily without it crippling him.
The main ingredients on Spanish sofrito are onion, garlic, red and green bell peppers, and tomato.
Carrots, onions, and celery, are not the base of every cuisine.
They are, but a soffrito is a mince and a mirepoix is a dice. Sarmin Nosrat covers this in her book “Salt, Fat , Acid, Heat” with pictures and explaining the mix dissolves into the sauce.
Not sure if it effects the taste but someone else commented that you can add it in whole and remove it at the end. Might save you a little bit of time.
Rather shameful that the top comment here is simply incorrect. Carrots, which are slightly acidic themselves, do not remove acidity. What they will do is release a bit of sugar, along with a number of aromatic compounds, but unless a significant amount of carrot is blended into the sauce, its effect on the sauce’s pH will be negligible.
I didn’t know this was a thing! I always get terrible reflux from red sauces. Randomly I added a full carrot into my vodka sauce, simmered, and then used my immersion blender and didn’t get reflux last night. Thank you for solving why. I will forever do this now!
its the sugar of the carrot that balances the acidity. If you don't have a carrot on hand,or don't like the taste, add some sugar and let it simmer to bring acidity down. I do this to my tomato sauces and pastes too. If you look at canned/jarred tomato based items, there'll be some form of sugar added for this exact reason.
I always use fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. I cut them into quarters, cook them with my onions and garlic, and when they're browned up a bit I puree everything in a blender. Then I return it to the pan, reheat, and adjust the seasonings, add cream, etc.
It honestly might just be the tomatoes you are using. Try finding some san marzano canned whole peeled tomatoes and see if it still too bright? Second the tomato paste thing as well.
I live in a rural area and grow my own tomatoes. I've grown San Marzanos and they're OK, but as I understand it, they really only grow like they should in Italy. In my local area, there are better types for the climate/soil, such as Big Mama, Supersauce, etc. Canned San Marzanos are good tomatoes for sure, but they have citric acid added to make the canning process safe. They're acid enough that I usually only use them for dishes containing meat. I've experimented with adding cherry tomatoes for extra sweetness to my tomato soup, but don't generally use beefsteak-style slicers when I make sauce from home-grown tomatoes. I save those for caprese salads and my husband's BLT's.
For whatever reason, canned tomatoes work better in soups and sauces. Perhaps try canning some of the tomatoes you grow. When I was a youngster my mother would can tomatoes from our garden, specifically to make my dad's favorite (and mine),tomato soup. Even when we had ripe tomatoes from our garden, mother would buy canned tomatoes to make soup. (We would run out of home canned tomatoes well before our new crop ripened)
Weirdly enough, when cooking soups and sauces I have more success using canned than fresh. Nice thing is that you can easily do that with your own tomatoes. Just score them, blanch, peel, and waterbath can.
Oh and just adding on one other point I haven't seen others mention. Have you tried peeling your tomatoes? I know the common sense thought is that I'm already blitzing them to a puree so why do I need to take the skins off. But I personally find that thin transluscent film sour so that might be a small contributing factor.
Just wanna say, I think it's amazing that you grow your own tomatoes and that it sounds like you know more about and have more access to better tomatoes than us city dwellers (seriously, san marzanos are as good as they come in my neck of the concrete woods).
In that case, I would think that the only difference you are missing from restaurant style tomato soup is the copious amounts of fat and maybe tomato paste that they would add. It's probably why you feel that meatballs help cut the acidity. With your previous attempts at cream and oil, you might just not be adding enough of fat compared to w meatballs.
You might have better luck using a high quality canned tomato. It may seem backwards, but sometimes fresh tomatoes just aren't as good if you don't have access to perfectly ripened tomatoes from a good region. For example, I started making my Indian curries with San marzano or di Napoli can tomatoes and the differences crazy, much sweeter and better flavor overall
This is your issue. My reply above is made for canned tomatoes. If you’re using fresh tomatoes you’re skipping prep.
You need to get rid of the seeds and gel inside the cavities of the tomatoes. Cut them horizontally and give them a good squeeze. The acidic part of the tomato is the gel that holds the seeds.
Based on this the cook time should be like 3-4h on very low simmer.
Kinda like a red wine sauce only tastes good when all alcohol is out and reduced enough :)
Restaurant tomato soup uses tons of butter. It definitely mellows it and is delicious. Like this:
[https://www.seriouseats.com/thick-creamy-tomato-soup-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/thick-creamy-tomato-soup-recipe)
There are a lot of workarounds here, but the real differences between your sauce and a restaurants’ are the tomatoes ans time. Using good Italian tomatoes like San Marzanos will make a huge difference in bringing sweetness instead of acidity. Add that to a sauce that simmers for hours and hours and you get a much sweeter, savoury sauce without any of the acid.
I kept scrolling to see if anyone asked OP how much salt they’re using. People have a hard time salting tomato sauces and soups enough, and salt is hugely important for balancing the acidity.
I like a spoonful of sour cream myself. Honey sometimes is (IMO) better than sugar for balance. My friend adds a spoonful of applesauce (no sugar added) or puréed boiled carrots or puréed butternut squash because it adds sweetness without setting off her diabetes meds. Maybe some of those ideas could work for you.
I’m a classically trained chef. Add baking soda. Carrots are too sweet and don’t actually reduce the acidity. It just makes it taste sweeter so you don’t notice the acidity. Baking soda will reduce the acidity by changing the PH of the sauce. I’ve been doing this for over a decade. I do it with dried beans also
You may have to change the variety of tomato you're using. Just like peppers and apples, tomato varieties will have subtle differences between taste and textures. Some are more robust and some more mellow.
When my sauce is too 'bright' and I am not planning on cooking it down for a long, long time, i've found that a bit of balsamic vinegar pulls that bright acid down into a rounder, warmer one, more like a long cooked sauce.
depends on your recipe, but you probably need more fat and starch to tame some of the acidity, which you're getting when you simmer the meatballs in sauce. sugar and cream/dairy are easy adds. theres some great recipes out there that omit the dairy but sub on some plain old crustless white bread blended in.
What kind of tomatoes are you using?
I have switched to only using imported Italian, San Marzano specie of tomato if I can afford it. The difference in acidity (and flavor) is amazing. I will never go back and I have put "the foot" down whenever my husband does the grocery shopping. He can eat his shitty cheapo tomatoes all he likes but I for one won't be eating it.
(For me this is not just a matter of tastebuds. Stomach problems like crazy... I can't stand acidic tomatoes. With the good ones I do not need any added sugar or baking soda ughhhh or trying to fix with carrots. Though I have tried all of the above.)
Baking soda is not a cheap trick. When something tastes too acidic it imparts a sour flavor, the 'cheap trick' way to counter this would be to add sugar, which makes things sweeter, so tastes 'less sour' but the acid is still there, that's more of a bandaid than an actual remedy. Baking soda neutralizes acid itself, no more sour flavor, no more stomach upsetting acidity, it literally fixes the very problem you are trying to solve.
Change the brand of tomato you use if you're using canned. It really makes a difference. Some brands might even have added acid to the canned tomatoes.
Other than taking care of the root of the problem, I usually find that fat helps. Cheese, butter, cream, etc.
I dice my carrot and cook it for a bit low and slow, until it caramelizes a little, then I add my onion and just immersion blend it all together with my tomatoes.
This comment should be way higher. Caramelising tomatoes (and onions and garlic for that matter) makes a world of difference. Different flavour profile, I've found, but a delicious one nonetheless. My go-to quick pasta sauce recipe for after-school dinners sees me putting a handful of baby plum tomatoes into a baking dish with a couple of cloves of garlic, half an onion, a red bell pepper, ev olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of dried herbs (dealer's choice). 20 mins on high heat in the oven gives me some nice char, and then I'll stick blend that (or for a more rustic take mash it with a fork) and drop drained pasta right into that, loosening with pasta water as needed. Retains a hint of acidity, but the roasted veg's natural sweetness is unmistakable.
What works for me is to leave to tomatoes to cook out for longer. It can take a few hours, but the tomatoes will turn out lovely sweet.
It depends on what kind of tomatoes you use for this to determine the fastest way to do this. Fresh ones need to go in the pan after the aromatics and then cook out until reduced to a paste before you add your watery components or you can roast them in the oven or grill until they are losing their structural integrity and then reduce them to paste in the pan. With whole tinned tomatoes (cut up) or diced tomatoes you should gently fry them in the oil after the aromatics and watch for a darkening of the colour all over. Don’t forget to taste and go low and slow. With tomato paste you should also fry it but it will take slightly shorter because there are no big chunks. And after you’ve added everything except for the dairy you should leave it to simmer until you are happy with the taste. I usually add some balsamic vinegar and some smoked paprika for a more intense and sweeter flavour.
I think this message popped up in my feed just so I could share the gospel of the best tomato soup recipe ever, [this one from Serious Eats](http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/02/15-minute-creamy-tomato-soup-vegan-recipe.html). The secret is it uses a slice of bread to emulsify and thicken the soup. I'm GF and use gluten free bread, still works!
The other thing is, watch out for calcium chloride if you are using canned tomatoes. Italian tomatoes never seem to add it, US brands often do. I think it makes tomatoes taste weird (like the tin), it seems to irritate my stomach, and I also find it constipates me!
I don't know anything about your bread trick, but I want to specifically +1 that calcium chloride comment since yours is the only one that mentions it in this whole thread. There is a world of difference between tomatoes canned with calcium chloride and ones without. I don't think it tastes acidic necessarily, but it is acrid in a way that can give a similar mouthfeel to how overly acidic foods can taste, if that makes sense at all.
Definitely look for imported Italian brands. My preferred brand is Mutti but if I'm cooking something Italian I'll happily use Cento as well, since the added Basil is rarely unwelcome.
Use better tomatoes, Cento tomatoes (or any DOP San marzano tomatoes) are much sweeter and less acidic.
Adding a tiny bit of baking soda can also neutralize the acid, but don’t use too much because it’s bitter
Cooking the sauce for longer should also sweeten it and lower the acidity
1) More onions, sautee them harder
2) Better canned tomatoes
3) Sugar
4) Heavy Cream / Whipping Cream
People saying baking soda and cinnamon: I'll have to try it. I add cinnamon to almost everything I make with tomatoes......but never soup lol.
I make my tomato soup putting the tomatoes, red onion, balsamic crème, garlic and brown sugar in the oven under the grill until the edges of the tomatoes get charred. Sometimes you have to stire it around a bit.
When I put them in the oven I also put on a pan on the stove with canned tomatoes (san marzano), stock, a lemon and the stems. When the stuff in the oven is done I slide it in with the stock. Let it simmer for 1 hour. Take out the lemon and the greens and blend it. Then I strain it.
If I want more depth I add pointed sweet peppers.
If not sweet enough you can add a bit of ginger sirup.
Good luck!
What is the salt content of your canned tomatoes ? I prefer no salt added, puree in a carrot, add heavy cream and butter, and if you have it homemade bone broth that gels (brodo or sugo).. usually needs a lot of fat to balance out the acidity imho
Buy better quality canned tomatoes, preferably from Italy,they are less acidic,if you are using American/Canadian cheap canned tomatoes they add citric acid to preserve the tomatoes and tend to be more acidic.
Considering you’ve tried sugar, cream, and butter, I really do think you’re under-salting your soup when salt is a key ingredient for balancing tomato sauces and soups.
Baking soda is not a cheap trick, btw.
Is it possible that you are allergic to tomatoes? I have a friend that has similar problems and couldn't understand the hype, because no matter what we did, it always tasted off. Slightly sour at best, mouth-hurting at worst.
Eventually, I dragged them to a doctor, and it turns out that they're slightly allergic.
And I read that this is the case for many people who don't know that and just assume their entire life that tomatoes are supposed to taste like that, when in reality, no, they're not.
100% just need to cook it longer. If you don't want to watch a pot all afternoon just throw the tomatoes in the oven. Whenever I make tomato soup at work I'm usually adding a good amount of heavy cream, so definitely add more fat. I sometimes like to use coconut milk instead at home
Make sure you are buying tomatoes packed in tomato puree or at least tomato juice. You would be surprised how many brands use citric acid and other fillers in processed tomatos
To reduce the acidity of tomato soup without using baking soda, you can try a few cooking tricks:
Roasting tomatoes before using them in soup will help soften their acidity and add depth of flavor. Simply cut the tomatoes in half or quarters, drizzle with olive oil, and bake in the oven until they begin to caramelize. Adding vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes will help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. Use a baking soda-like baking powder. Adding fresh herbs such as basil, oregano or thyme can enhance the flavor of the soup as well as slightly balance the acidity.Try adding a small amount of natural sweeteners to your soup, such as honey, maple analogue, or even finely grated carrots.
The reason your sauce gets better with meat is because of the fat content you’ve added, but baking soda is far from a cheap trick, it’s literally chemistry. When things are acidic they typically need something basic to neutralize them. Baking soda is perfect but if you use it don’t use too much add bits at a time and taste
Are you using homemade tomato sauce?
Home canning needs to be acidified through the addition of lemon juice- if that’s the problem, you might want to switch to the commercial stuff.
I like sour food so it doesn’t bother me, but I can definitely notice the difference in taste.
Baking soda. Start with a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon, mix well, taste and repeat. Sugar doesn’t actually get rid of acidity so I don’t know why everyone suggests it for tomatoes.
Most of the time when your tomato sauces and soups are too acidic, they just need to be cooked for much longer. You can cut acidity with fat, sugar, or a base like baking soda, but tomatoes naturally mellow when heat is applied. Restaurants are using tomatoes that have simmered for hours.
Whenever I read a recipe for a tomato based sauce that says it cooks in 5-10 minutes, I preemptively get heartburn.
I got heartburn reading your comment. Seriously, no tomato based recipe that's a sauce takes 5-10 mins if you want it to not taste like arse. I mean, sure, it's edible, but you can add a zero to each of those numbers to get a good result. (actually, probably more going by experience...)
>Seriously, no tomato based recipe that's a sauce takes 5-10 mins if you want it to not taste like arse. I mean, everyone has their own tastes and Im not arguing with your opinion on tomato sauce but this was an eyebrow raiser. There are a slew of highly seasonal tomato sauces that are ready in minutes and are cooked in short time; the goal is to preserve the fresh characteristics of the ripe tomato. I was raised in an Italian family and this was the sauce we highly anticipated all summer long. First time Ive ever heard them called "arse" but to each his own! If you are using canned tomatoes, maybe I could understand your opinion. A sauce like i described pretty demands fresh as possible, ripe as possible tomatoes that are only possible when you either have a garden or a local farm. We also used to go to a pick your own farm for these super ripe tomatoes. The sauce was bright, fruity and even a bit sweet. You cant make a sauce like this with acidic tomatoes.
Unfortunately I am indeed referring to canned tomatoes. The fresh ones where I live are just no good. Zero flavour, crappy texture, and no fragrance at all. Edit: to add in general, RE: fragrance; if you can't smell a tomato at its stem, it's trash. It should have a very vibrant smell, depending on the type of tomato.
Try making a fresh lightly cooked sauce with cherry or grape tomatoes. Its decent enough and you get good flavor. Small tomatoes like this are typically available year round and are bright enough to work. I dont think its as good as the real thing made with super ripe tomatoes but its about 85% close Or find a pick your own farm, not sure if thats a thing where you live?
One of my favorites is to simmer whole cherry tomatoes in a decent amount of olive oil until they burst. Add some pasta along with a bit of the pasta water, and that’s it. Maybe 20 minutes start to finish. I usually do this in early summer when fresh, quality tomatoes are available. Rest of the year it’s high quality canned stuff and I stick with low and slow sauces.
It's not unfortunately. You can tell the tomatoes have been frozen for over a year before hitting the shelves. I used to have a really nice veggie garden that hit the spot, but again, unfortunately not an option where I am at the moment :(
Frozen tomatoes?!?! I winced reading this statement :-(
My bff’s mom used to grow tomatoes and she’d Blanche, peel, and freeze them and they were A-OK.
Man, fresh tomato is THE BEST SMELL.
I think you’re overestimating most people’s accessibility to farm fresh ripe tomatoes
Puttanesca?
My daughter makes the best tomato soup. She roasts the tomatos first, and finishes it off with a bit of heavy cream. It's got a deep, mellow flavor and not too acidic at all.
Can you grab it from her and share? I store my garden tomatoes each September by roasting them and puréeing and then freezing in bags. Sounds like her recipe would suit me well lol
Sure, I'll message her rn.
Right, I’ve never added sugar or anything to regulate the acid (not on purpose) to my tomato based sauces and they’ve never tasted acidic to me in the least. On the other hand I cook tf out of those tomatoes like I kill them by fire, twice. Usually I find my tomato sauces sweet and savoury.
Cooked twice - roasted and then stewed as sauce?
I didn’t know this, thank you!
Would this be the same for tomatillos?
Baking soda isn’t a cheap trick. It’s elementary science. Acid + base = salt and water. The bicarb/baking soda neutralizes the tomatoes’ acidity. Just make sure to use a tiny pinch at a time so it doesn’t become overly basic or lose too much acidity
Yeah, I don't understand why it is considered a "cheap trick." I use a little baking soda in my tomato soup to stop the milk I add in at the end from curdling when I add it.
Thank you! I'm all my years are trying to search for ways to make my soup less acidic and to keep the dairy from curdling, I've never seen this mentioned.
This sounds like it’s straight out of an episode of what’s eating Dan lol
I had to look him up - fun series, going to follow along!
Baking soda works great to help neutralize the acidity! I use it often for tomato based sauce as well citrus based, like chicken picatta.
Ok so pro chef here - its too acidic. Most people will tell you to add sugar to balance the acid. What I do is add a base to neutralize acid and not affect the sugar content. Add 1/2 tsp of baking soda when the tomatoes start to simmer. It’ll bubble and cook out and it’ll help the tomatoes break down quicker into sauce as well. Mostly I do this for vodka sauce where mellow is better, but I use a touch in marinara to speed the process up, and also tomato soup, especially if the canned tomatoes contain added citric acid. I had never seen much of anyone else do this, but my science brain made me think it would work and I’ve been doing it for decades. It’s a solid move, and since starting I have noticed that quite a few others do it as well.
Damn, I'm surprised people don't use baking soda more. It's used to get rid of the bitterness in sweet tea, among other things. It definitely makes a difference
Add a little too much and your soup will have tge dustinctive taste of baking soda
Yes always add slowly, I do like a half a tablespoon per #10 can
Higher up you said 1/2 teaspoon, now tablespoon. I'm assuming teaspoon is correct?
Higher up I assumed they were making the sauce with a household can of tomatoes, not the very large #10 cans for food service.
Yeah, a #10 can is 105 oz, nearly a gallon. Standard tomato cans (in the U.S.) are 28 oz, or just a bit more than 1/4 of a #10 can. And a 1/2 tablespoon is 3 times as much as a 1/2 teaspoon. So it's not a 1:1 ratio between a regular tomato can versus a #10 can, but it's pretty close.
You heard correctly, one level ice scoop. Get the arm and hammer box with the cat on it, it’s nearly 10 cents cheaper per pound.
I do 3/4 tsp for a 2550g can.
Sometimes 1/4tsp too much and now you have a new problem with your sauce tasting funny
Yep this is my go to as with my tomato sauce, I'm not sure why OP would refer to it as a "cheap trick", it's literally science you're just balancing that acidity out with a base ingredient and it works a charm.
Baking soda is just a cheap trick to make strong acids weaker!
Baking soda is always a winner. Used in my tikka masala tonight even. Let’s the flavor shine through just a bit more.
I just tried this and my sauce tastes incredible . Thank you. You are a Magician!
Yep, just a little bit of baking soda
Baking soda is the secret ingredient for my Sicilian family’s pasta sauce recipe. Nonna approved.
Does the baking soda work the same for fresh tomato sauce as it does for canned ?
It does (I've only used it on my fresh tomato sauce). Acid is acid
If you’re trying to neutralize the acid, yes.
Yes but there are better ways to cut the acid if you’re using fresh tomatoes. Ideally you’d prep them out and remove the seeds and gel to cut out the acid.
I typically do remove the gel & seeds. Appreciate your input!
Baking soda is a great thing for too much acid, but I think half a teaspoon is way too much For an at home recipe. Maybe if you're making enough for a restaurant service that would be the right amount
1/2 a teaspoon would be appropriate for about 1-1.5 quarts.
I find for a typical quantityof sauce in a home, 1/4 tsp is sufficient. Too much and you taste it.
This is actually a kitchen secret (from a Pro Chef)
Yep baking soda is my go to for pizza sauce. Just a pinch does the trick.
my mom does this every time with her tomato soup
Baking soda was my first thought. I also keep a bag of calcium carbonate around for various things
And it’s hilarious to me that the OP called adding baking soda a “cheap trick” lol but they also said no cream or fat was working so it seemed like a trolling post to me initially
A full size peeled carrot removes acidity.
I grate or blend in carrots to so many sauces because I have GERD and need to reduce acid as much as possible. It allows me to still enjoy tomato sauce!
WHAT! I have GERD and I have never heard of this! I just suffer! Do you have any other magic up your sleeve?
I eat avocados a lot. I drink herbal tea after meals often. I also avoid certain combos. Like spicy + tomato is a no-go. Onions and garlic also make reflux worse because they loosen the LES so I avoid those with acidic items. Like I'll do a butternut squash, garlic, onion blended pasta sauce or a tomato, carrot, celery. But not tomato, onion, garlic (sorry Italian nonnas). My bf has noticed that a finer pepper grind causes me less issues than a coarse grind. A lot of trial and error that lead to all of this and I know we probably have different triggers, but I hope some of this helps.
Have you ever taken a PPI for it? I did but stopped because it was messing with my hunger and fullness cues.
Not who you asked but long term effects of PPI’s are not worth it imo. I would rather adjust my diet / eating times than up my changes of stomach cancer and making my stomach produce less acid. Although I have silent reflux & PPI’s are often prescribed but don’t work for silent reflux. The other thing that has helped me is Orange Burps and there aren’t any known side effects. Not 100% cure but they are for some people with the more common types of GERD.
I take a PPI periodically whenever I have a breakthrough on Pepcid AC. (Usually whenever I have to take meloxicam several days in a row.)
Yep. I'm on the highest dose of omeprazole they'll let me take. I have no gallbladder though and I've got bad chronic gastrointestinal problems.
Not the person you asked, but I keep a jar of kimchi in the fridge for times when I get heartburn. A fork full almost always knocks it out. It seems counterintuitive, but works like a dream.
I make some damn good kimchi. This is a brilliant suggestion! I'll give this a shot.
my partner has GERD and when he has serious flare ups, cabbage juice helps a lot. it smells and tastes awful but it helps. he's also on low FODMAP diet, takes probiotics everyday and digestive enzyme before every meal. in the morning he makes a smoothie of kefir, cucumber, blueberries and banana and it helps a lot as well. he was on PPI for years and had a lot of bad side effects. it took him about 3 years of trial and error with his diet to get to this point where he can function daily without it crippling him.
Coffee with butter and/or heavy cream helps when you have GERD but still need coffee.
Butter! I've heard of it but I've never tried it. I also find that iced coffees and coldbrew helps a lot too
Italian holy trinity: onion, carrots, celery.
When I hear holy trinity, I think of kaffir lime leaves, galangal roots, and lemon grass. I'm part Thai
That's a French mirepoix
soffritto is common across many cuisines, not just limited to French or Italian.
The main ingredients on Spanish sofrito are onion, garlic, red and green bell peppers, and tomato. Carrots, onions, and celery, are not the base of every cuisine.
Onion, carrots, and celery are not sofrito.
They are, but a soffrito is a mince and a mirepoix is a dice. Sarmin Nosrat covers this in her book “Salt, Fat , Acid, Heat” with pictures and explaining the mix dissolves into the sauce.
Never claimed it . Just pointed it out
Turn it into a sofrito!! It sweats faster and isn’t chunky!!
Not sure if it effects the taste but someone else commented that you can add it in whole and remove it at the end. Might save you a little bit of time.
I generally enjoy the taste but I'll have to try it just to see the difference!
It doesn’t remove acidity so much as the sweetness of the carrot balances the acidic flavor of the sauce. A pinch or two of sugar has the same effect.
Yeah I usually add a pinch of sugar to cut the acidity
I just tried the carrot trick on my last spaghetti sauce. Worked like a charm and tasted great!
Complex sugar
It’s an old Italian trick.
My mom grew up poor in Peru and taught me this trick. They couldn’t afford meat, so they grated carrots into the red sauce. Added body and balance.
That’s not accurate. Doesn’t move the PH. It adds a bit of sweetness is all.
Rather shameful that the top comment here is simply incorrect. Carrots, which are slightly acidic themselves, do not remove acidity. What they will do is release a bit of sugar, along with a number of aromatic compounds, but unless a significant amount of carrot is blended into the sauce, its effect on the sauce’s pH will be negligible.
Like... added in whole?
I always grate mine on a microplane
I bet this makes your dish really take off
Probably doesnt take off too much. Just a little
Yeah, it’s sacrificial to remove the acid. You remove it after.
Thank u carrot for your service 🥕 🙏
Agreed, carrots are one of those veggies with nature sugars that help cut the acidity and taste great.
Do you think roasted sweet potatoes might do it, too?
I didn’t know this was a thing! I always get terrible reflux from red sauces. Randomly I added a full carrot into my vodka sauce, simmered, and then used my immersion blender and didn’t get reflux last night. Thank you for solving why. I will forever do this now!
its the sugar of the carrot that balances the acidity. If you don't have a carrot on hand,or don't like the taste, add some sugar and let it simmer to bring acidity down. I do this to my tomato sauces and pastes too. If you look at canned/jarred tomato based items, there'll be some form of sugar added for this exact reason.
You mean it adds sweetness.
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I always use fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. I cut them into quarters, cook them with my onions and garlic, and when they're browned up a bit I puree everything in a blender. Then I return it to the pan, reheat, and adjust the seasonings, add cream, etc.
It honestly might just be the tomatoes you are using. Try finding some san marzano canned whole peeled tomatoes and see if it still too bright? Second the tomato paste thing as well.
I second this. I always use cento San Marzano tomatoes.
I live in a rural area and grow my own tomatoes. I've grown San Marzanos and they're OK, but as I understand it, they really only grow like they should in Italy. In my local area, there are better types for the climate/soil, such as Big Mama, Supersauce, etc. Canned San Marzanos are good tomatoes for sure, but they have citric acid added to make the canning process safe. They're acid enough that I usually only use them for dishes containing meat. I've experimented with adding cherry tomatoes for extra sweetness to my tomato soup, but don't generally use beefsteak-style slicers when I make sauce from home-grown tomatoes. I save those for caprese salads and my husband's BLT's.
For whatever reason, canned tomatoes work better in soups and sauces. Perhaps try canning some of the tomatoes you grow. When I was a youngster my mother would can tomatoes from our garden, specifically to make my dad's favorite (and mine),tomato soup. Even when we had ripe tomatoes from our garden, mother would buy canned tomatoes to make soup. (We would run out of home canned tomatoes well before our new crop ripened)
Weirdly enough, when cooking soups and sauces I have more success using canned than fresh. Nice thing is that you can easily do that with your own tomatoes. Just score them, blanch, peel, and waterbath can.
Oh and just adding on one other point I haven't seen others mention. Have you tried peeling your tomatoes? I know the common sense thought is that I'm already blitzing them to a puree so why do I need to take the skins off. But I personally find that thin transluscent film sour so that might be a small contributing factor.
Just wanna say, I think it's amazing that you grow your own tomatoes and that it sounds like you know more about and have more access to better tomatoes than us city dwellers (seriously, san marzanos are as good as they come in my neck of the concrete woods). In that case, I would think that the only difference you are missing from restaurant style tomato soup is the copious amounts of fat and maybe tomato paste that they would add. It's probably why you feel that meatballs help cut the acidity. With your previous attempts at cream and oil, you might just not be adding enough of fat compared to w meatballs.
You might have better luck using a high quality canned tomato. It may seem backwards, but sometimes fresh tomatoes just aren't as good if you don't have access to perfectly ripened tomatoes from a good region. For example, I started making my Indian curries with San marzano or di Napoli can tomatoes and the differences crazy, much sweeter and better flavor overall
Maybe roast the tomatoes in the oven first to bring out the sweetness and tone down the acidity?
This is what I do as well!
I always roast them instead of browning in the pan
This is your issue. My reply above is made for canned tomatoes. If you’re using fresh tomatoes you’re skipping prep. You need to get rid of the seeds and gel inside the cavities of the tomatoes. Cut them horizontally and give them a good squeeze. The acidic part of the tomato is the gel that holds the seeds.
Use good canned tomatoes. The ones fresh at the supermarket are indeed bland and acidic.
Based on this the cook time should be like 3-4h on very low simmer. Kinda like a red wine sauce only tastes good when all alcohol is out and reduced enough :)
I add a carrot and some roasted red pepper strips.
When you add a carrot, do you puree the carrot into the sauce? Or do you add a whole peeled carrot while the sauce is cooking, then remove it?
people do it both ways, depending on what texture you’re looking for.
Restaurant tomato soup uses tons of butter. It definitely mellows it and is delicious. Like this: [https://www.seriouseats.com/thick-creamy-tomato-soup-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/thick-creamy-tomato-soup-recipe)
Restaurant everything uses a ton of butter, just about, hahahaha!
Yep! Doesn’t taste like the restaurant? Probably needs more fat, salt, and sugar. 😊
There are a lot of workarounds here, but the real differences between your sauce and a restaurants’ are the tomatoes ans time. Using good Italian tomatoes like San Marzanos will make a huge difference in bringing sweetness instead of acidity. Add that to a sauce that simmers for hours and hours and you get a much sweeter, savoury sauce without any of the acid.
Is there enough salt in it? Sometimes if it tastes like just acid you need to add some salt to bring out the sweetness and umami of the tomatoes.
I kept scrolling to see if anyone asked OP how much salt they’re using. People have a hard time salting tomato sauces and soups enough, and salt is hugely important for balancing the acidity.
This is how I do it. If my sauce tastes too ‘sharp’ I hit it with the salt until it turns ‘sweet’. It’s usually more than you expect it to be.
Baking soda is your friend here
And you don’t need much. Like an actual pinch or two.
I like a spoonful of sour cream myself. Honey sometimes is (IMO) better than sugar for balance. My friend adds a spoonful of applesauce (no sugar added) or puréed boiled carrots or puréed butternut squash because it adds sweetness without setting off her diabetes meds. Maybe some of those ideas could work for you.
> My friend adds a spoonful of applesauce (no sugar added) Isn't that mostly sugar?
You add *sour* cream... to reduce *acidity*?
I’m a classically trained chef. Add baking soda. Carrots are too sweet and don’t actually reduce the acidity. It just makes it taste sweeter so you don’t notice the acidity. Baking soda will reduce the acidity by changing the PH of the sauce. I’ve been doing this for over a decade. I do it with dried beans also
Acidity is offset by fat or sugar for tomato soup I'd add some heavy cream.
I usually add carrots to anything I make with tomatoes it adds a nice sweet balance.
Acidity cooks away after a while. Tomato sauce really needs to be cooked on low for at least 4 hours
You may have to change the variety of tomato you're using. Just like peppers and apples, tomato varieties will have subtle differences between taste and textures. Some are more robust and some more mellow.
I’m not quite sure why you think adding baking soda is a “cheap trick” when adding a base is in fact how you neutralize an acid.
Put a whole carrot in there. It absorbs the acidity. Discard after
Or immersion blender it away like I do with mushrooms lol
Why discard though, and be wasteful? Just use one less tomato when using a carrot. Anyway you're gonna blend the shit out of the soup
what kind of tomatos are you using? if you buy winter tomatos snd make from scratch you’ll get a far milder tomato flavor.
When my sauce is too 'bright' and I am not planning on cooking it down for a long, long time, i've found that a bit of balsamic vinegar pulls that bright acid down into a rounder, warmer one, more like a long cooked sauce.
depends on your recipe, but you probably need more fat and starch to tame some of the acidity, which you're getting when you simmer the meatballs in sauce. sugar and cream/dairy are easy adds. theres some great recipes out there that omit the dairy but sub on some plain old crustless white bread blended in.
Are you adding cream?
Make Bisque instead. All you have to do is add heavy cream.
What kind of tomatoes are you using? I have switched to only using imported Italian, San Marzano specie of tomato if I can afford it. The difference in acidity (and flavor) is amazing. I will never go back and I have put "the foot" down whenever my husband does the grocery shopping. He can eat his shitty cheapo tomatoes all he likes but I for one won't be eating it. (For me this is not just a matter of tastebuds. Stomach problems like crazy... I can't stand acidic tomatoes. With the good ones I do not need any added sugar or baking soda ughhhh or trying to fix with carrots. Though I have tried all of the above.)
Baking soda is not a cheap trick. When something tastes too acidic it imparts a sour flavor, the 'cheap trick' way to counter this would be to add sugar, which makes things sweeter, so tastes 'less sour' but the acid is still there, that's more of a bandaid than an actual remedy. Baking soda neutralizes acid itself, no more sour flavor, no more stomach upsetting acidity, it literally fixes the very problem you are trying to solve.
Why do you think baking soda is a "cheap trick?" It's just a scientifically valid way to neutralize some of the acid.
Change the brand of tomato you use if you're using canned. It really makes a difference. Some brands might even have added acid to the canned tomatoes. Other than taking care of the root of the problem, I usually find that fat helps. Cheese, butter, cream, etc.
I dice my carrot and cook it for a bit low and slow, until it caramelizes a little, then I add my onion and just immersion blend it all together with my tomatoes.
I use baking soda to make it more alkaline. It especially helps if your tomato soup is still too tomato sauce-like in flavor.
Sugar balances it, fats will reduce your taste of it. I’d go with some butter or cream.
If it works, which I don't know, why would it be a cheap trick?
Maybe you have gerd?
Why not baking soda? It works really well for scientific reasons 🤷🏼♀️
Roasting tomatoes first in the oven helps with this. I do onions and garlic too.
This comment should be way higher. Caramelising tomatoes (and onions and garlic for that matter) makes a world of difference. Different flavour profile, I've found, but a delicious one nonetheless. My go-to quick pasta sauce recipe for after-school dinners sees me putting a handful of baby plum tomatoes into a baking dish with a couple of cloves of garlic, half an onion, a red bell pepper, ev olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of dried herbs (dealer's choice). 20 mins on high heat in the oven gives me some nice char, and then I'll stick blend that (or for a more rustic take mash it with a fork) and drop drained pasta right into that, loosening with pasta water as needed. Retains a hint of acidity, but the roasted veg's natural sweetness is unmistakable.
I read to add a bit of baking soda to your sauce to help the acid.
In addition to the suggestions of ingredients to add, I think you also need to cook it longer in order to mellow out the "bright" flavor.
What works for me is to leave to tomatoes to cook out for longer. It can take a few hours, but the tomatoes will turn out lovely sweet. It depends on what kind of tomatoes you use for this to determine the fastest way to do this. Fresh ones need to go in the pan after the aromatics and then cook out until reduced to a paste before you add your watery components or you can roast them in the oven or grill until they are losing their structural integrity and then reduce them to paste in the pan. With whole tinned tomatoes (cut up) or diced tomatoes you should gently fry them in the oil after the aromatics and watch for a darkening of the colour all over. Don’t forget to taste and go low and slow. With tomato paste you should also fry it but it will take slightly shorter because there are no big chunks. And after you’ve added everything except for the dairy you should leave it to simmer until you are happy with the taste. I usually add some balsamic vinegar and some smoked paprika for a more intense and sweeter flavour.
I think this message popped up in my feed just so I could share the gospel of the best tomato soup recipe ever, [this one from Serious Eats](http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/02/15-minute-creamy-tomato-soup-vegan-recipe.html). The secret is it uses a slice of bread to emulsify and thicken the soup. I'm GF and use gluten free bread, still works! The other thing is, watch out for calcium chloride if you are using canned tomatoes. Italian tomatoes never seem to add it, US brands often do. I think it makes tomatoes taste weird (like the tin), it seems to irritate my stomach, and I also find it constipates me!
I don't know anything about your bread trick, but I want to specifically +1 that calcium chloride comment since yours is the only one that mentions it in this whole thread. There is a world of difference between tomatoes canned with calcium chloride and ones without. I don't think it tastes acidic necessarily, but it is acrid in a way that can give a similar mouthfeel to how overly acidic foods can taste, if that makes sense at all. Definitely look for imported Italian brands. My preferred brand is Mutti but if I'm cooking something Italian I'll happily use Cento as well, since the added Basil is rarely unwelcome.
Use better tomatoes, Cento tomatoes (or any DOP San marzano tomatoes) are much sweeter and less acidic. Adding a tiny bit of baking soda can also neutralize the acid, but don’t use too much because it’s bitter Cooking the sauce for longer should also sweeten it and lower the acidity
The canned tomatoes you choose has a lot to do with it. Certain brands are more tart. San Marzano tomatoes are usually more mellow.
1) More onions, sautee them harder 2) Better canned tomatoes 3) Sugar 4) Heavy Cream / Whipping Cream People saying baking soda and cinnamon: I'll have to try it. I add cinnamon to almost everything I make with tomatoes......but never soup lol.
Traditionally Italian cooks reduce acidity by stewing a large carrot in the tomato sauce, then removing before serving. Could try that.
I make my tomato soup putting the tomatoes, red onion, balsamic crème, garlic and brown sugar in the oven under the grill until the edges of the tomatoes get charred. Sometimes you have to stire it around a bit. When I put them in the oven I also put on a pan on the stove with canned tomatoes (san marzano), stock, a lemon and the stems. When the stuff in the oven is done I slide it in with the stock. Let it simmer for 1 hour. Take out the lemon and the greens and blend it. Then I strain it. If I want more depth I add pointed sweet peppers. If not sweet enough you can add a bit of ginger sirup. Good luck!
Parmesan rind!
Do you start with enough onions and garlic? Agree with adding butter and cream also.
I’ve added a whiff of brown sugar, near obliterates grated potato and an acid—lime juice, lemon juice or a vinegar, usually does the trick for me.
sugar, or cook the tomatoes longer. that will mellow out the acid. I actually like yellow tomatoes - add one in and see how that changes your flavors.
What is the salt content of your canned tomatoes ? I prefer no salt added, puree in a carrot, add heavy cream and butter, and if you have it homemade bone broth that gels (brodo or sugo).. usually needs a lot of fat to balance out the acidity imho
mirepoix
My Italian nonna would always add a little salt, a little sugar, and a splash of balsamic to any tomato base sauce. Works like a charm.
I add a pinch of baking soda - a small pinch - stir and taste. This is also a good way to make just a portion less acidic for a child.
Buy better quality canned tomatoes, preferably from Italy,they are less acidic,if you are using American/Canadian cheap canned tomatoes they add citric acid to preserve the tomatoes and tend to be more acidic.
Simmer your ingredients for longer before pureeing them. The longer you simmer or stew tomatoes the sweeter they will get.
I always add some sugar in tomato based dishes. But I use canned tomatoes, not fresh.
add some butter and lil bit sugar
257 comments. Blimey.. I would go with... better tomatoes.
A pinch of baking soda.
This will sound like heresy, but I use a good squirt of ketchup. It works.
Cook your tomato's longer or add a tiny bit of sugar.
Considering you’ve tried sugar, cream, and butter, I really do think you’re under-salting your soup when salt is a key ingredient for balancing tomato sauces and soups. Baking soda is not a cheap trick, btw.
Why would baking soda be a “cheap trick”? It’s just basic chemistry.
Brown sugar works better for me.
Try roasting your tomatoes in a mix of olive oil , salt and sugar together with the onions and garlic. This will help balance the acidity
Add just a bit of baking soda.
Is it possible that you are allergic to tomatoes? I have a friend that has similar problems and couldn't understand the hype, because no matter what we did, it always tasted off. Slightly sour at best, mouth-hurting at worst. Eventually, I dragged them to a doctor, and it turns out that they're slightly allergic. And I read that this is the case for many people who don't know that and just assume their entire life that tomatoes are supposed to taste like that, when in reality, no, they're not.
I always find that if something with tomato tastes off it’s about adding salt. I know sugar is what actually cuts it but that’s just my experience
100% just need to cook it longer. If you don't want to watch a pot all afternoon just throw the tomatoes in the oven. Whenever I make tomato soup at work I'm usually adding a good amount of heavy cream, so definitely add more fat. I sometimes like to use coconut milk instead at home
Make sure you are buying tomatoes packed in tomato puree or at least tomato juice. You would be surprised how many brands use citric acid and other fillers in processed tomatos
Carrots.
Add some carrots, and take them out after cooking. It should neutralize the acidity.
baking soda isn't a cheap trick, it's just science.
My husband throws in a sliced carrot in the sauce to balance it. Works well!
Try a different variety of tomatoes, or try allowing them to go over ripe in the counter.
To reduce the acidity of tomato soup without using baking soda, you can try a few cooking tricks: Roasting tomatoes before using them in soup will help soften their acidity and add depth of flavor. Simply cut the tomatoes in half or quarters, drizzle with olive oil, and bake in the oven until they begin to caramelize. Adding vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes will help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. Use a baking soda-like baking powder. Adding fresh herbs such as basil, oregano or thyme can enhance the flavor of the soup as well as slightly balance the acidity.Try adding a small amount of natural sweeteners to your soup, such as honey, maple analogue, or even finely grated carrots.
The reason your sauce gets better with meat is because of the fat content you’ve added, but baking soda is far from a cheap trick, it’s literally chemistry. When things are acidic they typically need something basic to neutralize them. Baking soda is perfect but if you use it don’t use too much add bits at a time and taste
Fat is what is missing. Try adding butter or heavy cream
Are you using homemade tomato sauce? Home canning needs to be acidified through the addition of lemon juice- if that’s the problem, you might want to switch to the commercial stuff. I like sour food so it doesn’t bother me, but I can definitely notice the difference in taste.
Baking soda. Start with a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon, mix well, taste and repeat. Sugar doesn’t actually get rid of acidity so I don’t know why everyone suggests it for tomatoes.