Grandma's tip about adding a pinch of sugar to tomato sauce finally clicked 15 years later

My grandma always told me to add a pinch of sugar to my tomato sauce when I was cooking at her house as a kid. I thought she was just being old school and it didn't make sense to me back then. Last week I made a big batch of marinara for some meatballs and it came out super acidic and tangy in a bad way. I remembered her saying that and threw in maybe half a teaspoon of sugar and it totally mellowed out the acidity. It wasn't sweet at all, it just balanced everything out perfectly. Now I gotta call her and admit she was right all those years ago. Anyone else have a cooking tip they ignored forever until it saved a meal?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_webb20d ago

Half a teaspoon is the magic number, right? Did you add it at the very end of cooking or let it simmer in for a while? I've heard the sugar trick for years but always worry it'll make the sauce taste sweet.

emery96520d ago

Put it in early, let it simmer for at least 20 minutes or so. That way it dissolves fully and blends with the other flavors instead of sitting on top. A lot of people put sugar in at the table or after the sauce is already done, but it just tastes like sweet tomato sauce at that point. I've tried adding it at the end and it absolutely does make it taste sweet, the sugar doesn't have time to mellow out. The acidic tang from the tomatoes needs time to marry with the sugar, you can't rush it. So yeah, early in the simmer is the way to go.