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Post by monklady123 on Jul 6, 2023 12:08:12 GMT
UPDATE: Omg you guys, I fixed it and it's very tasty! I added maybe 1 T of sugar, a pinch of baking soda, and sprinkled the salt shaker over it a few times. I loved it! Amazing how such a small addition could improve it so much. I've been browsing other recipes online and I see that just about all of them include some sort of sweetener, so it was just my bad luck to pick one that didn't. lol. But now I know! -- Thanks everyone for the advice.  ORIGINAL POST: I had a bunch of fresh tomatoes that I tossed in the freezer because we couldn't eat them up fast enough. Not good ones from a garden, but just the ordinary grocery store ones. I decided to make some pasta sauce from scratch, which I've never done before.  I found a basic Instant Pot recipe... tomatoes, green pepper, carrots, onions, seasonings (the usual Italian ones). All that gets cooked, then blended, then tomato paste is added and it's blended again. Then I tossed in some frozen meatballs and cut-up fresh zucchini (because I like zucchini is my pasta sauce and I didn't want to blend that up). I didn't like the sauce very much at all. Dh said he did but he never criticizes anything I cook. I thought the sauce was bitter. I've been googling this morning and it seems that a lot of recipes have some sugar in it, which this recipe did not. One site -- after I googled "how to fix bitter spaghetti sauce" -- said to add sugar, or to add baking soda. Well those two things seem like total opposites to me. I try not to add sugar to things that I cook so baking soda would be better in that sense...but it just seems so odd to me. I'm afraid of ruining the sauce completely.  Any of you who actually like to cook and who cook often know which I should use? I'm just afraid of putting in something that then can't be taken out. And this is why I hate to cook. haha I usually just open a jar of our favorite sauce, and then add ground meat or meatballs, and zucchini. lol  |
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Post by chitchatgirl on Jul 6, 2023 12:11:35 GMT
Tomato flavor changes once they go below room temp. That might be your problem
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 6, 2023 12:15:04 GMT
Tomato flavor changes once they go below room temp. That might be your problem Meaning that tonight when we heat it up for leftovers it will no longer be bitter? Because it never cooled off last night between cooking and eating. |
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Post by christine58 on Jul 6, 2023 12:20:00 GMT
Add a bay leaf next time and garlic. I never ever put carrots or green pepper in my sauce. BUT if you put a whole carrot in the sauce while it's cooking it does help with the acidity.
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Post by mom on Jul 6, 2023 12:22:20 GMT
My mom always said bitter tomato sauce was because your seasonings were added too early in the cooking process. No clue if that's true, though. She would add in a touch of butter and a sprinkling of baking soda.
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Post by chitchatgirl on Jul 6, 2023 12:23:20 GMT
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 6, 2023 12:23:30 GMT
Add a bay leaf next time and garlic. I never ever put carrots or green pepper in my sauce. BUT if you put a whole carrot in the sauce while it's cooking it does help with the acidity. But....I can almost guarantee you there will not be a "next time".  If I ever have tomatoes that can't get eaten up in time they're going in soup. No more homemade sauce. So I need to know how to fix this particular batch of sauce, if it's even fixable. |
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:33:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2023 12:37:03 GMT
I think it’s because they were frozen first. You can make the sauce and then freeze it, but not vice versa.
As a last ditch attempt, try adding lots of Parmesan cheese. That might help offset the bitter flavor.
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Post by worrywart on Jul 6, 2023 12:42:02 GMT
Sometimes recipes will call for a small bit of sugar to cut the acidity(?) of the tomatoes. I usually add a small amount when using canned tomatoes for salsa or spaghetti sauce, maybe 1/2 a teaspoon? However, if you had carrots in your sauce it may already have the sweetness aspect so I am not sure! Sometimes green peppers can be bitter as well.
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 6, 2023 12:43:40 GMT
I think it’s because they were frozen first. You can make the sauce and then freeze it, but not vice versa. As a last ditch attempt, try adding lots of Parmesan cheese. That might help offset the bitter flavor. Interesting. But google tells me that we can freeze fresh tomatoes, and there are several ways to do it. I did look that up before I put these in the freezer. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate cooking?   |
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Post by cmpeter on Jul 6, 2023 12:58:14 GMT
I make bolognese sauce that calls for carrots and a small amount of sugar. Like 1 tsp. It’s not enough to sweeten the sauce. Just helps with acidity.
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Post by ChicagoKTS on Jul 6, 2023 13:06:01 GMT
I add some honey to any tomato sauce that I find bitter. I have found it works better than sugar or baking soda.
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,025 
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Jul 6, 2023 13:06:54 GMT
Before I even opened this my thought was sugar.
Didn't realize sugar was in spaghetti sauce until I tried to make it myself. Now I just doctor up a jar of marinara sauce but if I add canned tomatoes I will tasted to check if I need to add a pinch of sugar or two. You don't need much.
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snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,493
Location: Colorado
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Post by snyder on Jul 6, 2023 13:25:21 GMT
Your bell pepper could have been the item that made it bitter or even the zucchini skin. It only takes a pinch of sugar to a medium size pot so that would not be much sugar at all.
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Post by MissBianca on Jul 6, 2023 13:29:22 GMT
Sugar is your best bet but you don’t need a lot. My mom always added sugar to her homemade sauce. Heat it up first, then add a tsp at a time, stir and let it simmer for a few minutes, stir again and then taste. It takes some time for the sugar to blend in and cut the acid.
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Post by compeateropeator on Jul 6, 2023 13:43:01 GMT
Sorry I can’t help but hope you get some good responses.
I tend to like a sweeter sauce and it helps cut down on the acid so I don’t get heartburn as much…but I add Maple syrup. 😆. I am sure that is even more egregious to real sauce makers than the dreaded sugar.
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scrappinmama
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Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Jul 6, 2023 13:56:24 GMT
I always make a big batch of sauce and freeze half of it. It tastes great once defrosted. Next time try making the sauce first, rather than freeze the tomatoes. Also, I add a pinch of brown sugar if the sauces tastes bitter.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Jul 6, 2023 14:11:48 GMT
Beyond the ingredients, it's also the actual cooking that's important. I rarely feel the need to add a pinch of sugar to my ragù because I take the time to let the onion and finely diced carrots to sweeten through cooking. These need to be put in the pan at the start of the process on their own. I wait until they are soft and properly cooked through before adding the next ingredients. I also add a bit of balsamico vinegar to the sauce before the long simmering phase begins. These are all ingredients that will help lessen the natural acidity of tomatoes.
For you to save your sauce, you'll need to get it simmering again for some amount of time with one or more sources of sweetness. And that probably means fishing certain ingredients like the meatball and zucchini out or they'll turn to mush. Besides a little bit of sugar, you can also rebalance flavouring while you're at with other ingredients like a couple of fresh bay leaves, fresh thyme, minced garlic lightly roasted in a pan before adding to the sauce, a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, balsamico vinegar, etc.
Good luck! I never eat pasta sauce from a jar. Ragù is always home-made in my family and can almost always be salvaged in my experience. And like others have said, you're better off cooking fresh tomatoes into sauce to freeze rather than freeze before cooking them.
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scrappinmama
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,672
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Jul 6, 2023 14:18:39 GMT
Beyond the ingredients, it's also the actual cooking that's important. I rarely feel the need to add a pinch of sugar to my ragù because I take the time to let the onion and finely diced carrots to sweeten through cooking. These need to be put in the pan at the start of the process on their own. I wait until they are soft and properly cooked through before adding the next ingredients. I also add a bit of balsamico vinegar to the sauce before the long simmering phase begins. These are all ingredients that will help lessen the natural acidity of tomatoes. For you to save your sauce, you'll need to get it simmering again for some amount of time with one or more sources of sweetness. And that probably means fishing certain ingredients like the meatball and zucchini out or they'll turn to mush. Besides a little bit of sugar, you can also rebalance flavouring while you're at with other ingredients like a couple of fresh bay leaves, fresh thyme, minced garlic lightly roasted in a pan before adding to the sauce, a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, balsamico vinegar, etc. Good luck! I never eat pasta sauce from a jar. Ragù is always home-made in my family and can almost always be salvaged in my experience. And like others have said, you're better off cooking fresh tomatoes into sauce to freeze rather than freeze before cooking them. Totally agree about cooking things in an order. And I like to slow simmer my sauce. It comes out perfect. One month Costco had pasta sauce on sale so I gave it a try. It was ok, but my homemade sauce was so much better! And it's easy to make. |
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Post by femalebusiness on Jul 6, 2023 15:27:02 GMT
You absolutely need a pinch or two of sugar in most tomato based sauces. I use sugar in more things than I don't use it in. I use very small amounts, probably less than the amount of salt that I use. It makes most things taste better and the amount is so small it shouldn't be a problem for people trying to cut out sugar unless you have health problems.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jul 6, 2023 16:12:47 GMT
You absolutely need a pinch or two of sugar in most tomato based sauces. I use sugar in more things than I don't use it in. I use very small amounts, probably less than the amount of salt that I use. It makes most things taste better and the amount is so small it shouldn't be a problem for people trying to cut out sugar unless you have health problems. I fought it a long time and then realized it was silly. A teaspoon of sugar makes all the difference. |
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jul 6, 2023 16:18:53 GMT
And the whole carrot thing does NOT work - a bit of sugar cuts the acidity. I make home made pizza sauce and fought it for ages - and then realized it was just silly. It does not matter how long or what order you cook it - tomatoes are acidic - throw a bit of sugar in and all will be better.
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Post by jenb72 on Jul 6, 2023 16:24:54 GMT
Yes, I add a bit of sugar to my sauce for exactly that reason. It cuts the acidity of the tomatoes. It's not much, so it doesn't make the sauce sweet. It's just there to balance the flavors and make it richer.
Jen
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Post by scrapmaven on Jul 6, 2023 16:26:50 GMT
You need a bit of sugar to offset the bitter taste. Don't overload, but a 1/4 tsp should do the job.
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Post by femalebusiness on Jul 6, 2023 16:34:09 GMT
I also always use a pinch of sugar in my salsa. Makes a world of difference.
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Post by freecharlie on Jul 6, 2023 16:38:15 GMT
I always add some sugar to my homemade pasta sauce
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:33:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2023 16:43:56 GMT
My best tip for homeade sauce is to roast the tomatoes first. Easy to peel the skins off - and the roasting brings out the sweetness.
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Post by papersilly on Jul 6, 2023 16:49:48 GMT
I didn't like the sauce very much at all. Dh said he did but he never criticizes anything I cook. I thought the sauce was bitter. I've been googling this morning and it seems that a lot of recipes have some sugar in it, which this recipe did not. One site -- after I googled "how to fix bitter spaghetti sauce" -- said to add sugar, or to add baking soda. i know you said you hate to add sugar but i don't think a little bit of sugar will hurt if it will fix the bitterness. butthe bitterness may actually be too much acidity from the tomatoes. if that's the case, then use the baking soda instead of sugar. the baking soda will neutralize the acidity and tone down that "bitterness". i've done that before and it's a great fix. |
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Post by Basket1lady on Jul 6, 2023 17:45:29 GMT
You absolutely need a pinch or two of sugar in most tomato based sauces. I use sugar in more things than I don't use it in. I use very small amounts, probably less than the amount of salt that I use. It makes most things taste better and the amount is so small it shouldn't be a problem for people trying to cut out sugar unless you have health problems. I fought it a long time and then realized it was silly. A teaspoon of sugar makes all the difference. Ditto. I’d rather not add sugar to my recipes. But in a big pot of sauce, a teaspoon won’t add more than 1/2 carb to a serving. Negligible for the added flavor. You may also need to add some salt. Tomatoes need a lot of salt. I use as little as possible, but you may need to add more than you think. Add it a pinch at a time until it’s right. |
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Jul 6, 2023 20:05:08 GMT
We defrost our frozen home grown tomatoes in the sink. We do add a little sugar. When I make a sauce I also add olive oil, sautéed red peppers,sautéed onions, sautéed garlic, parsley, salt, oregano and pepper.
When dh makes it he spouses tomatoes, basil,olive oil and a touch of sugar
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I found a basic Instant Pot recipe... tomatoes, green pepper, carrots, onions, seasonings (the usual Italian ones). All that gets cooked, then blended, then tomato paste is added and it's blended again. Then I tossed in some frozen meatballs and cut-up fresh zucchini (because I like zucchini is my pasta sauce and I didn't want to blend that up).
If I ever have tomatoes that can't get eaten up in time they're going in soup. No more homemade sauce. 
