Top tip - tomato based sauces

[SociableAtWork]

Just wanted to share this top tip!

I usually add a teaspoon of sugar when cooking tinned tomatoes to bring out the sweetness / balance the acidity but am (attempting) to go sugar free…

A teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda (AKA Baking Powder/Baking Soda) can be used instead of the sugar. Used it today and have the most AMAZING sauce with a deep, rich flavour (better than the sugar), so thought I’d share 😁

Ooo. I will try this. I put a pinch of nutmeg in any Italian tomato sauces which really adds depth or flavour. I grate aubergine into Indian tomato based dishes and I’ve read here that some people put chocolate in their chilli con carne.

i put chocolate in Chili con carne, or at least i did until dh complained!

Makes perfect sense if you want to take down the acidity a bit. You might want to use a bit less salt as it will obviously be adding some sodium, if that’s an issue for anyone.

Thanks for the tip, I always add a tiny bit of sugar.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, aren't bicarb and baking soda different? I have both but never sure which one to use (in baking)

Ahh thanks for the tip I will definitely try this, for tomato sauces I also add a parmesan rind to it whilst it cooks.

My top tip for chilli con carne is not only adding some dark chocolate, like a previous poster, but some lime juice, it really lifts the chilli.

Thank you for the tip, mine is two shots of espresso in my Chili instead of chocolate.

Baking power is different to bicarb of soda . You'd put baking powder in cakes and bicarb of soda in biscuits.

Which one did you use in the sauce?

I don't usually add sugar to bolognaise sauce, but I do add some umami flavour to intensify the savoury taste of the sauce.
Different things I do depending on what's available....
Add Mushroom ketchup
Add Lea and Perrins sauce
Add chopped up anchovy fillets
Add concentrated tomato purée (always add this)
Add some miso soup powder.

Baking powder and baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) are different products. Baking powder contains some bicarb among other things. Both are used in Baking.

I used bicarb but Google told me they were the same thing ☺️

Some great alternatives on the thread, thanks, will be trying loads of them!

As above baking powder and bicarb are different However bicarb is also called baking SODA hence the confusion

What a good idea. I need to make another big batch of tomato sauce soon, so I’ll try a single tin version first.

I usually add cacao nibs to a chilli (or dark chocolate). I used to pick up cocoa balls from Caribbean markets to grate into food, but I’ve not tried to find them in the UK.