tomatoey pasta sauce ....

[nappyaddict]

is it right that chopped tomatoes make it bitter but whole ones don't?

put a pinch of sugar in or a squirt of ketchup (the vinegar in that will help too).

Mine's never been bitter. Chopped tomatoes are just whole ones but chopped, so can't see why one would make it bitter and the other not .

not really

although whole ones put through the blender are sweeter, chopped ones aren;t bitter

NB this is assuming you get good ones, no clue what cheap ones will do

cheap ones work fine too, add pinch of sugar if you're that concerned

someone told me (on here i think) that if you use whole ones, simmer them for 30 mins, then break them up the sauce will be sweeter than using chopped ones.

I have never found that.

If it tastes bitter, add a pinch of sugar, same as you would salt. Sweetens it a little.

pfft

possibly true but not worth the effort
though as I say, whole ones put through the blender are marginally sweeter than chopped (I bought the wrong ones by mistake)

Slow cook the onions first, to caramellise, then there is no need to add sugar I used the following link to make a baby-friendly recipe, omitting salt, and it worked really well. It uses chopped tomotoes.

www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-a-basic-italian-tomato-sauce

cook for long time and add bit of milk towards the end

imo:

fry onions gently in olive oil until softened. whomp up the heat and add a sploosh of red wine vinegar and good pinch of sugar. let bubble for tiny bit (but not catch). add whole peeled plum tomatoes (the chopped ones do not break down as well, as they have been boiled up chopped, but it isn't a disaster to use them) and simmer gently for as long as it takes to totally break them down (20 mins/half hour).

voila. delish salt and pepper to taste.

Message withdrawn

sometimes I blitz it at the end - for different texture. kids like that too

is passata nicer than using the tinned plum tomatoes? i've never used it before.

Not heard that before.

After a long time experimenting, I cook up tomato sauces these days with some chopped celery and a grated carrot (as well as the onion and garlic) and blitz it with a blender. The carrot will help add sweetness. I find that they help add a nice depth of flavour.