Baking Soda to Reduce Acidity of Tomato Sauce

Has anyone used baking soda to reduce the acidity of tomatoes in either tomato sauce or tomato soup?

What was the outcome, and what proportions do you recommend?

TIA :)

[jkiel1]

My mother taught me to do this! One night when I was first married I tried to make tomato soup using whole canned tomatos, when I added the milk it curdled! Looked like I had added cottage cheeze! Called mom and she said I had to add baking soda to reduce the acid! How much? about a tsp. to a large can of tomatos! Tsp and a half is not too much either! It does not totally eliminate the acid, just reduces it to a proper level! The tomatos will foam way up in the pot then foam back down! When tomatos are cooked down to a reduced state as in sauce or paste, the acid becomes concentrated and makes the PH just under the level of battery acid! It isn't the spices in Italian sauce, it's the acid that causes heartburn! Don't be affraid to try it! My Grandmother did it, My mom did it and I have done it for over 40 years! P.S. when you use it in you spagetti sauce, do not add sugar, as the neutralizing of the acid naturally makes the sauce sweeter! NO need for sugar! It enhances the flavor as well!

[AngelaID]

I grate carrots to toss in the sauce (when no one is looking, of course). No one knows they are there and it balances the sauce perfectly.

[sunshine842]

this is the method suggested by the Italian lady from outside Milan who gave me the sauce recipe I use all the time.

[wyogal]

I do it when making cream of tomato soup. And yes, the tiniest pinch goes in before I add the milk or cream. I don't salt it until after adding the baking soda and tasting it.
A TINY pinch.

[chocolatetartguy]

Or you could just add a pinch of sugar like Clemenza in The Godfather. Of course, making good pasta sauce didn't keep him from being garrotted in the end.

I've been playing around with baking soda to reduce the acidity in a tomato sauce I just made. Mixed results.

Too much baking soda and the sauce begins to foam.

Just the right amount leaves the sauce flavorless.

The threshold between too little baking soda and too much is very small.

I'll stick with using sugar.

[marvelboy74]

I did it on a recommendation of adding baking soda. I obviously added too much as the sauce foamed and turned somewhat brown and the sauce was flavorless. But what I did notice was that beyond a lack of flavor, it was very salty. Why? Baking soda is SODIUM bicarbonate. So with the chemical reaction, you basically get a sodium salt, water and carbon dioxide gas. My advise to anyone is don't add baking soda to your pasta, EVER.

Thanks for the tips.

A local TV Chef/Personality mentioned it. Sugar was not doing the trick for me, as it usually had, so I wanted to try his idea.

Per your suggestions, I will start with just a smidge and see what happens.

Burke and Wells on baking powder in food. Too funny!

Link: http://www.burkeandwells.com/archive/...

Yes, I've done that a couple of times. It worked fine after I learned that it only takes a tiny amount to achieve a significant reduction in perceived acidity - and if you go overboard I can assure you from personal experience that non-acidic tomato sauce is pretty ghastly stuff.

When I was visiting my mother a month ago, I was scanning her old copy of Simca's Cuisine by the legendary Simone Beck. The book is full of trucs (kitchen tricks) of Simca, including the suggestion to use granulated instant coffee to reduce the acidity of tomato and other acid fruit sauces.

I've done this, a little trade secret I learned from my aunt-in-law in Italy. I use the tiniest pinch, and then taste. You don't want to remove all the acid. I also use a little tiny pinch of sugar, or I add a raisin or two to the sauce while it's cooking for sweetness.

I've heard that in Italy, they use certain mineral waters rather than tap water to acheive the same objective, but I wouldn't know the chemical compostions of each , maybe the label would tell you?

If the mineral water you're talking about is the fizzy kind, the net effect would be adding acidity. The carbon dioxide (present as bubbles) forms carbonic acid in the water. Of course heating it would raise the pH again by driving off the CO2 but it wouldn't be raised enough to lessen the acidity of tomato sauce. There are different types of mineral water, some of which are both noncarbonated and alkaline, and that might work to reduce acidity but it seems you'd have to add a whole lot of water to your sauce to have a dramatic effect.

I've tried adding baking soda to tomato sauce and have regretted ruining a pot of sauce both times I did it. (Fool me twice...) The baking soda didn't just neutralize the acid, it seemed to erase all the flavor as well. If you're trying to lessen the taste of the acid, I'd go with adding sugar as other posters have suggested. If you're trying to avoid heartburn, just enjoy your meal and get the Rolaids ready.

[09jlardinois]

The fizzy kind isn't actually mineral water. It's just seltzer or soda water mislabeled. True mineral water typically comes in large glass bottles that are bottle on site at a very deep ground spring - which is quite full of natural minerals. Drinking true mineral water, there is natural carbonation, but an incredibly small amount, and the mineral taste is very apparent, although pleasant. I used to buy it often, and love it!

Adding sugar can balance it, but a balance isn't a fix, it's just adding more. Baking soda will work - starting at 1tbsp and going up from there. However the mineral water trick is very intriguing and has potential for great success. The reason it can be very successful is that pasta sauce is nothing more than tomato paste, water, and spices - sometimes also beef or chicken stock. I used to make about 20 gallons daily at a restaurant, so trust me on this one. This means that to neutralize the acids, simply use mineral water with the tomato paste! The minerals may accentuate the flavor of some spices as well!

That's interesting, although I've never tried it. It would make sense to actually change the pH of the dish with baking soda. I don't have anything to add, but I hope that someone does.

I've never tried it. I recommend a small amount of sugar – to balance the acidity rather than reduce it.

[raytamsgv]

I agree. It's better to balance it with sweetness than to remove the acidity. I've grown tomatoes for a number of years. Some are acidic, some are sweet, but the best ones have a good balance between them.