Anybody else put sugar in their spaghetti sauce?

[many a good man]

Oops! Just gave away the family secret...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

1. ...

:popcorn:

[GOPisEvil]

2. Lots of recipes call for a sweetener. I use shredded carrot in mine.

[many a good man]

3. Carrot!?!

What's up with that, Doc?

[GOPisEvil]

5. It's Mario Batali's recipe. He knows from Italian cuisine.

Yeah, cook the carrot a bit with the aromatics and it gets sweet.

[LostinVA]

19. And Giada, and my grandma, and every other Italian woman

I knew growing up. And me, and my mom, and sister...

[xchrom]

4. carrot and a little sugar.

and lots of tasting to get the balance right.

[Arugula Latte]

6. Ew. My mom always did that.

It was waaay too sweet. I think spaghetti sauce should be savory, not sweet.

NO SUGAR! :spank:

[many a good man]

7. Just a little

to tone down the acidity of the tomato. The trick is not to let anyone even know its there, especially if they are on a diet.

[ThomCat]

8. Ick!

You just ruined perfectly good tomato sauce! :evilfrown:

Next you'll tell us that you don't put wine in your tomato sauce...

[many a good man]

14. Merlot in the sauce...

Merlot in the cook. Hic!

[LostinVA]

20. Purrkins -- you are SUPPOSED to put carrot or a little sugar in the sauce

It cuts down on the tomato acidity... that is the CORRECT way of doing it.

*sigh* I thought you gay boys knew all about cooking.

[ThomCat]

27. No in This Italian household!

Carrot, sometimes. Sugar? Never!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

9. My father in law puts it on his spaghetti on his plate.

Weird stuff.
Duckie

[crim son]

10. I do, about a half teaspoon

for one massive pot of sauce. It doesn't add sweetness but it modifies the acidity of the tomatoes and whatever wine I use. I thought everybody did!

[Jamastiene]

11. Yep, also sugar

is helpful in string beans and english peas. Just a pinch, literally. Makes them more tender. I love it.

[hippywife]

12. Nope.

Third generation Italian-American who learned to make sauce from her grandma and it never included sugar. :hi:

[many a good man]

15. I went to Italy last summer for the first time

and I bow in reverence. :hi:

[hippywife]

16. You're one up on me then.

Never been there except on PBS. Thank goodness for travel shows. They're the only way I ever get to go anywhere. :cry:

[LostinVA]

21. My dad's family is Sicilian, and they all put carrot in the marinara

I've never known it NOT to be cooked that way.

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. My grandma puts brown sugar in her sauce...and Yep! she's

Italian. Came over in 1930. :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. I add a little cinnamon to mine....

No one has ever complained about the taste! They all have loved it...

[philosophie_en_rose]

17. Just a small pinch.

It brings all the flavors together.

[LostinVA]

18. No, carrot -- but it's the same thing for the same reason

I suspect the carrot is more "authentic," but all it is is sweetening the sauce.

[Lethe]

22. yep just a little bit of sugar, or some carrot

not to make it sweet, but just to balance it a bit.

[Bullwinkle925]

23. I either use carrot or brown sugar. Don't like the sour tangy taste of

tomatoes and feel it needs to be tamed down a bit.

[many a good man]

24. Wuddaya do with the carrot??

Shred it, dice it, throw it in whole?

[fudge stripe cookays]

25. Nope. Chopped carrots and cinnamon.

My mom learned from her Italian maid when they were stationed at Aviano. I can't eat it any other way.

I can eat other types of pasta when we eat out, but I have to eat spaghetti at home. It just doesn't taste right otherwise!

[Roon]

26. I was in job corps

tending to a huge vat of spaghetti sauce. My instructor came up and put a scoop of sugar in the sauce, he said it was to take the "arrrg" out of the sauce. Whatever that means.

[MrCoffee]

29. hell yes you use sugar in your spaghetti sauce.

who *doesn't* use sugar?

[Katina]

30. no sugar

wine.

[youthere]

37. Wine in me. Sugar in the sauce.

[Katina]

44. I do it Julia Child's style.

pour a glass for me, and then do a generous pour from the bottle to the pot. :D

[calico1]

31. Never!

Why do we have to put sugar in everything???

[Phillycat]

32. Lots of people do. BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT.

:mad:

[trackfan]

33. I use vermouth and/or sherry

[KurtNYC]

34. Prefer to carmelize it then blend in a little butter at the end

Carmelize it to rust color -- stir fast over med/high heat for about 3 minutes.

[NewWaveChick1981]

35. My husband does.

But in very small quantities. He says it cuts the acid from the tomatoes without adding a lot of sweetness. I hate it when he does that, though---I HATE sweet spaghetti sauces. I also HATE sauces with cinnamon in them. Yeah, I know it's the style in some places, but I just like the tomato/basil/garlic style sauce that's tangy and NOT sweet. :)

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

49. So what you're saying is...

you like it made the RIGHT way.

:rofl:

[NewWaveChick1981]

52. Absolutely.

:hi: I have never, ever understood why spaghetti sauce ever had to have sugar and/or cinnamon in it.... :puke: I LIKE the acidity and tanginess of sauce made RIGHT... :rofl:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

54. I like a lot of sweet foods.

Tomato sauce isn't one of them, nor should it be one of them.

[NewWaveChick1981]

55. I'm the exact same way.

:hi: Some things are made to be sweet, and others are not. Tomato sauce definitely isn't. :)

[Pithlet]

36. Never. I hate sweet sauce.

Tomato sauce should be savory. I much prefer the acidic, tangy taste.

[AngryAmish]

38. This has the possibility to get me "cornflake" angry

I really don't like a sweet sauce.

[billyskank]

39. Why yes. It takes the sharpness off the tomato

Although I rarely eat pasta in the form of spaghetti - that seems to demand bolognaise, which I would never eat.

[HughBeaumont]

40. A dash in the red, none in the marinara or white.

Oh, and I also put sauce on my ribs.

:popcorn:

[jobycom]

41. Most commercial brands do. I spend a lot of time reading labels to avoid

it. I get plenty of sugar in my Coke, thank you very much.

[Phillycat]

46. Yes, and usually it's not sugar, but rather high fructose corn syrup.

Takes forever to find a jar sauce without it. :mad: Easier to just make my own...

[leftofthedial]

42. carrot

sugar

honey

it works well with the acidity of the tomatoes

[JitterbugPerfume]

43. sugar in Spaghetti sauce?

Isn't that a felony in some states?:evilgrin:

[bif]

45. A pinch

Just enough to cut the acidity.

[Ariana Celeste]

47. I've never heard of it...

but.... it makes sense.... and I am going to try it the next time I make spaghetti! We don't eat it very often because my SO hates tomato and I just don't like how acidic the sauce can be.... so maybe a little sugar will make it better. :)

[TK421]

48. Isn't that supposed to cut down the acidity of the sauce? Or do I have

that confused with baking soda ?

[conscious evolution]

50. Grape jelly

A friend turned me on to it a few years back.All I know is that I dont get heartburn anymore.

[conscious evolution]

51. Grape Jelly

A friend turned me on to it a few years back.All I know is that I dont get heartburn anymore.

[noonwitch]

53. A pinch of brown sugar, maybe

It depends on the quality of the tomatos and how it tastes while I'm cooking them down.

I always add a few drops of Crystal Hot Sauce, and add at least 2 extra cloves of garlic, to give it a bit more zest.

[johnnie]

56. Does everyone here use fresh tomatoes?

My experience has been that a lot of people use sugar or carrots to cut down on some of the acid, but if you use fresh plum tomatoes (and some other types) then they seem to be "sweet" enough.

The reason why it seems is that most people buy canned tomatoes and paste and that stuff can be a bit more bitter. The thing about tomato sauce is that it can be done up any way you like it. There are hundreds of ways to make a pasta sauce and there is no such thing as the right way. Some Italians use sugar, some don't. Greeks use different spices than the Italians in their sauces. If I remember right, Greeks like to put cinnamon in their sauces.

That's just my opinion though. But like I said, I don't know too many people who make pasta sauce from scratch. It's a friggin' pain in the ass if you ask me and you can get pretty good results by cheating.

[Silver Swan]

57. A little sugar, maybe, but it shouldn't be sweet!

When, as a young woman, I first ventured west of the Mississippi River, I ordred spaghetti in a restaurant.

It was so horribly sweet that I almost asked for some vinegar. Instead, I did not finish eating it, and I concluded that sweet spaghetti sauce must be a Western US thing.

[Taverner]

58. Nope - I use shredded carrotts instead

And it works, and is good for you