The Affordable Food Blog
How to eat tasty, nutritious food every day without breaking the bank.
Apologies
In my last post I mentioned a Tesco product.  I was mistaken - in fact it was not Tesco but Sainsbury which gave us Sainsbury Basic Tomato Pasta Sauce with Sugar and Sweetener.



Why would anyone put sugar OR sweetener in pasta sauce?   Never mind both.  Why would anybody buy such a bizarre product?  Why do I live with someone who would buy such a thing?  Why is the sky blue?  Why do men have nipples?



It's a funny old world.  I don't know how much Sainsbury Basic Tomato Pasta Sauce with Sugar and Sweetener costs - but I bet it costs more than a tin of tomatoes, some water and a spoonful of sugar.   Which is what it basically consists of.
2007-04-19 22:58:23 GMT
Comments (5 total)
Author:Anonymous
I've known perfectly reputable home cooks who'll put a *very* small amount of sugar in a tomato sauce if the acidity is too much. That'd be using fresh, not tinned, tomatoes. Tinned tomatoes are pretty reliable of course. Me, I prefer to sweeten it up with a buttload of sauteed onion and if suitable, carrot. However, that's absolutely nothing compared to the amount of sugar in a prepared jar so I totally agree that that's just plain crazy.

Mind you, I'm currently trying to cut down on sugar and even the bread here (north eastern US) has started to taste like cake. Sigh. Time to pull out the Beard on Bread.
--Idlewild
2007-04-20 11:06:51 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Whenever I make tomato sauce for pasta, whether from tinned or fresh tomatoes, I put about a teaspoon of sugar (more or less as required) to balance the acidity and bring out the tomato flavour. I agree that slowly sauteed onion also adds sweetness, & anyhow is essential for the flavour, but generally you need a touch of sugar as well.

The thought of articifial sweetener in sauce is disgusting! And both is just overkill & would be revoltingly sweet.
--portiafaceslife
<mailto:[email protected]>
2007-04-20 12:24:17 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Whenever I make tomato sauce for pasta, whether from tinned or fresh tomatoes, I put about a teaspoon of sugar (more or less as required) to balance the acidity and bring out the tomato flavour. I agree that slowly sauteed onion also adds sweetness, & anyhow is essential for the flavour, but generally you need a touch of sugar as well.

The thought of articifial sweetener in sauce is disgusting! And both is just overkill & would be revoltingly sweet.
--portiafaceslife
2007-04-20 12:24:47 GMT
Author:Anonymous
I'd never put sugar in any homemade spaghetti sauce, and I've also only used canned tomato sauce and paste (I don't know yet how to make sauce from scratch). It always tasted too bitter, and nothing I could do fixed that.

One of the recipes I read called for some brown sugar. I tried it, and it was wonderful! I'll have to try the onions trick, but a little bit of brown sugar seems to tilt the flavor properly, for me. That will probably change, though, if I ever try real tomatoes.
--deltasierra
<http://deltasierra.livejournal.com>
2007-04-20 17:55:58 GMT
Author:Anonymous
It is common to use *some* sugar to cut acidity in sauces. I was stunned at this product because the name of it was "...with sugar and sweetener" - that implies that sugar and sweetener are main ingredients. A "...with basil and mushrooms" might be nice.

And sugar AND sweetener?
--Stuart
2007-04-20 20:38:32 GMT
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