# Pasta sauce too sweet. Ideas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290 "2008-10-24T01:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/1 "2008-10-24T01:34:27Z")
My lovely wife made a batch of marinara, just whipped it up off-hand using Roma’s from our garden, onions, red bell peppers, garlic, basil. It came out waay too sweet, just not our kind of Italian. I’m thinking the red bell peppers were the problem, red bells are pretty sweet, no? Anyway, she made a boatload of the stuff, and its just too sweet to use with pasta or much else. Any ideas for fixing it up? I’m thinking add red wine and black pepper, and cook it for a while to mellow it. Maybe some oregano. Any other suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/2 "2008-10-24T01:44:20Z")
You are on the right track. The pepper and wine will mellow it a bit. Try adding some meat to it as well. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/3 "2008-10-24T01:52:53Z")
Basil can taste sweet too. You can add red wine vinegar. I usually have the opposite problem because I use canned tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/4 "2008-10-24T02:05:20Z")
I suggest you experiment on a little first. A dash of hot red pepper can counter some of the sweetness. You obviously can’t keep adding pepper. Being a marinara I don’t know if you want to consider some Parmesan or Romano cheese, but it may help. You can only add so much vinegar to counter the sweetness too. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/5 "2008-10-24T02:55:50Z")
You’re doing the right thing, but add the red wine about a tablespoon at a time, as it is a very powerful taste in marinara. May I ask, did you add any sugar? I’ve been making my own marinara from romas lately and I wouldn’t call any of my batches too sweet, even after adding a little sugar to some of them. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/6 "2008-10-24T03:11:08Z")
A bay leaf & some allspice may help. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/7 "2008-10-24T03:26:56Z")
Yay! another tangy red sauce lover. Leave the sugar for pastries. I’m far from a good cook but just to get an idea of what you consider too sweet. Ragu is the only one for store bought that I can tolerate. I know it is not very good but somehow it works for me. And give me a break foodies. There are far too many people on here who love Kraft macaroni and cheese. So leave the snark.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/8 "2008-10-24T03:28:07Z")
Take a small amount (anywhere from a spoonfull to a couple tablespoons) and add whatever you’re thinking about adding - red wine, vinegar, salt, or any of the other suggestions here. Taste it. If you like it, add whatever it was to the main batch. We do that all the time when adjusting for salt/sweet/acid. Easy and you don’t have to screw up the whole batch just to try it out. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/9 "2008-10-24T03:35:00Z")
I like shredded carrots in the pasta sauce. I was told that they help cut the acidity of the tomato sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/10 "2008-10-24T03:47:36Z")
Shredded carrots would make it even sweeter, I think. I’d add salt, and maybe some really good spicy sausage, broken, cooked, and drained? Also red wine. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/11 "2008-10-24T06:01:18Z")
Just send the whole batch over to my house. I’ll fix it for you. I promise I wont send you back an empty container. No, really, I do… (hopes **squeegee** takes the bait) ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/12 "2008-10-24T07:34:38Z")
If you can’t salvage it as pasta sauce, maybe you can add some fresh chili and make it into salsa. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pasta-sauce-too-sweet-ideas/469290/13 "2008-10-24T07:42:09Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > My lovely wife made a batch of marinara, just whipped it up off-hand using Roma’s from our garden, onions, red bell peppers, garlic, basil. It came out waay too sweet, just not our kind of Italian. I’m thinking the red bell peppers were the problem, red bells are pretty sweet, no? > > Anyway, she made a boatload of the stuff, and its just too sweet to use with pasta or much else. Any ideas for fixing it up? I’m thinking add red wine and black pepper, and cook it for a while to mellow it. Maybe some oregano. Any other suggestions? From your ingredients I’m not seeming how it got sweet. Peppers aren’t \*that \*sweet. Given it’s sweet you need to give it away. Once the sugar level is that high any fixes will be unsatisfactory.