# sweet sauce??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965 "2014-01-28T17:55:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flaming\_yawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@flaming\_yawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flaming_yawn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/1 "2014-01-28T17:55:58Z")
Help! My husband only likes sweet spaghetti sauce, I like spicy. Each time I buy a new sauce hoping it is a sweet one he takes a bite and says it isn’t sweet enough. What a some good sweet pre-made sauces i.e. ragu, preggo etc…and what variety of them. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/2 "2014-01-28T18:12:45Z")
Ragu is the sweetest one I’ve found. You know, you can just add sugar to whichever one you like best. I tend to do that with some other brands of sauce and even homemade sauce, because it cuts the acidity a bit. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/3 "2014-01-28T18:18:02Z")
Get a few cans of Chef Boyardee and strain out the “pasta.” ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/4 "2014-01-28T18:20:31Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Get a few cans of Chef Boyardee and strain out the “pasta.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jrsone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jrsone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrsone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/5 "2014-01-28T18:32:05Z")
Del Grosso Pepperoni or Meat flavored sauce is a good brand that is kind of sweet, but it may be hard to find, I don’t know how wide spread it is. Anyhow, you may just have to add sugar to taste. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/6 "2014-01-28T18:58:11Z")
I’d say Prego. You should be able to roughly estimate sweetness by looking at the labels and checking the nutrional content. Look under “sugars.” The regular Ragu has about 6g sugars per 1/2 cup, and Prego Traditional has 10g. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/7 "2014-01-28T19:14:23Z")
Mrs. Plant (v.3.0) does not like my sauce made from paste because it is too sweet for her. Try making sauce from paste using your own spices. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/8 "2014-02-01T08:49:05Z")
Better than any of the suggestions above: Make your own from canned diced tomatoes, onion and herbs of choice, divide between two pots, and sweeten one to his taste (sugar or honey), spice one to yours. Do a big batch of each if you like and freeze in serving-size containers. (Freezer bags are wonderful!) If using bags, drop one of each into the pasta water as you begin, or microwave them until hot. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/9 "2014-02-01T16:31:24Z")
Gosh, can’t you just stir some sugar into whatever sauce you bought? You can stir in some diced peaches; once they get coated with red sauce you don’t even see 'em. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/10 "2014-02-01T16:45:08Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > You can stir in some diced peaches; once they get coated with red sauce you don’t even see 'em. Good gad! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/11 "2014-02-03T05:08:56Z")
I occasionally get a yen for sweeter pasta sauce, and I stir in some crushed mango. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/12 "2014-02-03T05:27:24Z")
Does he actually want sweet (like literally adding sugar) or is he looking for something less acidic? The two may be related, but you can control both sweetness and acidity somewhat independently. For sweetness, think about adding roasted garlic and caramelized onions. Both add sweetness to the sauce, but unlike sugar, you’ll get other flavors as well. Wine can also work. To control acidity, I’m told that roasting your tomatoes in the oven before making sauce out of them is one way to start. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-sauce/679965/13 "2014-02-03T19:11:45Z")
Seems to me that the division is sweet / spicy according to the OP. That said, pretty much any tomato/basil sauce is going to be relatively sweet when compared to something like an arrabbiata, although not necessarily “sweet” in an absolute sense.