Soup is too tart

[annabanana]

Hi, I am making minestroni soup. I started with a prepackaged mix, and added: beef, beans and corn. It is now finished, and I find it to be very tart, it has quite a "bite". I have tried adding a small amount of sugar which has sweetened it somewhat...but the tartness is still very strong. Any ideas?

 

[Gretchen]

Add a can of tomatoes? I wonder what the "tart" is.

 

[amber]

What is in the prepackaged mix that would make it tart? Too much salt maybe? Good idea to add sugar as Gretchen suggested.

 

[thymeless]

Here's the cheater method to fix that.

Add baking soda. It will react with the acids that are making the soup tart and neutralize them. Add it in TINY amounts and stir well. Tiny like 1/16 of a teaspoon. Then taste.

thymeless

 

[Hades]

The baking soda sounds like a clever idea. I'll have to give that a try next time
Adding some sugar is the classic trick, but personally I usually add a few tbspoons of ketchup to most things to do with cooked tomato. It has the benefit of adding a deep tomato flavour aswell as some sweetness.

 

[Gretchen]

Soda does sound promising. Ketchup sounds like a better sub than just plain sugar too.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Next time, use some fresh ingredients.At least you will be able to control your soup's destiny!
A few bits of cabbage, some onion, some carrot, a few cooked beans, a garlic clove, a slice of bacon left over from breakfast, a potato, maybe, some green beans, some broken-up pasta, a little celery... Eco! There you have it. Make tons of it if you like and freeze it. Far better than packaged stuff and so easy to do - just whack everything in a large pot with salt and pepper and cook till it smells divine... then leave it till the next day and go down to your local Soprano's store to buy Ciabatta to wipe the plate clean.
How decadent!

 

[Mel!]

Prepackaged food never tastes as good, as freshly made.
Do u usually use shop bought, or fresh food. If u usually make things yourself, the shop bought items may no longer be to your taste.
Mel