Bitter Tomato Sauce
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I recently picked the last of my cherry tomatos (vines and all) and let them ripen before washing them thoroughly and cooking them to remove skins, etc., then put them through the colinder to remove seeds. The sauce and liquid was cooked down adding the spices toward the end of the cooking process!
Ugh! The bitterness of this exceeded quinine! Tried everything, to no avail.. tossed it all out, hoping only all would not be lost, and that at least it would be a good drain cleaner! ( all during the season, while ripening on the vine, the sauce was excellent.)
Ugh! The bitterness of this exceeded quinine! Tried everything, to no avail.. tossed it all out, hoping only all would not be lost, and that at least it would be a good drain cleaner! ( all during the season, while ripening on the vine, the sauce was excellent.)
karadekoolaid
Head Chef
The last little tomatoes on the vine are used for pickling here!
Once you've picked them, they may turn red but they're never as sweet as vine-ripened fruit. I use them in sauces - whole, seeds, skin and all, blended with maybe a tin of commercial tomatoes. That way you won't waste them but the bitterness will be negligible!
Once you've picked them, they may turn red but they're never as sweet as vine-ripened fruit. I use them in sauces - whole, seeds, skin and all, blended with maybe a tin of commercial tomatoes. That way you won't waste them but the bitterness will be negligible!
middie
Chef Extraordinaire
Did you try adding some sugar to the sauce ?
Fossil, the "bitterness" is from the acid in the tomatoes ... has nothing to do with when you added spices or herbs to the "sauce". The solution, however, does depend on your "recipe" - specifically, how long do you cook your sauce?
If you are trying to make a "quick" sauce - add some brown sugar (brown sugar actually has some complimentary flavors that go with the flavor components of tomatoes). If this is a sauce that will simmer for 3-4 hours add some finely grated carrot. How much to add depends on the volume of sauce you are trying to produce- and if you are looking for a sweet sauce or just a neutral flavor.
If you are trying to make a "quick" sauce - add some brown sugar (brown sugar actually has some complimentary flavors that go with the flavor components of tomatoes). If this is a sauce that will simmer for 3-4 hours add some finely grated carrot. How much to add depends on the volume of sauce you are trying to produce- and if you are looking for a sweet sauce or just a neutral flavor.
Last edited:
bitter tomato sauce
The question was raised on how long I cooked the sauce. So here is the skinny... First of all, most of the tomatos were not ripened on the vine, but rather under paper where the methane gas produced by the ripest ones assists in the process of getting the others ripe quickly. These were the last of the garden, all of the others ripened on the vine or some of which were ripened in the same manner, added together, turned out excellent.
I always clean and boil them with just enough water to cover them prior to using the colinder to remove the seeds and skins.
I always cook the tomato product after the skins and seeds are removed for several hours. Low heat stirring freq. so it wont stick and then adding the spices as follows: After an hour, some black pepper.. no salt or sugar, the rosemary and italian seasoning after hour 2, last of all the chopped onion, garlic, some bay leaves and basil during the final hour.
I migtht have mentioned the attempt to salvage the bitter sauce by adding a small amount of baking soda to neutralize acid, but this did not work. Then tried to add sugar, a little at a time, but even after that, not helping.
Someone mentioned salt, so at the end, even tried that to no avail.
When I realized not much could be done, it all went down the drain and to Long Beach! Hope the fish weren't affected! Fossil
The question was raised on how long I cooked the sauce. So here is the skinny... First of all, most of the tomatos were not ripened on the vine, but rather under paper where the methane gas produced by the ripest ones assists in the process of getting the others ripe quickly. These were the last of the garden, all of the others ripened on the vine or some of which were ripened in the same manner, added together, turned out excellent.
I always clean and boil them with just enough water to cover them prior to using the colinder to remove the seeds and skins.
I always cook the tomato product after the skins and seeds are removed for several hours. Low heat stirring freq. so it wont stick and then adding the spices as follows: After an hour, some black pepper.. no salt or sugar, the rosemary and italian seasoning after hour 2, last of all the chopped onion, garlic, some bay leaves and basil during the final hour.
I migtht have mentioned the attempt to salvage the bitter sauce by adding a small amount of baking soda to neutralize acid, but this did not work. Then tried to add sugar, a little at a time, but even after that, not helping.
Someone mentioned salt, so at the end, even tried that to no avail.
When I realized not much could be done, it all went down the drain and to Long Beach! Hope the fish weren't affected! Fossil
Constance
Master Chef
Next time try using Roma tomatoes for your sauce, and roast them in the oven instead of boiling them.
Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, remove excess seeds and pulp with your fingers, and lay out on a baking sheet. drizzle with olive all, sprinkle with minced garlic, salt, pepper and oregano, and put in 200 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Run everything from the pan, oil and all, through a food mill, grinding as much as possible out of the skins.
Now you have a basic tomato sauce that you can season any way you like. The roasting and resulting caramelization brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, and you probably won't need any sugar.
Something else I've done, is cut whole, un-peeled heads of garlic in half and roast them along with the tomatoes.
Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, remove excess seeds and pulp with your fingers, and lay out on a baking sheet. drizzle with olive all, sprinkle with minced garlic, salt, pepper and oregano, and put in 200 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Run everything from the pan, oil and all, through a food mill, grinding as much as possible out of the skins.
Now you have a basic tomato sauce that you can season any way you like. The roasting and resulting caramelization brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, and you probably won't need any sugar.
Something else I've done, is cut whole, un-peeled heads of garlic in half and roast them along with the tomatoes.
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