Adding a teaspoon of butter to tomato sauce can reduce the acidic taste. Add the butter at the end of the cooking period to avoid the sauce splitting. You can also add other fatty ingredients like parmesan cheese to tomato sauce to help to reduce the acidic taste.
This article will explore how to use butter to reduce acidity in tomato sauce as well as other easy methods in case you don’t have butter on hand.
3 Ways butter reduces acidity levels in tomato sauce
Check out these 3 simple ways that butter helps to reduce the acidity in tomato sauce
1. Butter has a higher pH than tomato sauce
Butter has pH of 6.1-6.4 which is slightly acidic however it is less acidic than tomato sauce which can have a pH of 4.3-4.9. Adding butter will increase the pH making the sauce less acidic.
2. Butter is a fat that coats the mouth
Butter is also a fat which will help to mask the acidic flavor. It will create a nice mouth feel as it coats the taste buds making the acidic taste less prominent.
3. Butter helps the ingredients in the sauce to combine
Adding butter in tomato sauce will also help the ingredients to combine together nicely giving you a smooth and rich sauce. This will naturally help to make the sauce taste less acidic.
How to add butter to reduce acidity in tomato sauce
If you are making homemade tomato sauce at home for pasta dishes, chili or to put on meats then you can use butter to reduce acidity levels.
Cook the pasta sauce down until it has reached the desired consistency, take it off the heat and let it cool slightly. You can then add a teaspoon of butter to the dish.
Mix it through until you can no longer see the butter in the tomato sauce
Taste the sauce and if it still tastes acidic, add 1 more teaspoon of butter. Mix it through and this will help to reduce the acid levels in the sauce.
I use a base tomato sauce for many dishes like lasagna, Bolognese and for pouring over ravioli. You can store it in the freezer or jars and it tastes best if made from home grown tomatoes.
If you would prefer to avoid adding butter to your dish so you don’t add extra fat, here are a few easy ways to reduce the acidity in your tomato sauce without it.
How to reduce acidity in tomato sauce
Here are some other ways to reduce acidity in your tomato sauce instead of butter.
You can use this for homemade tomato sauce or even jarred tomato sauce.
Add sugar
Adding sugar to your tomato sauce is the simplest and quickest way to reduce acidity levels. After you have finished cooking your sauce, start by adding 1-2 teaspoons of regular, white sugar.
Stir it through and taste the sauce. You can add another teaspoon to the sauce until it tastes less acidic. I have found that for a regular pot of sauce, you may need up to 4 teaspoons of sugar to reduce the acidity levels.
Tomato sauce made with tinned tomatoes is often more acidic than those made with homegrown tomatoes. The tinned tomatoes will often have less sugars developed in the fruit and skin giving it an acidic taste.
Add tomato ketchup
A sneaky way to reduce the acidity in your tomato sauce is to add some tomato ketchup. Tomato ketchup is full of sugar, salt and tomato richness. This will reduce the acidity level, enrich the tomato sauce taste and help to season the sauce.
I like to add a tablespoon of tomato ketchup to my sauce at the end. Avoid adding too much otherwise it can overtake the flavor.
Add pureed carrot
A fantastic, healthy way to reduce the acidic taste in tomato sauce it to add pureed carrot. You can microwave, boil or steam 1 carrot, cut into sticks. Place it in a blender with 1-2 tablespoons of water and puree.
You can then add this directly to your tomato sauce and cook it through. It is best to let it simmer in the sauce for 15-30 minutes to make sure it fully mixes through.
Carrots are full of natural sugar and work perfectly to reduce the acidity levels in tomato sauce.
Cook the sauce for longer
Another simple way to reduce the acidity in tomato sauce it simply to simmer it for longer. This will concentrate the sugars in the sauce, reducing the water content and reducing the acidity. If you have the time this is an easy way to reduce the acidic taste in tomato sauce.
Use vine ripened tomatoes
Using vine ripened tomatoes is a fantastic way to make tomato sauce that tastes less acidic. Vine ripened tomatoes will have more sugar in their flesh and skin which will give you a sweeter sauce.
If you have homegrown tomatoes this is even better. Even if you don’t’ have enough tomatoes to make the full sauce recipe, you can combine them with canned tomatoes.
Does butter reduce acidity in tomato sauce? | Summary
Adding 1-2 teaspoons of butter to your tomato sauce will help to reduce the acidic taste. It will increase the pH, it will help to mask the acidity by coating your taste buds and will hep the ingredients to combine.
Try using butter to make your homemade tomato sauce taste less acidic.
Happy cooking.
I am an accredited practicing dietitian, experienced gardener and a dedicated cook. I love writing and sharing my experience so you can learn from my successes and mistakes.