Adding herbs, red wine or vinegar can help cut the sweetness of a spaghetti sauce.
Spaghetti sauce can be made with or without meat. A spaghetti sauce made with meat, such as ground beef or Italian sausage, is called a Bolognese sauce. A sauce made with only vegetables is a marinara sauce. Several ingredients that are added to spaghetti sauce, such as bell peppers, basil and even sugar, can make your sauce sweet -- sometimes, however, too sweet. Adding items to the sauce can increase its acidity content and reduce the sweetness level.
Instructions
1. Add bitter herbs to the sauce. Use dried oregano, bay leaves or dried thyme; dried herbs should be added early in the cooking process. Add one teaspoon of dried herbs for every four cups of sauce. Add fresh herbs near the end prior to serving; dried herbs go farther flavor-wise than fresh herbs, so double the amount of fresh herbs to add to the sauce.
2. Use a red drinking wine to add to the sauce. Never add a wine labeled as cooking wine. Add a Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot that you would consider drinking with the meal. Allow the wine to simmer the excess liquid away, leaving the wine flavor. Add the wine at least an hour before serving.
3. Mix in vinegar. Use either balsamic, white or apple cider vinegar. Add one tablespoon of vinegar for every four cups of sauce. Similar to the wine, allow the vinegar to simmer the excess liquid away.
4. Add a dollop or two of tomato paste. Remove a cup of sauce with a measuring cup and add tomato paste to the cup of sauce. Mix well with a fork and return the sauce to the pot. Cook the sauce for at least another 30 minutes to simmer out the tomato paste sauce.
Tags: dried herbs, fresh herbs, made with, sauce made, sauce made with, tomato paste