Bobby Flay And Michael Symon Strongly Disagree On This Tomato Sauce Technique

Food Network chefs Bobby Flay and Michael Symon are friends in real life, but they disagree when it comes to adding sugar to tomato sauce. Flay is Team Sugar, while Symon is Team Natural. Tomatoes are both inherently sweet and acidic, but when cooked down, they can sometimes taste a little too tangy. Some people, including celebrated chefs, add a pinch of sugar to tomato sauce to temper the flavors and create more balance.

The inclination to add sugar to your sauce actually goes back centuries, when the Italians first got tomatoes and couldn't stand how acidic they were at that time (the plants have since evolved). Sugar was a quick fix, as well as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. But whether you actually should temper acidity depends on what tomato you use. Tomatoes are inconsistent from plant to plant, so it's important to always taste for natural sweetness and acidity before adding any spices or sweeteners. (And that's a golden cooking rule, anyway.) This also includes canned tomatoes, whose pH levels companies monitor.

All of that said, we asked an Italian Nonna her secret to the perfect pasta sauce, and sugar isn't it. For all his accolades, maybe Iron Chef Bobby Flay is wrong about this one ...

If your tomato sauce is too acidic and you don't want to use granulated sugar, add fresh-grated carrots while simmering for some all-natural sweetness. (Don't use pre-shredded, packaged carrots because they're dry.) If carrots aren't your thing and you make your sauce with onions, take extra care to caramelize the onions, not sauté them, first. Here's a trick you can use to caramelize onions faster, since it can take a while. Caramelizing those sugars adds a nice nuttiness that balances acidity. Additionally, a good fat like olive oil helps curb sharpness, adds flavor, and introduces a beautiful creaminess that just makes your food taste cleaner. Other upgrades that will transform your plain spaghetti sauce include red wine and ricotta cheese.

It's important when making sauce to never skip one step for more flavorful canned tomato paste, if you use it in your recipe. Canned tomato paste can taste tinny, but caramelizing it in a pot with olive oil enhances the tomato flavor and eliminates any metallic notes. The trick is to stir it until it's a little darker in color. No matter your preferences, the good news is tomato sauce is so adaptable and customizable, there's really no wrong way to make it, even if that includes adding sugar.