For decades home cooks have been asking how to make delicious Marinara sauce that is non-acidic. Contrary to popular belief, you only cook tomato sauce for 45 minutes. It's a myth that you cook it all day; I do not know how that became a fact. . Longer cooking reduces the sauce making it highly acidic and for that reason people tend to add sugar. If you want a sweeter sauce, buy San Marzano canned tomatoes. But here's the rest of the story.
After school as a young child, I would go stay with one of my mother’s sisters while waiting for my dad to pick me up when he finished work. They always fed me lots of homemade dishes that my mom never cooked. There were no Italian Diva cooking classes then.
As an adult, when Italian culinary piqued my interest, I would ask each one to reveal their secret in making a good Marinara sauce. They all believed that their recipe was the only way and, of course, the right way.
Whenever I would visit my favorite aunt, Auntie Emma, she would openly state,
“I always add a little sugar”. Many times, she would give me lessons in Italian cooking.
Auntie Filomena, mom’s oldest sister, who was the “boss” in the family and the one my mother didn’t get along with, she would boast, “My family loves my sauce and it’s never acid. I don't know what the others are doing but mine is always perfect”. So much for her secret.
Auntie Rosie, an excellent cook, delighted everyone each holiday with her presentation of gourmet Italian specialties. She was the Italian Diva of her day. When asked about her cooking secret she would state how she never tasted her food during the process. I would ask, “how do you know it tastes good?” Her answer was, “It’s always good.” It was unheard of; how could anyone not taste the food as it cooks?
Then there was my godmother, Auntie Ida; she was the one who gave me the nickname “Dedee”. Her sauce consisted of an entire pot of tomato paste. Talk about your high acid? Yikes! But Uncle Mando was a quiet guy and never complained about anything. He was probably afraid if he did, that would be the last time.
My grandmother would always put chunks of onions in her sauce. Whenever I stayed for dinner, I would pick them all out before I would even touch the rest of the food. She would yell at me in Italian, and being that I never understood, I just ignored her. Because she could not speak a word of English, getting any recipes remained out of the question.
Then about 40 years ago, I read about a chef who added a teaspoon of instant coffee to his Marinara Sauce stating that it not only neutralizes the acid but leaves no after taste. I’ve adopted that technique ever since and my recipe for Marinara Sauce, (available on my website www.TheItalianDiva.com is always a delicious success. FYI: I never shared that tidbit with my aunts for I was not about to criticize their style of authentic, old world Italian cooking.
So the next time you are preparing Marinara Sauce, the Italian Diva suggests leaving out the sugar and add one teaspoon of instant caffeinated coffee.
You are guaranteed that it will be good to the last mouthful
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