The One Vegetable That Makes Canned Tomatoes Less Sour According To Giada De Laurentiis

Canned tomatoes are a pantry staple for busy home cooks and can be used to make a quick and flavorsome meal in a pinch. Even renowned chefs, such as Ina Garten and Bobby Flay, have favorite brands of canned tomatoes they swear by for culinary uses, proving that "fresh is best" isn't necessarily the case at all times. Canned produce serves a purpose, and there are tips to make it taste gourmet with minimal effort or additional ingredients. For starters, you want to reach for good-quality canned products that are packaged in appropriate material so the tomatoes are not infused with a distinct metallic taste.

However, if you missed the memo on how a professional chef chooses high-quality canned tomatoes and you end up with a sour-tasting situation, there is one vegetable that comes through with a sweet solution. According to Giada De Laurentiis, carrots can help attenuate the acidity from the tomatoes. Not only does the high sugar content in carrots absorb some of the acidity, but the root vegetable also imparts a delicate sweetness to the sauce. This helps yield a more balanced tomato sauce you can ladle over pasta, blend into a hearty bisque, simmer for an aromatic curry, or use in any number of saucy, tomato-based recipes. Plus, the chopped carrots also add a nice textural element to the sauce. Alternatively, you can blend the carrots into the sauce to add a deeper flavor to a cheap can of tomatoes.

Giada De Laurentiis certainly knows a thing or two about canned tomatoes, such as this easy tomato cutting hack and her favorite canned tomatoes that deserve a spot in your pantry. In addition to her savvy suggestion to include carrots while cooking canned tomatoes, there are other techniques you can turn to if you don't have carrots on hand or don't feel up to chopping or blending them into the mix. For instance, baking soda is an excellent ingredient to make canned tomatoes taste better. This is because the acidity from the tomatoes is neutralized by the alkaline baking soda, which helps tone down the tart taste. 

Just as carrots infuse their sweetness to counter the zest from the tomatoes, a pinch of sugar can also be used in a clutch. But this option won't add a nutrient boost to your tomatoes, if that's a decision-making factor for you. Don't hesitate to get groovy with spices and seasonings to switch things up and cater your recipe to your preferred taste. Even if your canned tomatoes come with seasonings, you can still adjust the flavor profile by adding more of what you feel is lacking or to balance other overpowering flavors. That said, you can also upgrade your canned tomatoes with one easy step that requires no extra ingredients. Simply strain and heat the tomatoes until they're caramelized. This concentrates the sugars by getting rid of excess water and delivering a more complex flavor to the dish.