When making high-heat, quick tomato sauces using economical brands of tomatoes packed using calcium chloride (and citric acid typically), the metallic taste and fake-fresh texture are disturbing. Aside from shelling out more money for products without the additives, I would like to know if there is some work-around for sub-premium tomatoes that could address the following;
- Is there a way to balance out the metallic taste of the calcium chloride present in these tomatoes?
- Considering cooking time is short, my assumption is that the texture issue is basically intractable without longer cooking time; am I correct?
- As a follow-up, is there a good workaround for the taste of the citric acid?
Best Answer
To begin with, you can microwave the tomato before cooking it in the pan; this will also shorten the cooking time. Doing this, the tomato "grains" will already be hot inside when they begin to cook from the outside in the pan. You'll still get the external "roasted" feel but with a softer texture.
You can compensate for the citric acid, and for the excess of the tomatoes' own acid, by adding some sugar.
In order to hide the metallic taste, add some herbs. Try one leaf of bay laurel; or a combination of dry herbs like savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and oregano.