Your Store-Bought Tomato Sauce Just Needs A Little Acid To Really Shine

There are certain elements to a dish that aren't always worth making yourself. Ina Garten, for example, embraces store-bought puff pastry and often purchases store-bought tomato sauce, too. Still, Garten's love of store-bought tomato sauce is a bit controversial; many people insist on making the stuff by hand, from blanching the tomatoes to letting the pot simmer for hours on the stove until culinary perfection has been achieved.

That's because store-bought tomato sauce, depending on the brand, has a pretty bad reputation. It often tastes underwhelming, especially if you're reaching for a mass-produced brand rather than one that's locally made. But what if it didn't actually take hours on the stove to get that homemade flavor? It turns out there is a secret to turning your grocery store tomato sauce into something much better; all you need is some acidity, such as good quality vinegar, which will help a bland sauce develop a much greater flavor profile.

Store-bought tomato sauce often feels like it's missing something; it can be considered lower quality than the homemade version, even if you used canned San Marzano tomatoes as the base of your homemade sauce. But it turns out that it's usually just missing a flavor balance that we can dictate in our homemade cooking. Adding salt sometimes solves the problem, but if you find that the sauce is seasoned as well as possible and still tastes bland, it could be because it's lacking acidity.

Next time you're jazzing up a homemade sauce, try adding an acidic element to it, and see if that makes a difference — it likely will be just the boost you need. Vinegar is the easiest way to do this — just make sure it's high-quality vinegar. Balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar both pair well with tomatoes, so one of those should do the trick. However, if you don't have either, you can add some fresh lemon juice to the sauce as well. You can even try tossing in some hot sauce for a bit of tangy if nontraditional heat. Just taste it as you go; the acidity should perk it right up.

Sometimes the sauce is bland not because of acidity but because of a lack of overall flavor. There are plenty of seasonings that go into good homemade sauce — salting your tomatoes is essential, but herbs like oregano and parsley can also make a difference. If you're looking for a little more flavor, try adding those fresh herbs in a pinch at a time. A little roasted garlic could do the trick as well. These flavors will all meld well with a properly acidic sauce.

If the issue isn't that it's not acidic enough, but rather that there is too much acidity, some plain sugar will help balance this out. Plus, tomatoes are naturally acidic, so sugar helps accentuate their flavor profile, too. Don't be afraid to add a pinch of sugar to your sauce; just make sure to start small and taste it as you go to ensure the sauce doesn't turn too sweet. Keep these tips in mind the next time you find yourself with a store-bought jar that needs some extra TLC and you'll have homemade-tasting sauce in no time.