The Cake Boss' Cooking Tip Equals Less Heartburn

My favorite food has always been spaghetti. It was so simple to make, just cook your noodle in water that has been salted (both for taste and so you don't get that foam on the top of the water) and add a jar of marinara. Simple. I say was because the marinara my family liked changed it recipe. Now it is really acidic and my husband cannot eat it. This lead to my search for a new pasta sauce.

I tried a few different jarred brands and couldn't find anything we liked so I decided to try the packet that you add to the tomato sauce. It was pretty good, but it took a lot longer to make so when my store brand when on sale I bought some. I figured it was cheap enough that I could fix it up.

I fried my hamburger and the sauce. Then I added my Italian seasonings and a bit of sugar and parmesan cheese (the recipe is here). Perfect. Cheaper than the cost for both the jar and what it would cost for a can of tomato sauce and a seasoning packet.

Then the other day I was listening to National Public Radio and I heard an at home remedy for heartburn. If you chew sugar free gum, it will go away.

Then I saw the Cake Boss on the Nate Burkus Show. He was making a dish with tomatoes and added sugar. He gave this tip; if you add a packet of sugar for each can of tomato sauce it reduces the acid. This was a really helpful tip. The reason the Spaghetti sauce in the jar got acidic was because they took most of the sugar out. The sugar cuts the acid in the sauce in the same way the sugar substitute cuts the acid that causes heartburn.

I have seen it in other foods as well. A friend's daughter cannot drink orange juice because it is too acidic. Then she had a different kind which had a little more sugar and she was fine. My kids didn't like Manwich, I add a little bit of brown sugar to it, they love it and even ask for it.

Just remember, not too much sugar.