To be honest I've never been convinced that I know what "too acidic" tastes like, but I have seen recipes for marinara, etc. that say if too acidic add some butter.

Since I obviously don't know what I'm talking about, I don't know if this would help, but I figured I'd throw it out there!

If it's tomato based it is always going to be acidic. I'm with fenworth and not sure I understand what too acidic means.

Try adding some chicken stock and see if that helps.

Michelle

A little bit of sugar is what I would try. It will help smooth out the flavor.

Nancy

Not too sure about what you mean by too acidic either but I have a recipe for a vegetarian chili that calls for 1 suqare of unsweetened chocolate in order to cut the sweetness of the tomatoe. It works like a charm & gives the chili a real depth of flavor (my husband says all it's missing is meat).

Good luck!

Nina

I have not tried these ideas, but you could pull out a small amount and experiment:

>Add chunks of carrot and simmmer.
>Add a tiny bit of baking soda, like 1/8 tsp. Add more in very small amounts if needed.

I know exactly what you mean....that sour bitey taste....hate it!
I add sugar....a little at a time...
Also grated carrot will sweeten it up...but that's because of the sugar in the carrots....
I would add some brown sugar...don't know how much chili you have but a tablespoon for a pot to serve 8 would be a start.
Linda C

You don't mention what type of chili you have. Is it a tomato based chili, if so was tomato paste used?

Lucy

My chili is tomato based, 2 cans diced toms, 1 large crushed toms, and 1 8 oz tom sauce, 2 lbs chili (beef) meat, 2 envelopes of McCormick's chili seasoning - one mild, one original, 1/2 t. ea of basil, thyme, oregano, sugar, and a gulp of red wine; 2 cans chili beans, 1 can pintos. I really like to taste the tomatoes, but what I mean by acidic is that it has a bite to it, not hot, but an acidic bite. That's how I describe it. lol, lol. I usually cook it in a big ole iron kettle, but decided to use the slow cooker and am wondering if it didn't cook up the same. I haven't tried it yet today, but will be serving it up tonight. I will try some of the ideas in a sample of chili. I am open to any other suggestions and thank you all for your help. I will let you know how it turns out.

definitely a little more sugar or some honey so it's not too cloyingly sweet. I also add pinches of cinnamon & cloves (not a lot) which gives it a little complexity.

Leibrook,
I know exactly what you mean. I think you were right in the observation of cooking it in the iron kettle vs the slow cooker. The iron kettle is more "roasting" (which brings out more sweetness in the tomatoes) instead of the slow cooker which is closer to "steaming". The flavors will probably have melded a bit today, so I'm guessing some of the "bite" will be lessened. But I would put it on the stove top today in the iron pot and cook it down a bit more. Then if necessary, use the shredded carrot trick. The unsweetened chocolate will tone down the acidity and give it more depth as Sigh mentioned, but it will more noticeably cut down on the "tomato-y-ness" of it as well, so will the cinnamon and cloves. Those ingredients are used in moles which I love, but may not be what you intend.

Sugar! Increase the sugar. Thats a lot of tomatoes for just a half teaspoon of sugar. My dad made killer tomato sauce when I was growing up and always gave it a good size Tbs. of sugar, just plain old white sugar, but it made quite a difference in the taste. I agree with spacific that cooking it down a bit more in the iron pot (without the cover)will help the flavor too. Sometimes the old reliable pot seems to know how to flavor the stew!

I agree with the "add a bit of sugar" camp. My lasagna sauce recipe calls for a teaspoon full of sugar and grandma always added sugar to spaghetti or goulash, she said it cut the acid taste of the tomatoes and brought out their natural sweetness.

As spacific mentioned, I'd taste it first, though, to determine how much it needs. I find that things like chili mellow nicely overnight, and I like them even better the next day after I make them, so it might not be as acidic as it began.

Annie

I'm in the sugar camp too.......in fact, I just made chili Monday and had to do the same thing. Molasses is an option too. Not so sweet, nice dark color.

Just add a tiny bit (maybe a couple of teaspoons for a 6 qt. crockpot full). Simmer a few minutes, then taste. Adjust as necessary.

Now, if somebody could tell me how to take out one too many jalapenos............... (grin).

Deanna

Sugar Camp!! Add sugar (or splenda)

Hi, Everybody, I wanted to get back with everyone helping me with my acidic chili. I tried several suggestions mentioned under this posting. My chili was a hit....got so many compliments. Just shows how things work out with the help of friends. Thank you for making my Halloween Dinner such a success!!!

Im wondering (even though im late) if the acid taste was from the WINE....ya gotta watch your wine especially if you dont cook with good quality drinking wine.

The caterer I work for adjusts her chili as needed to compensate for the acidity of the tomatoes with a tiny bit of Grade B maple syrup. I usually use San Marzano tomatoes in my own chili. They don't give me this problem. When I have to use other tomatoes I add a grated carrot when I put in the canned green chiles.

As others mentioned above, chocolate. I always add a chunk of chocolate to chili. I find it rounds out the flavor.

I did use wine, but it was pretty good drinking wine. However, I never used it before this. Maybe it was the wine that caused it to be tooo acidic. What are San Marzano tomatoes? Where do you buy them? Thanks.

Specifically, add brown sugar. This is sure fire for us competition chili heads. Brown sugar will also reduce some of the heat but use it with care unless you want sweet chili.

OK I came to this site 5 minutes ago. I just tried two thin squares of an expensive dark chocolate bar and it worked really well. I've had bad luck in the past using sugar or baking soda. I don't have any carrots on hand. I know this is an old thread, but thanks.

Always put in a tablespoon or so of cocoa powder and a couple teaspoons of sugar.

I think my acidity came from the chile powder! Anyone experienc that before. I tasted before adding chile powder and after. Ach! 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and a teaspoon of cocoa powder and I can still taste it. It's almost a chemical taste.

I always add a tablespoon of coco powder or a small can of pork and beans but the kind cooked in tomato sauce without pork if that makes any sense

Amazing....this thread is 8 years old!
I answered 8 years ago to add sugar....I still think that helps with too sour food. But, chemically speaking....caesine is a buffering agent....that is it evens out the sour/sweet ratio of a dish.....and how do you get caesine in your chili? Why cheese of course! If I have a tomato something that seems too acedic....I add cheese, the sort of cheese depends on the dish, but mostly it's parmesan.
I am so glad to find that I have learned something in 8 years!!

And butter has caesin, too, right Linda? Perhaps that idiot James was onto something eight years ago! ;)

Nope...butter contains only a very minimal amount of casein.....that Fenworth really doesn't know what he's talking about....never did!!...(wink)

I ended up adding 2 Tbsp brown sugar. Still nasty and afraid to add more. Added tsp of cocoa with no change. Added tsp baking soda and it lessened the chemical taste. Wish I'd have known about cheese last night! I'm going to get a new container of chile powder too!

I love this! My husband and I were talking about how to make our chili less acidic, and I found this. Perhaps the first thread I've ever found that has lasted as long as this. I'm intrigued by the chocolate suggestion. We were thinking brown sugar.

Really.....cheese...or milk will even it out. Brown sugar is acedic...it makes baking soda fizz....so does chocolate. A milk product will buffer the acid in your chili.

I think I would have tried adding some tomato paste.

The answer to this is simple. Add a very small amount of baking soda. And aim small miss small because a little goes a LONG way, you can end up with "flat" chili or even modify the flavor, both undesirable results. For starts I would take a very small pinch - likely less than 1/16th of a tsp - for a large pot and "squeeze" it out very sparingly over the top of the chili. Once it finishes bubbling, stir it in. Give at least 10 min for the max amount of reaction to occur and then repeat if necessary.

My chili has turned out very sharp/bitter tasting lately and I'm always so disappointed with it so I decided to check the Internet tonight. I was so happy to find this community. GREAT suggestions and lots to try. I loved reading all the comments. I was reminded that my grandmother always used a little baking soda in her tomato soup and it did not have a sharp/acidic taste. But it also had cream in it. So that must have been the casein. I have heard about chocolate being added to chili before. So I will give some of these suggestions a try. Thank you all for sharing.

.....and the kind of tomatoes you use has a big effect on the acidity of your chili. I have made chili with garden fresh tomatoes, cooked down and had it be too sweet!...Ended up adding lemon juice.

My chili almost always tastes acidic, I've tried lots of tricks: sugar, honey, milk and half and half and sour creme.

I do it to taste because I almost never make the same chili twice, I add a couple spoons of sugar early in the process for a pan sized batch and usually a splash of milk or half/half and almost always serve and eat it with cheese and sour creme which take out any remaining acidic flavor from the tomato sauce/paste that goes in.

It saddens me that so many of you do not understand this concept of too acidic ! I invite those of you that do not understand this to watch Chopped more often . Here is the resolution I found and just with a teaspoon of baking soda the chili I made was now spicy instead of acidic. For those of us with GERD and acid reflux this is very important to help us enjoy so many wonderful foods.

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-rescue-what-to-do-when-131736

Canned organic pumpkin worked and added a wonderful boost of flavor too.

I never add sugar to chili. Butter, whole milk, baking soda instead. I like the idea of canned pumpkin, and will definitely try that next time.

I just saw this yikes it's 2017. I experimented and put in three small slices of boars head dried salami and it did the trick

I added 1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar to my way too acid chili crockpot amount...that did the trick

Most canned tomatoes have added citric acid...r.ead the label Adding another tomato product with more citric acid won't help.

You need to disguise the acid with sugar, neutralize it with baking soda or buffer it with cheese...or milk. Ever had a bologonese simmered with milk?

Wow-i am glad for this site- my chili was awful- sugar didn’t work but then I added baking soda and milk- it got fizzy but tastes great.

I tried circumventing this problem by pressure canning some home-grown tomatoes without adding citric acid. It did solve the problem but I have since read that even pressure canned tomatoes need to have acid added before canning. Still have some of the tomatoes on the shelf and am using them but only in chili or spaghetti sauce--which cooks long enough to kill any potential botulism. (Boiling temp for 10 minutes.)

Since then, I have been bagging some cooked home grown tomatoes in qt. size Zip-Locs. Just a few because otherwise I'd have half a freezer full to toms and not much room for anything else.

I wouldn't add sugar after the chili has cooked because I think the taste would not be well blended. Our solution to tangy chili (and even non tangy chili) is to serve with a dollop of sour cream which mellows it out considerably.

Well I just entered a contest and chocolate did not make a plan but I would never use tomato paste or question Meadows in mine ever again because there is just too strong of a tomato flavor in it that you can’t get rid of and less you finish out the butter does work and sodas and milk

DO NOT ADD sugar, Splenda, chocolate or Salami as some have recommended for removing acid. They are all highly acidic! These ingredients will not make it less bitter. If you add sugar to chili it will be truly awful. The best choice is 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of baking soda to a bit of water stir in and then taste it. This will make your chili slightly more salty tasting but it will remove the bitterness. BTW if your chili is too salty add a peeled potato then remove upon serving. Potatoes are alkaline and can also remove bitterness. Also, serve the chili with sour cream. Milk and cream is neutral it will change the chili too much to a creamy color it won't remove bitterness. Butter is neutral it will not remove acid. It may make your chili too oily. Vegetables like carrots are also alkaline not acidic. I don't like them in my chili. Onions and V8 juice is alkaline and can reduce acid. BTW: chocolate and coffee are excellent in chili but can be a bit acidic. My blog: www.slimfoodies.com

I missed this thread before somehow, but I also would have recommended adding baking soda but agree that it will make it taste saltier. I never add sugar to counteract the acidity. I generally do not add tomatoes to chili, and so mine is less acidic to begin with. I usually make Texas style chili, and it is basically meat and chilies with maybe onions and garlic added, but not much else. People in Texas like to taste the chili. I use ancho, pasilla, and guajillo chilies in my chili plus Habanero, jalapeño, or cayenne for heat. I make chili sauce more often than I make chili, and it also does not have tomato in it. If it did, I would call it adobo sauce, and I also make that, but not as often.

Sour and bitter are not the same thing. If you want to know the difference compare these two lists to each other:

Sour (this is what acidic as a flavor—not as a pH, necessarily—refers to, IMO):

* Lemons

* Vinegar

* Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

* Citric acid

* Malic acid

* Oxalic acid

* Unripe fruit

* Green apples

* Cornelian cherries

* Sour cherries

* Some kinds of tomatoes, some years (not grocery store tomatoes)

* Fresh pineapple

* Sorrel

* Rhubarb

Bitter:

* Magnesium chloride

* MSM

* Baking soda

* Cocoa powder

* Arugula

* Pumpkin (some kinds, anyway, like the store-bought kinds usually are)

* Tylenol

Some things, like grapefruit, are sour, bitter, and sweet at the same time.

Cucumbers can become sour like lemons, or bitter like arugula, but I haven't seen both at the same time. People tend to strive to avoid both.

Sour things often taste good with sugar. Bitter things tend to leave a sweet aftertaste. Too much of a sour thing might hurt your tongue and make you constrict your face and squint. Too much of a bitter thing might make you gag.

Tried grated carrots, but that didn't work. Put in 1/8 tsp or less of baking soda and that fixed it for a small pot.