If your tomato sauce is too sweet, try adding more tomatoes or tomato paste to counter the sugar. For a salad dressing that’s too sweet, mix in additional olive oil. If your chili is too sweet, you can add in some extra meat or beans to help balance the sweetness.
Diluting a recipe with a liquid to balance the sweetness typically works best with dishes that already have a creamy or liquid-like consistency, such as soups and stews. If you plan to dilute with water or chicken stock, start with a small amount, so you can see how it affects the dish. You don’t only have to think about the taste, though – consider the consistency too.
Milk and cream can work well in soups, sauces, and casseroles. If you’re vegan or don’t eat dairy, non-dairy milks, such as almond, cashew, or soy, are a good alternative. Just make sure to choose an unflavored, unsweetened variety.
Lemon or lime juice works best when you want to balance a savory recipe that’s overly sweet. It’s a good idea to squeeze your citrus fruit into a cup or bowl instead of directly into the pot or pan. That way, you won’t accidentally let any seeds or pulp fall into your food. If citrus juice is too liquidy to add to your dish, lemon or lime zest can also add some tartness.
Virtually any vinegar can help correct food that’s too sweet, but white, red wine, white wine, and apple cider usually work the best.
You can use cooking wine to help counter excess sweetness, but any wine that you would drink will work just as well.
Fresh garlic cloves have the strongest flavor, so they usually work best. However, garlic powder can be effective too. Start with 1 clove of garlic or ⅛ of teaspoon of the powder, and adjust to taste. Don’t cook the dish too long after you’ve added the garlic. It becomes sweeter the longer that you cook it, so you can actually wind up increasing the sweetness in your food.
Dried herbs and spices are stronger and more concentrated than their fresh counterparts, so you don’t need to use as much. Start with ⅛ of a teaspoon and add more if necessary after tasting. Other spices and herbs that you may want to consider for balancing sweetness include rosemary, sage, thyme, chili powder, and marjoram.
If you’re not sure how to much to decrease the sugar by, start by adding a very small amount, such as a teaspoon, and then taste the dish. Add another teaspoon if it’s not sweet enough. It’s easy to add more sugar, but it’s harder to balance the sweetness once it’s already in the dish. If you’re baking, it’s obviously harder to taste cookies and cake as you go to adjust the sweetness. Sugar also affects the texture and moistness of baked goods, so you have to be careful when you adjust the amount in a recipe. Using 3/4 of the suggested sugar usually yields the best results, but you may want to make a batch of test cookies or cake to ensure that you’re happy with the results. [9] X Research source
Sucralose can be substituted for sugar in a 1:1 ratio, which means if your recipe calls for a 1/4 of sugar, you can replace it with a 1/4 of sucralose. Stevia is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Replace each cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of stevia in your dishes. If the recipe calls for a tablespoon of sugar, an 1/8 of a teaspoon of stevia is all you need. A pinch of stevia can replace a teaspoon of sugar. Some sugar substitutes, such as Equal and Sweet’N Low, don’t react the same way as sugar does when they’re heated. It’s best to avoid them when cooking and baking.
For the best results, be sure to choose 100% pure, organic maple syrup. Grade A has a more subtle flavor, while Grade B has a stronger flavor and thicker texture so it works well in baking. If you’re using maple syrup to replace sugar in baked goods, you’ll need to adjust the overall amount of liquid in the recipe by approximately three tablespoons for every cup of maple syrup that you add.
In baking recipes, you’ll need to reduce the overall liquid by approximately two tablespoons for every one cup of honey used. Baked goods made with honey tend to brown faster than those made with white sugar, so watch cookies, cakes, and other sweets carefully.
Because of its liquid consistency, you’ll need to reduce the overall liquid in your recipe by 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup for every cup of agave used. Baked goods made with agave nectar have a tendency to brown more quickly, so you may want to reduce the baking temperature by 15 to 25 degrees.
Make sure to choose unsweetened applesauce when you’re replacing sugar. Otherwise, your recipe may actually wind up too sweet. When you’re baking with applesauce, you’ll need to reduce the overall amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/4 of a cup for every cup of sauce used.
