This is another how to, for soup that has turned out too sweet. I’ve had this comment from some people who’ve tried my tomato and basil, and we all have different tastes. If you don’t like a sweet flavour, simply leave sugar out of a recipe that has it added in.
There are other things that can add to the sweetness, so be aware of your ingredients.
1 – Add Salt
I’m not a fan of too much salt, and I’ve found that salt with low sodium content can give a soup a very unexpected flavour, but a pinch of salt at a time can rescue a too sweet soup.
2 – Add Something Acidic
A little lemon juice, or a tiny amount of vinegar can combat that icky flavour, and make it more palatable. Just make sure to try a little for every few drops that you add, as it is very easy to overdo, and then end up with a sour soup. Even a little wine could do the trick.
3 – Leave Herbs and Spices Until the end.
I’ve never tried this option. Generally, the only thing I ever leave to the end, is some cream or cheese, but I could make some exceptions if needed. Herbs and spices can reduce in flavour and strength if foods are cooked for a long time, but for most soups, it shouldn’t make a difference. It might be worth trying if you have a very sensitive palate and can tell the difference in minor changes to sweetness.
4 – Add Garlic
This might be a little like covering up the cracks, but adding a pungent ingredient like garlic, or perhaps ginger, can alter the taste of your soup and make it more pleasant for you to eat.
5 – Add Dairy
Adding dairy doesn’t just fix sour soup, it can help with a sweet one by dampening down that flavour that hits the back of your throat when you’re eating. A little butter, cream or cheese can work wonders to change the flavour of a dish. Don’t let the soup cook too long after adding, or it could curdle your food.
6 – Dilute
Diluting a too sweet soup is one that I most definitely would try. I might even make another kettle full, with ingredients that have no sweetness and mix the two afterwards. As long as there is no dairy in, I would freeze some for another day. Adding more onions, water or stock can all help.
M says
I googled “How to fix a sweet soup” and found this. It’s perfect! Thanks for this practical advice.
dorna says
This article was VERY helpful, but I had a particularly strange problem. I was cooking an “exotic” chicken and corn chowder, using up a limited supply of fancy potatoes. Because I wasn’t wearing my glasses, I accidentally added cinnamon (the source of the sweetness intensified by the sweet corn) instead of red pepper. The lemon jiuce helped a lot, but I felt I needed something more bitter – perhaps unrealistically also wishing for something aromatic to hide the cinnamon while complimenting the chowder flavor. The vinegar brine from a jar of non-pariel capers did the trick.