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Q. “My husband has a sensitive stomach. How do I make pasta sauces less acidic?” —Nora, Appleton

A. Highly acidic foods include citrus fruit, buttermilk, wine, vinegar, coffee and tomatoes. Some foods are intentionally prepared with the addition of acid, particularly beverages like lemonade, soda and canned products like pickles and pickled vegetables. Some people do better to avoid acidic foods altogether while others can be successful in neutralizing the acidity of foods. For example, when I prepare a batch of tomato sauce, I can determine the acidity of the sauce by wafting my hand over the sauce toward my nose and determining if the acid gives my nostrils a burning sensation. Natural acid from the tomatoes almost always leads to an acidic sauce, especially at the beginning of the process. Cooking the sauce longer will reduce the acidity of the sauce by breaking down the acid over time. The addition of sugar will also balance the acidity. I usually use brown sugar because it seems that the molasses in the brown sugar is more effective at mitigating the acid. Another suggestion is the addition of cooked carrots. When pureed, carrots add a wonderful texture to the sauce, and the natural sweetness of the carrot does a great job in helping mitigate the acidity.