Expert: Chef Glen L. Davis II - 9/11/2008

Question
Our local pizza restaurant has a sauce that is very different everyone is trying to decide what they add to it.  The sauce has a very sweet, almost cherry flavor to it. any ideas?

Answer
Without actually tasting the sauce it is very hard to put a label on what gives it that particular flavor. There are many different things that could give the sauce a sweeter flavor than normal. It could be that they use  different type of tomato for their sauce, there are some canned tomatoes grown in Italy that have a higher sugar content than the commercial stuff we settle for here in the US. Another way that they can give the sauce a flavor similar to cherry is to add wine.
If you really must know and this information hasn't helped you could always try asking to speak to the person who makes the sauce, lay on a little flattery and then ask them what gives the sauce that flavor.
Trust me with us chefs flattery works EVERY TIME!
I hope this has helped you some and please let me know if there are any other questions I can help you with.