Alkaline foods to combine with tomatoes

Fred Hempel · August 2, 2016

At this time of year coffee + tomatoes puts me on edge due to their acidity.

Today I cut up a cucumber and put it in my bowl of tomatoes, and immediately wondered if it was alkaline, because of the "balance" I felt as I ate the tomatoes. Normally the tomatoes would put me at the edge of heartburn, but not today.

Sure enough, cucumbers are listed as "alkaline" vegetables.

Does anyone else have their go-to foods to combine with tomatoes to blunt the effect of the acid?

AlittleSalt · August 2, 2016

I like the combination of tomatoes, okra, and onions. They seem to balance a dish and add a lot of good flavor. I really like Cajun and Mexican food. A local Asian restaurant serves tomatoes and cucumbers in Italian salad dressing/oil.

Cole_Robbie · August 2, 2016

Mayo and white cheese come to mind.

gardeninglee · August 4, 2016

This is one of my favorite dishes from a local thai restaurant. Tomatoes, okra, onions and ginger sauteed together with a little fish sauce and lemon! Unbelievable!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I like the combination of tomatoes, okra, and onions. They seem to balance a dish and add a lot of good flavor. I really like Cajun and Mexican food. A local Asian restaurant serves tomatoes and cucumbers in Italian salad dressing/oil.

AlittleSalt · August 5, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardeninglee

This is one of my favorite dishes from a local thai restaurant. Tomatoes, okra, onions and ginger sauteed together with a little fish sauce and lemon! Unbelievable!

That sounds really good.

My favorite way to eat tomatoes is my Tomatoville name - with a little salt. Yet, I cannot drink orange juice which is 3.3 - 4.5 on the PH scale reportedly. I actually like fresh squeezed orange juice, and love oranges. It makes me wonder - why is store bought orange juice so acidic?

Gardeneer · August 5, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

That sounds really good.

My favorite way to eat tomatoes is my Tomatoville name - with a little salt. Yet, I cannot drink orange juice which is 3.3 - 4.5 on the PH scale reportedly. I actually like fresh squeezed orange juice, and love oranges. It makes me wonder - why is store bought orange juice so acidic?

There is a huge difference in acidity between pH 3.3 and 4.5.
I can give you an example based on household vinegar, which contains 5% Acetic Acid. That vinegar has a pH = 2.40.
If you want to get a vinegar / water solution wit a pH = 3 you have to dilute it 14.9 times . If you want a solution with pH = 4 then have to dilute household vinegar by a factor of 1490.
This example is on Acetic Acid and not all acids will be the same. But the point is that a little acid can go a long way. The fast and sure way to reduce acid is by adding alkaline to the solution to chemically neutralize it. That is what antacid tablets do.

ADDED>
Baking Soda has pH of 9
Sea Water has pH of 8
So a little salt on the tomato can go a long way to reduce acid..

Worth1 · August 2, 2016

Here is a link that I put up some time ago.
Worth
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=38672

Gardeneer · August 3, 2016

I add baking soda to some of my acidic foods. Also to my coffee, sometimes.
I cannot tolerate too much acid. Have stopped drinking soda ( coke, Pepsi ....)

bower · August 3, 2016

I don't know the answer, but I'm interested in the question.
One of the reasons I started growing so many tomatoes, is that my Mom loves them but she can't use canned tomatoes at all because of the acidity. She hasn't had any problem with our own fresh and frozen tomatoes - at least, she's never complained of too acid ones. But she really loves the black tomatoes especially Chernomor, which I find to be fairly low acid and mild to my taste.

Another thought, Fred.. might be helpful to find out why you're having trouble with acidic food? In mom's case it's a hernia, but ulcers can cause that too. Or other inflammatory issues.

I had some 'acid indigestion' type problems rarely, often follow up with yoghurt for relief, but recently I tried a thousand milligrams of Vitamin C and found it very effective. Counter intuitive to take "ascorbic acid" for a problem dubbed "acid", for sure, but 1000 C's acts as an antihistamine, so in my case I think it was irritatation/inflammation of the membranes, as opposed to a simple reaction to acidic food.

gorbelly · August 3, 2016

Cold brew coffee is much less acidic. And done right, it still has rich flavor, albeit different from regular hot water brewed coffee.

peppero · August 3, 2016

When I had undiagnosed sleep apnea I had alot of problems with acid reflux. I got help from a sleep center. Ihave been using a CPAP machine for 25 years. It is an inconvenience but I can eat HOT spicy food with No PROBLEMS. As a bonus it also saved my life. If any of you snore and have little energy you might have sleep apnea and the accompanying reflux problem.

Jon

Captain Neon · August 4, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppero

When I had undiagnosed sleep apnea I had alot of problems with acid reflux. I got help from a sleep center. Ihave been using a CPAP machine for 25 years. It is an inconvenience but I can eat HOT spicy food with No PROBLEMS. As a bonus it also saved my life. If any of you snore and have little energy you might have sleep apnea and the accompanying reflux problem.

Jon

I went on CPAP a year ago. I fell asleep at work in the middle of a meeting. I didn't even feel myself getting drowsier. I had an AHI over 82, and was getting no REM. It didn't help my acid indigestion, but I am now better able to breathe through my nose during the day. Cucumbers are much more likely to cause me indigestion than tomatoes.

I still love my Mountain Dew and Coke, but I can now enjoy them as beverages rather than self-medication to stay awake. Were it not for CPAP, there is no way that I could work two jobs and grow tomatoes.

NarnianGarden · August 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorbelly

Cold brew coffee is much less acidic. And done right, it still has rich flavor, albeit different from regular hot water brewed coffee.

I'll have to learn this - iced coffee is my fave drink in the heat, but making coffee in the conventional menthod and then cooling it takes too much time..

Worth1 · August 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

I'll have to learn this - iced coffee is my fave drink in the heat, but making coffee in the conventional menthod and then cooling it takes too much time..

Make what you want today for tomorrow.
The first day make twice as much and put back the rest in the cooler.

Me I cant stand the stuff.

Worth

Ed of Somis · August 3, 2016

good info... and good thoughts Fred. It is nice to read posts that say something other than "what is your favorite variety".

August 2, 2016	#1
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	Alkaline foods to combine with tomatoes At this time of year coffee + tomatoes puts me on edge due to their acidity. Today I cut up a cucumber and put it in my bowl of tomatoes, and immediately wondered if it was alkaline, because of the "balance" I felt as I ate the tomatoes. Normally the tomatoes would put me at the edge of heartburn, but not today. Sure enough, cucumbers are listed as "alkaline" vegetables. Does anyone else have their go-to foods to combine with tomatoes to blunt the effect of the acid?

August 3, 2016	#8
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	I add baking soda to some of my acidic foods. Also to my coffee, sometimes. I cannot tolerate too much acid. Have stopped drinking soda ( coke, Pepsi ....) __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

August 2, 2016	#2
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I like the combination of tomatoes, okra, and onions. They seem to balance a dish and add a lot of good flavor. I really like Cajun and Mexican food. A local Asian restaurant serves tomatoes and cucumbers in Italian salad dressing/oil.

August 2, 2016	#3
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Mayo and white cheese come to mind.

August 2, 2016	#7
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Here is a link that I put up some time ago. Worth http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=38672

August 3, 2016	#9
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	I don't know the answer, but I'm interested in the question. One of the reasons I started growing so many tomatoes, is that my Mom loves them but she can't use canned tomatoes at all because of the acidity. She hasn't had any problem with our own fresh and frozen tomatoes - at least, she's never complained of too acid ones. But she really loves the black tomatoes especially Chernomor, which I find to be fairly low acid and mild to my taste. Another thought, Fred.. might be helpful to find out why you're having trouble with acidic food? In mom's case it's a hernia, but ulcers can cause that too. Or other inflammatory issues. I had some 'acid indigestion' type problems rarely, often follow up with yoghurt for relief, but recently I tried a thousand milligrams of Vitamin C and found it very effective. Counter intuitive to take "ascorbic acid" for a problem dubbed "acid", for sure, but 1000 C's acts as an antihistamine, so in my case I think it was irritatation/inflammation of the membranes, as opposed to a simple reaction to acidic food.

August 3, 2016	#10
gorbelly Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Posts: 1,069	Cold brew coffee is much less acidic. And done right, it still has rich flavor, albeit different from regular hot water brewed coffee.

August 3, 2016	#11
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	When I had undiagnosed sleep apnea I had alot of problems with acid reflux. I got help from a sleep center. Ihave been using a CPAP machine for 25 years. It is an inconvenience but I can eat HOT spicy food with No PROBLEMS. As a bonus it also saved my life. If any of you snore and have little energy you might have sleep apnea and the accompanying reflux problem. Jon

August 3, 2016	#15
Ed of Somis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Somis, Ca Posts: 649	good info... and good thoughts Fred. It is nice to read posts that say something other than "what is your favorite variety".