Why is this soup sweet?

[spinbaby]

Cold weather is upon us again and I had cabbage to use up, so I improvised soup. | started by sautéing onion, carrots, and celery in olive oil. Added a can of tomato paste and browned it a bit, then added low-sodium chicken stock, a bunch of shredded cabbage, and a can of navy beans I found in the pantry. Put it on a simmer for about an hour.

It was sweet. Not jelly doughnut sweet, but sweet.

I hadn’t been expecting any excitement from this soup, but the sweetness was unexpected. I just can’t figure out why it was sweet. A squeeze of lime helped.

[we can do it]

1. I'm guessing the carrots made it sweet,

[niyad]

2. My thought as well.

[spinbaby]

5. There weren't that many carrots

Three small carrots, one medium yellow onion, three or four ribs of celery, one can of tomato paste, one small organic cabbage, navy beans, chicken stock. None of this seems like enough to make it this sweet. The cabbage had been in my fridge for over a month, so I do wonder if it gets sweet in the fridge like potatoes sometimes do.

[niyad]

3. Your soup sounds great, by the way. My guess would be the carrots,

and possibly the onions, if they were a sweet variety.

[LuvLoogie]

4. Carrots yes. And the sugars in onion come forward

when cooked. The cabbage, too. The caramelized tomato paste.

[Yonnie3]

6. The tomato paste perhaps

A 6 ounce can I looked at has 21 grams of sugar which is over 5 teaspoons of sugar.

[MOMFUDSKI]

7. I have noticed that carrots can vary in

sweetness a great deal. I prefer sweeter. But you never know what you are getting. Enjoy your soup!

[hlthe2b]

8. Carrots definitely and tomato paste (to some extent)

Carrots have considerable naturally -occurring sugars in them. If you roast or boil them, you'd notice a sweet taste even without adding anything else.

As to the tomato paste, some brands add sugar, but tomatoes too can impart a sweet taste.

[Marthe48]

9. Some root vegetables

Can get sweeter in the cold months. Cabbage can get sweeter, too.

[Retrograde]

10. I suspect the tomato paste

Tomatoes, being fruits, contain a lot of sugars to begin with. Tomato paste is concentrated tomatoes- depending on the size of the can you could be adding several tomatoes’ worth of solids. Carrots and onions also contain considerable amounts of sugar to nourish the plants. When I use tomato paste I find that I often have to add some vinegar to tone down the sweetness

[Easterncedar]

11. Both onions and cabbage can be sweet

I have had this happen with turkey soup, and I really didn’t like the sweetness. I think it was the onion. Not Vidalia, BTW, just yellow.

[Warpy]

12. Lots of sweet stuff in it

like onions, carrots, cabbage, and even the beans. Low sodium broth let all the sugars come through. Smoky, salty cured meat might have counteracted the sugars. Garlic and heat can also help.

I'm fine with sweet veg and unsalted soups. It's only disconcerting when you're not expecting it.

(Yay for cooking the tomato paste before diluting it, but the Maillard reaction might have contributed some sweetness, too)

[Trueblue Texan]

13. Did you put thyme in it?

Thyme always seems to make things taste sweet--not my favorite herb.