Hello,
My advice is to follow your first instinct and stay a tad grossed out. The American obsession with sugar is now in its third phase, meaning that it's become 'cool'. But it’s anti-culinary.
There are two main reasons people put sugar in tomato sauce. The first is inadequate tomatoes. To any real Italian cook, (and we are talking about a dish based in Italian cuisine), the idea of putting sugar in tomato sauce is also a tad gross. Use good tomatoes and respect their flavor. There are over three hundred separate flavor elements in a tomato. Adding sugar just covers them in a blanket of sweetness without enhancing anything.
The second reason is that most American simply can't taste anything anymore unless it's sweet. It’s very much a matter of conditioning, so don’t be fooled by the word ‘delicious’, because it says nothing about the actual quality of a thing. Everything is delicious to someone. They'll tell you that it 'adds complexity', and other catch-phrases. That's just marketing talk. If they used their tongues more to taste and less to talk they'd learn everything they need to know. (Sorry if that sounds didactic, but it's true.)
Researchers are beginning to declare sugar a greater health hazard than cocaine, more addictive, more damaging to health, etc. A child born today has a 50% chance of getting diabetes in its lifetime. There’s nothing delicious about insulin.
But it’s not just a health issue. I’m a great lover of chocolates, candies and desserts, but I would no sooner put sugar in a pasta sauce than I’d put M’n’M’s on a Pizza. Sugar masks real flavor. If you take the time to learn to cook, or at least how to eat, your body and your palate will reward you forever.
If the subject interests you, there’s more at: https://simplovore.wordpress.com/
Best of luck!
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