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Bart -my real name-
Senior Insider
Andy -
Is that sauce, or whole tomatoes?
Is that sauce, or whole tomatoes?
andynap
Senior Insider
That is all sauce ready to eat.
Bart -my real name-
Senior Insider
If you have time, could you post the recipe?
I've only canned whole tomatoes, and only frozen my sauce, but I'd like to can some to save freezer space.
Also how thick was it when you canned it? And how long did it take? I'm always mystified by the typical cooking time in recipes, "Let the sauce thicken for 45 minutes".......for me it's more like 3 hours!
I've only canned whole tomatoes, and only frozen my sauce, but I'd like to can some to save freezer space.
Also how thick was it when you canned it? And how long did it take? I'm always mystified by the typical cooking time in recipes, "Let the sauce thicken for 45 minutes".......for me it's more like 3 hours!
andynap
Senior Insider
Bart- first you need a tomato press- a hand operated one is fine if you are doing a dozen or so. If you are gong to do a couple of dozen a motorized one is necessary but get an Italian brand- it has an iron crusher whereas the others have plastic crushers that make a big difference in quality and quantity.
Next get the wide mouth Ball quart jars. They already have the lids and bands on them. I use a wide mouth funnel altho if you are careful it may not be necessary for small batches.
For product you need plum tomatoes and only plums. Figure 8 to 9 quarts of finished product per 20 pounds of tomatoes.
Next take the lids and bands off of the jars and wash the jars in soap and water- I use the dish washer. it's not necessary to dry them. Wash the bands in soap and water and set aside.
Put the lids in hot water not hotter than 180 degrees and leave them there until used. Watch the temp of that water. Better less than more.
Set the oven to 225 degrees. After the jars are washed and the oven has reached 225 put the jars only in the oven and leave until used.
Put a big pot with lid on the stove.
Set up the tomato press- it will have a chute for juice/pulp and one for skins and seeds. You will need 2 containers- one for each chute. I use a medium pot with handle for the juice/pulp and a plastic one for the skins. Set the press up high enough so that the containers fit under comfortably- use a thick cutting board or box to lift it up.
Cut the plum tomatoes in half and feed each one into the press stem side down and start crushing. As the juice container starts to get full, pour the juice into the pot on the stove, cover and and turn the heat on low. As the container for the skins gets full throw them away. As you continue to fill the pot on the stove turn the heat up and when the juice in that pot gets to about 2 inches from the top cover and turn the heat up until the juice starts to boil.
The next steps take coordination and have to be done quickly so have everything close at hand. I don't use the water bath method so the heat from the jars in the oven and the boiling tomatoes does the same thing.
Get a 2 cup or 1 cup container to scoop out the boiling tomatoes. One with a pour spout is good like a Pyrex pint container. Have a wooden spoon with long handle handy.
Paper towels are a necessity.
Take 2 or 3 jars out of the oven and put on towel paper or a kitchen towel.
Fill the jars with the tomatoes until 1 inch from the top.
Stir the tomatoes with the wooden spoon handle to get the air bubbles out.
This step is critical otherwise the lids will never seal- wipe the very tops of the jars with a wet paper towel to get any tomatoes off and then use a dry paper towel to dry.
Take a lid from the hot water and place on top of the jar. Take a band and screw on top hand tight and use a towel to wipe the top off. Put the jars somewhere to cool.
When the lids seal they will make a popping sound. That usually takes about 1/2 hour to 1 hour or so as the jars cool. After the jars have cooled check the seal by pushing down the button in the middle. If it goes up and down the seal hasn't taken and you have to do it again but you can't use the same lid you have to use new ones- you can buy the lids separately.
You now have a fully cooked tomato sauce that can be used directly from the jar without doing anything else if you want. They will last in a cool place for more than a year. You can use the bands over again but not the lids.
Next get the wide mouth Ball quart jars. They already have the lids and bands on them. I use a wide mouth funnel altho if you are careful it may not be necessary for small batches.
For product you need plum tomatoes and only plums. Figure 8 to 9 quarts of finished product per 20 pounds of tomatoes.
Next take the lids and bands off of the jars and wash the jars in soap and water- I use the dish washer. it's not necessary to dry them. Wash the bands in soap and water and set aside.
Put the lids in hot water not hotter than 180 degrees and leave them there until used. Watch the temp of that water. Better less than more.
Set the oven to 225 degrees. After the jars are washed and the oven has reached 225 put the jars only in the oven and leave until used.
Put a big pot with lid on the stove.
Set up the tomato press- it will have a chute for juice/pulp and one for skins and seeds. You will need 2 containers- one for each chute. I use a medium pot with handle for the juice/pulp and a plastic one for the skins. Set the press up high enough so that the containers fit under comfortably- use a thick cutting board or box to lift it up.
Cut the plum tomatoes in half and feed each one into the press stem side down and start crushing. As the juice container starts to get full, pour the juice into the pot on the stove, cover and and turn the heat on low. As the container for the skins gets full throw them away. As you continue to fill the pot on the stove turn the heat up and when the juice in that pot gets to about 2 inches from the top cover and turn the heat up until the juice starts to boil.
The next steps take coordination and have to be done quickly so have everything close at hand. I don't use the water bath method so the heat from the jars in the oven and the boiling tomatoes does the same thing.
Get a 2 cup or 1 cup container to scoop out the boiling tomatoes. One with a pour spout is good like a Pyrex pint container. Have a wooden spoon with long handle handy.
Paper towels are a necessity.
Take 2 or 3 jars out of the oven and put on towel paper or a kitchen towel.
Fill the jars with the tomatoes until 1 inch from the top.
Stir the tomatoes with the wooden spoon handle to get the air bubbles out.
This step is critical otherwise the lids will never seal- wipe the very tops of the jars with a wet paper towel to get any tomatoes off and then use a dry paper towel to dry.
Take a lid from the hot water and place on top of the jar. Take a band and screw on top hand tight and use a towel to wipe the top off. Put the jars somewhere to cool.
When the lids seal they will make a popping sound. That usually takes about 1/2 hour to 1 hour or so as the jars cool. After the jars have cooled check the seal by pushing down the button in the middle. If it goes up and down the seal hasn't taken and you have to do it again but you can't use the same lid you have to use new ones- you can buy the lids separately.
You now have a fully cooked tomato sauce that can be used directly from the jar without doing anything else if you want. They will last in a cool place for more than a year. You can use the bands over again but not the lids.
Bart -my real name-
Senior Insider
Thanks Andy!
So you don't add any citric acid or lemon juice to the jars, just straight tomatoes?
(and no garlic, basil, oregano, etc either?)
So you don't add any citric acid or lemon juice to the jars, just straight tomatoes?
(and no garlic, basil, oregano, etc either?)
andynap
Senior Insider
Nothing is added but you can add a piece of fresh basil if you want. I don't put garlic or oregano because I use the tomato sauce for things other than pasta- fish, beans, peppers, etc and I can add it later.
Absolutely no lemon juice or other acid- the tomatoes are acid enough.
Bart -my real name-
Senior Insider
Very good, thanks!
I have all the equipment except the proper tomatoes! I didn't grow any romas so that's probably the cause of my extended cooking time issue.
I have all the equipment except the proper tomatoes! I didn't grow any romas so that's probably the cause of my extended cooking time issue.
MIke R
Senior Insider
ditto
Bart -my real name-
Senior Insider
Yeah, I used to grow Romas but they kept getting blossom end rot so I quit. Also the endless harvest of hundreds of small tomatoes wore me out.
But maybe next year.................
But maybe next year.................
andynap
Senior Insider
Blossom end rot is caused by a lack of calcium in the soil. Weekly treatments of liquid calcium or Epsom salts diluted in water will cure that problem. I used 120 lbs of plums. I could never grow that many and at $20/40 lbs it's not worth growing anyway.
MIke R
Senior Insider
thats where we are at too.....we re too busy for high maintenance growing....so we re switching gears to more low maintenance things like grapes,blueberries. raspberries, apples,rhubarb, strawberries, herbs, peas,cherry tomatoes etc....too many great nearby farms turning out great products for cheap to do it ourselves...in a month or so I will be able to get huge quantities of squash and beets for pennies
