I scored 50 pounds of beautiful Roma tomatoes. My ultimate goal is to process 100 pounds of tomatoes this summer, so after I am done with this 50, I am halfway there.
With the first 25 pounds I am making Basic Tomato Sauce.
DISCLAIMER - This is the way I can Basic Tomato Sauce. I have done research prior to canning it and verified times and pressures in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I always recommend that everyone do their own research and verifications in regards to canning. Always keeping safety in mind.
Supplies:
Pot for Water Bath
1/2 pint/pint jars, lids and rings
25 pounds Roma Tomatoes
Lemon juice or Citric acid
Canning salt
Canning salt
I started off with washing my tomatoes in cold water and then slicing them in half. I then placed a single layer of halved tomatoes in two pots. As they warm I use a potato masher to mash them. When I have a bit of juice in each pot I add the remaining tomatoes splitting them between the two pots and simmer until the tomatoes are softened and heated through.
Once the tomatoes are softened I put them through my Kitchen Aid vegetable strainer. You can also use a fine sieve or food mill.
I put the puree mixture in pitchers and let them cool for a bit on the counter. When they were cooled down I put them in the refrigerator over night.
In the morning the liquid has separated from the puree. This lessens the cooking down time.
I drain the liquid, or tomato broth as I call it, and placed it into a soup pot. Later on I will bring it to a boil and can it the same way I can the tomatoes. It can be used as a great soup or stew base.
I put the puree mixture in a large pot, bring to a boil and then simmer until it reach the desired thickness. This process takes several hours.
While the sauce is cooking down I prepared my jars and lids. I always give my jars a quick wash in some warm soapy water. Rinse well and then fill with about 1 or so inches of hot water and set them in a roasting pan. I put the roasting pan into the oven and set the heat at 250 degrees. This will keep the jars warm and sterilize them. They must be in the oven for 30 minutes to be sterilized. I then placed the lids into a small pan of hot, not boiling, water on top of the stove and leave them until I am ready to use them.
When the sauce has reached it's desired level of thickness I am ready to get this show on the road. Before filling each jar with tomato sauce I add citric acid and salt to each jar. You can use bottled lemon juice in place of citric acid (See the table below).
 |
| Save the seeds, skins and pulp that is discarded in the pureeing process and look for my tutorial on how to make tomato powder with them. |
I put the puree mixture in pitchers and let them cool for a bit on the counter. When they were cooled down I put them in the refrigerator over night.
In the morning the liquid has separated from the puree. This lessens the cooking down time.
I drain the liquid, or tomato broth as I call it, and placed it into a soup pot. Later on I will bring it to a boil and can it the same way I can the tomatoes. It can be used as a great soup or stew base.
I put the puree mixture in a large pot, bring to a boil and then simmer until it reach the desired thickness. This process takes several hours.
While the sauce is cooking down I prepared my jars and lids. I always give my jars a quick wash in some warm soapy water. Rinse well and then fill with about 1 or so inches of hot water and set them in a roasting pan. I put the roasting pan into the oven and set the heat at 250 degrees. This will keep the jars warm and sterilize them. They must be in the oven for 30 minutes to be sterilized. I then placed the lids into a small pan of hot, not boiling, water on top of the stove and leave them until I am ready to use them.
Acidification Ingredient Options
|
Jar Size
|
Pint Quart
|
|
Bottled lemon juice
|
1 tbsp 2 tbsp
|
Citric acid
|
¼ tsp ½ tsp
|
Salt (optional)
|
½ tsp 1 tsp
|
I then ladled the sauce into the hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace, after removing the air bubbles. Then I cleaned the rim of the jar with a paper towel dampened with white vinegar. I place the lids on and the rings finger tip tight and then placed into my prepared waterbath canner, ensuring that they are completely covered with water.
I brought them to a rolling boil and processed them 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts. When they were finished processing I turned off the burner, removed the lid and waited another 5 mins. before removing the jars. I then removed the jars and set them on a dish drying mat and listened for the magical ping.
I waited 24 hours and then removed the rings, washed them up, labeled them and put them away.
With the 25 pounds I ended up with 11 half pints*, and 4 pints of tomato sauce. I also got 2 pints of tomato broth out of it.
*I usually can most of my tomato sauce in half pints because that is the amount I need for the majority of my dishes during the winter. I process them using the time for pints.*
Happy canning everyone and remember to check for the tomato powder tutorial!
I brought them to a rolling boil and processed them 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts. When they were finished processing I turned off the burner, removed the lid and waited another 5 mins. before removing the jars. I then removed the jars and set them on a dish drying mat and listened for the magical ping.
I waited 24 hours and then removed the rings, washed them up, labeled them and put them away.
With the 25 pounds I ended up with 11 half pints*, and 4 pints of tomato sauce. I also got 2 pints of tomato broth out of it.
*I usually can most of my tomato sauce in half pints because that is the amount I need for the majority of my dishes during the winter. I process them using the time for pints.*
Happy canning everyone and remember to check for the tomato powder tutorial!
