I’m enjoy cooking but wouldn’t say that I was particularly great at it. I’m good at following recipes. We tend to cook a lot of tomato based dishes (mainly pasta) and I always use tinned tomatoes and puree for ease. Today, I have Paula from Food RevPGH sharing a homemade tomato sauce recipe. I can’t wait to try it out.

Below you will find some information to help you prepare a delicious homemade tomato sauce. In fact, we have discussed virtually everything right from selecting the appropriate tomatoes to packing the red sauce into containers.

Although it can be labour intensive, making your own tomato sauce is not that challenging. We’re going to prepare a comparatively smaller amount here, but this will keep you busy in the kitchen for at least a few hours. This tomato sauce can also be used as a substitute for tomato paste for making delightful recipes. In case you are looking to prepare a larger batch, it’s imperative that you set aside a good amount of time to do so. It would also be a good idea to get a helping hand from someone too.

Selecting tomatoes for the sauce

You can use any tomatoes that might taste good to you. Romas, as well as other types of tomatoes typically possess a lesser number of seeds as well as juice and more flesh in comparison. Consequently, they are usually recommended for canning. We’d like to suggest to go for Big Boy tomatoes which ought to be the basic slicing tomatoes for the batch.

Cost of the tomatoes

Cost is yet another aspect which you need to consider and you should try to avoid purchasing anything in excess of around 70-80p per pound.

Preparing the sauce

This particular sauce is the most basic.  You simply add some lemon juice as well as tomatoes to increase the acidity to risk-free levels for canning. Although it is possible to include seasonings such as onions, garlic, or herbs, it’s actually a neutral base for any recipe you might want to prepare, from tasty lasagne to mouthwatering pizzas. It is highly recommended to avoid using any oil while preparing to can the sauce since it might be a source for botulism.

Pureed or Chunky Sauce?

You might consider dropping these tomatoes in a blender in order to save yourself a bit of work. Whilst longer processing is going to make a smoother sauce, several pulses will make it a thicker sauce. However, you could skip this particular step in case you would like to prepare a thicker sauce and allow the tomatoes to break down while they simmer. The tomatoes can also be sliced by hand or run through a food mill after the cooking is finished.

How long will it take to cook the sauce?

Usually, a cooking time of half an hour to 90 minutes will be required. Your sauce is going to be thickened by longer cooking times and you will get a thinner sauce along with a fresh flavour of tomatoes in a shorter cooking time. It is essential to observe the sauce while it simmers and finishes cooking as it achieves a consistency as well as a flavour that you like.

The recipe

Ingredients:

12 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes
2 teaspoons of salt (recommended)
1/4 cup of lemon juice

Equipment

Cast Iron pot
Slotted spoon
Mixing bowls
Blender or Food processor
Cutting board and Knife
Containers for freezing or jars for canning

Directions:

1. Boil some water in a pot and prepare the ice bath:

Boil a cast iron pot of water over high temperature. After filling a mixing bowl with water and ice set it beside the stove.

2. Make the tomatoes ready for blanching:

Core out the stems, cut an “X” at the bottom of every tomato.

3. Blanche the vegetables for peeling them:

Place a few tomatoes in the boiling water and cook for approximately one hour till the skin begins to wrinkle and split and then lift the vegetables out using a slotted spoon. Following this, drop them into the cold water. Repeat the same process with the remaining tomatoes while shifting the cooled ones to another mixing bowl from the ice water as they become cold.

4. Strip the peels:

Once the blanching is complete, make it a point to strip the skins making use of a paring knife or simply your hands. Next, the water which is used for boiling the tomatoes must be discarded.

5. Slice the tomatoes:

The tomatoes have to be pulsed in a food processor several times for a thicker sauce or processed till smooth for a pureed sauce. Next, shift every single batch to the oven. Otherwise, you may also chop these tomatoes using your hand. In order to get a smoother sauce, process them through a food mill. This particular step can be skipped in case you would like to get a very thick sauce and in that case, you can allow the tomatoes to break down into bigger pieces while they cook.

6. Simmer the vegetables:

The tomato sauce must be brought to a simmer over moderate heat. The simmering must be continued for approximately one hour till the sauce achieves the consistency as well as the flavour you like.

7. Stir in the salt and lemon juice:

Once the cooking is finished, stir in the vinegar or lemon juice and salt. Although it is necessary to go for a quarter-cup for ensuring a risk-free level of acidity, you might consider adding more vinegar or lemon juice to taste.

8. Freeze the sauce:

Transfer the sauce into freezer bags or freezer containers once it becomes cool. It is possible to keep the sauce in the frozen condition for a minimum of three months.

9. Can the sauce:

The hot sauce can also be transferred to sterilised canning containers. Make use of brand-new sterilised lids and make the container airtight. Process it in a jar of boiling water for approximately half an hour. Allow this to cool completely on the counter. As a matter of fact, it is possible to store canned tomatoes in your larder for a minimum of one year.

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