Fall is for all things .... not pumpkin, but tomato!
I water bath can a very simple, very basic tomato sauce. Because this recipe adjusts the pH of the tomato with lemon juice it can be water bathed preserved. I allow this sauce to remain thin. You can allow it to simmer as long as you'd like to make a thicker sauce. I prefer to can up many, many pints of a thinner sauce because of how versatile a thinner sauce can be. I use this basic sauce for enchilada sauce, pasta or spaghetti sauce, in soups and chilis and for pizza sauce. By simply adding combination of different spices, this simple tomato sauce can become so much!
This recipe has been adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
It will take about 35 pounds of tomatoes to make 7 quarts. I prefer to do this recipe into pint jars. 10 pounds of tomatoes will yield 6-7 pints. This recipe is easy enough to do in small batches. As my tomatoes ripen, I collect them in the fridge until I have about 10 pounds and if I don't cave and make more salsa, I will whip up this sauce! Any tomato variety or a mixture of varieties will work great.
Wash your tomatoes and remove the stem. You do not need to core or remove the skins. Quarter six tomatoes at a time and place them in a large sauce pan. Bring to boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly and using a potato masher to crush the tomatoes to release the juices. While maintaining a boil, continue to add a handful of quartered tomatoes at a time, allowing them to boil and continuously smashing. Continue until all of the tomatoes have been added and crushed.
Remove from heat and in batches press tomatoes through a sieve, food meal or strainer to separate the skins and seeds. Feed the skins and seeds to your farm animals or compost! I love this strainer that I found at a antique store.
Return your mixture to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, reduce heat and simmer until volume is reduced by at least 1/3 for your thin sauce or until desired thickness is achieved.
Before filling each jar with tomato sauce, add your lemon or citric acid, salt & dried herbs to the bottom of the jar.
For pints, I add 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp sea salt.
For quarts add, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp salt.
I add a basic blend of dried oregano, basil and parsley to each jar, about 1 tsp to each jar. Adding dried herbs is optional.
Ladle the sauce into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Seal with lid and ring and water bath can according to your elevation.
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