Jills Favorite Canned Tomato Sauce Food

CANNED TOMATO SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Rinse the tomatoes and pat them dry. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cut a small "X" in the bottom of each tomato and blanch them in the boiling water for about 30 seconds.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes to an ice bath to cool.
• Lift tomatoes out of the ice bath, slip off their skins, cut the tomatoes in half crosswise, squeeze out the seeds, and coarsely chop the tomatoes.
• Put the coarsely chopped tomatoes in a pot with the salt and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady but gentle simmer and cook, stirring now and again, until the mixture is reduced by about a third, about 45 minutes. If at any point the mixture starts sticking to the pot, lower the heat and stir more often.
• Meanwhile, bring a canning kettle full of water to a boil. To sterilize the jars and lids, place them in the pot and boil for at least 10 minutes.
• Then, using a jar lifter, transfer them to a cooling rack to let them dry. (They will remain somewhat hot after they are dry.)
• Put 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice in each of the 4 jars.
• Transfer the hot tomato sauce to the hot jars (a wide-mouth canning funnel works well), leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the top.
• Screw on the lids, put the jars in a canning rack, and lower them into the boiling water in the canning kettle. Process (boil) for 40 minutes. There needs to be at least an inch of water covering the jars, so keep an eye on the water level, adding more boiling water if needed.
• Remove the jars and let them cool. Store them in a cool, dark place (a cupboard or pantry works great) until you're ready to use some tomato sauce.

JILL'S FAVORITE CANNED TOMATO SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash the tomatoes and remove the ends and any damaged spots. Quarter them and deseed them by running your fingers down the middle and scraping out the bulk of the seeds and juice. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor or blender.
• (OR, you can run the tomatoes through a food mill and save yourself a lot of time! When I'm using my food mill, I wash them, remove any bad spots, and that's it- the machine does the rest.)
• Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large pot. Add the tomatoes, pepper, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce by about one-half. If you are using very juicy tomatoes, this can take 3-5 hours.
• The most important part of homemade tomato sauce is the tasting! Tomatoes greatly differ from variety to variety, so you must taste as you go.
• In order to keep the ratios of high acid to low acid foods at a safe level in this recipe, you cannot increase the amount of onions or garlic you use, but you CAN increase the herbs, sugar, or salt.
• Once the sauce has reduced by half and the flavor is where you want it to be, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to each pint jar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each quart jar.
• Ladle the sauce into the jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
• Process pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes in a hot water bath canner. (Keep in mind that you may have to adjust your processing time according to your altitude.)
• REMEMBER: Don't start timing until the water has returned to a boil with the filled jars inside.
• Store your sealed jars in a cool, dark place. I use this all-purpose sauce in all sorts of recipes- add basil and oregano to give it an Italian twist, or add chili powder and cumin for Mexican food.

TOMATO SAUCE FOR CANNING

Steps:

• Prepare the jars and lids: Wash all jars and lids thoroughly with soap and water and rinse well. Fill your canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 1 inch and bring to a simmer. Using a pair of canning tongs, lower the jars in gently, tilting them to fill with the hot water. In a small saucepan, keep some water warm but not boiling; place the lids in the water. Have an additional kettle of water on to boil. Peel and core the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Have a large bowl of ice water at the ready. Gently lower the tomatoes into the boiling water and blanch them for 60 seconds. Remove with a strainer and transfer them to the ice water. Once cool, slit the skins; they should peel off easily. Remove the cores with a small paring knife. You will need to do this in batches. Discard skins and cores. Prepare the sauce: Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add them to a large stockpot. Place stockpot over medium-high heat, crushing and stirring the tomatoes to keep from burning. Continue until all the tomatoes are added and crushed. Bring the tomatoes to a boil, then reduce heat and keep at a low boil. Reduce to the desired thickness, by a third for a thin sauce, or by half for a thick sauce. Fill and close the jars: Using canning tongs, remove the jars from the canner, carefully pouring the water back into the canner. Set next to the sauce. Turn the heat under the canner to high. Add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice and one teaspoon of salt to each jar; add a teaspoon of sugar to offset the added acidity if desired. Use a ladle to pour the sauce into the jars through a canning funnel, leaving 1/2-inch headspace at the top. Run a clean chopstick around the inside of the jar to dislodge any trapped air. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel. Place the lids on, and screw on the rings until just finger-tight. Seal the jars: Using canning tongs, gently transfer the jars to the canner, taking care to keep them vertical. When all the jars are in the canner, there should be at least 1 inch water covering them; if you need more, add water from the kettle until the jars are sufficiently covered. Bring the water to a full rolling boil, and process for 40 minutes. Remove and cool: Using canning tongs, gently remove the jars from the canner and transfer them to a kitchen towel or cooling rack, again keeping them vertical. Do not set hot jars directly on to cool counter surfaces. Leave to cool, undisturbed, for at least 12 hours. If any of the jars do not seal when cool, reprocess using the method above, or refrigerate and use immediately. Label and store: Add a label to the lid or side of your jar, noting the date it was canned. Remove the rings and store jars in a cool, dark place for up to one year. Refrigerate after opening.

FRESHLY "CANNED" TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium pot over medium-high heat, pour in the olive oil. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Give it a stir and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, and basil. Reduce the heat a bit and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

TOMATO SAUCE FROM CANNED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Drain tomatoes, reserving the liquid.
• Place the reserved liquid in a non-reactive pot. Add the sherry vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, oregano and basil to the tomato juice. Cook over high heat until the tomato juice starts to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced by half or until the liquid thickens to the consistency of a light syrup.
• Chop carrot, celery and onion into 1/2 inch pieces and combine with garlic and oil in a non-reactive roasting pan over low heat. Sweat the vegetables until the onion is translucent and the carrots are tender (15-20 minutes).
• Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and add the seeded tomatoes, along with the capers, to the roasting pan.
• Place the pan in the center rack of the oven and broil for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the tomatoes start to brown slightly around the edges. Remove the pan from the oven, add the white wine and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan.
• Add the tomato juice to the tomatoes and blend to the desired thickness in a blender or with a stick blender.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.