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Winter Fun... Tomato Sauce

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Just couldn't resist taking a picture of this memory of summer, when we made homemade tomato sauce recently :sun: check it out in FULL VIEW :clap:

If you've never made homemade tomato sauce, or pizza sauce, it really is quite simple!! Just freeze your excess tomatoes WHOLE, without peeling or cooking them first. When you're ready to make the sauce, just place the frozen tomatoes in a large pot, and fill with water. Bring the water to a boil, and as soon as the skins on the tomatoes just begin to split, remove the pan from heat. Using a slotted ladle, gently lift the tomatoes, one at a time, letting the excess water remain in the pan...and place a few tomatoes into a food press (this link will give you an idea of what a food press looks like [link]) and mash the pulp out of them.... literally :giggle: over a large bowl. Between mashings, you will want to remove the skins and seeds from the food press, and it's pestle (and discard them).... so that no seeds or skins accidentally end up in your catch bowl. DO, however, scrap the pulp off the exterior of the food press, and allow it to go into your catch bowl!

Once you have removed the pulp and juice from all the tomatoes.... discard the remaining water that you boiled the tomatoes in... and then pour the contents of your catch bowl into a suitable sized sauce pan. Place over low heat, and allow pulp/juice to begin "cooking down". Do not allow the mixture to come to a boil.... this would burn the sauce, and make it bitter! :O

Depending upon the volume that you have, add a Tablespoon or two of granulated white cane sugar... this is the "secret" weapon that most people do not realize exists in tomato sauce! :D

Then based upon your own personal preferences, you may add any or all of the following spices:
Sweet Basil (this offsets much of the natural bitterness and acidity in tomatoes!)
Bay Leaves
Garlic powder (do not use Garlic salt)
Onion powder (do not use Onion salt)
Ground Sage (small amount)
Fennel (a tiny pinch :giggle: remember, Fennel goes a very long way!)
Savory (a small pinch... again, Savory, like Fennel goes a long way!)
Ground Oregano
Ground Thyme
Ground Rosemary
Fine granulated table salt
Fine ground black pepper

Stir well, and allow mixture to cook for approximately 1 hour, stiring occassionally. Taste, and then adjust spices as you see fit!

A few notes about spices:
If you add Oregano, be sure to add more Sweet Basil (as Oregano adds bitter/Sweet Basil controls bitter!).
Be aware that it will take quite a bit of salt, in order for your tomato sauce to taste like what you may be used to from canned tomato sauce.
As the mixture cooks down, you can continue to add small amounts of which ever spice seems to be lacking.... but, be careful in the early stages, because you will be tasting a very diluted mixture, and the spices will not have had quite enough time to completely release their flavors into the mixture. The more you make your own sauce, the easier it will become.... to determine how much of each spice to add! :D

After the sauce has cooked down for several hours, it should have a consistency slightly thicker than canned tomato soup. When you are satisfied with the consistency of your sauce, remove pan from burner, and allow to cool, uncovered.

When cool, cover pan securely with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator overnight. The following day, remove from refrigerator, return to burner, bring back up to low heat, and taste!
This is the time to do your final adjustment on the spices :nod:

When you are satisfied with the taste, remove from heat and allow to cool, again, uncovered.
Once the mixture is cool, you may bag it down into Ziploc freezer bags, and freeze for future use.

If you do not grow your own tomatoes, but wish to make sauce that does not have preservatives in it, go to the grocery store, and purchase fresh Roma variety tomatoes; the riper, the better. They make the best sauce! If you watch, some stores will put Romas on sale, when their inventory is becoming over-ripe... and that's the perfect time to buy them!! If you don't have the time to make sauce immediately, just freeze them whole in storage bags, for future use.

For pizza sauce, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce.
Image size
6600x5223px 2.65 MB
Make
NIKON CORPORATION
Model
NIKON D40X
Shutter Speed
10/250 second
Aperture
F/5.6
Focal Length
52 mm
ISO Speed
1600
Date Taken
Jan 16, 2009, 11:59:16 PM
© 2009 - 2024 LadyAliceofOz
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Raenafyn's avatar
tomato sauce is delicious :D i might find this recipe again and see if i could make my own someday ~