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Canning Sauces, Rubs, Gravy

Don’t Toss Those Over Ripe Tomatoes Just Yet!

Everybody loves a nice fresh tomato to eat especially in a garden salad or on a hamburger but when they’ve started to go soft or the skins begin to wrinkle don’t toss them out … make tomato sauce! Over ripened tomatoes are actually needed and preferred over the fresh normally ripened ones when making tomato sauce. NOTE: I said over ripened and soft with wrinkled skins — and not spoiled. If they are molding (white, green, black, or brown colored fuzz or goop) and/or turning into a blackened science experiment and smell bad then throw them out!

If soft enough, you can just peel the skins off. If not, bring just enough water to cover them to a boil (before adding them) and once it comes to a boil drop them in (carefully) and let them boil for 5 minutes. Drain and allow to cool enough to handle but still a bit warm to touch and they will peel easily. You can even freeze the skins for use in soups, stews, or spaghetti sauce later on.

It’s optional and up to personal preference, but you can, if desired, use a spoon or water melon scoop to remove the seeds. I don’t bother myself.  But do make sure that you remove the stems or any of the center inner white colored parts if they are really tough and woody.   Sometimes they will soften with cooking and sometimes not — particularly with some of the newer tomato varieties on today’s market.  I try to stick with Roma or heirloom tomatoes myself as much as possible.

Place peeled tomatoes into food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Place puree into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer on low stirring every 20 to 30 minutes until reduced (most of the liquid evaporated and the sauce thickened).

Congratulations! You’ve just made tomato sauce!

You can season it now or just leave it plain until you know what you are going to be using it for. It depends upon what you plan to do with it that determines how best to season it or if things like vinegar or sugar will be needed. Basically, this is like the plain canned tomato sauce you’d buy at the store but without any artificial coloring, flavorings, salt, sugar, corn syrup, chemical additives or preservatives. When ready to use, you will control absolutely everything that will or will not go into it.

Stored in airtight (non-plastic, non-copper, non-aluminum) container (preferably a Mason or Kerr jar) and it will keep about a week refrigerated or you can freeze it for up to 8 months until you have use of it.

If there is a large enough quantity, you can even, while it is still hot, pour it into hot sterilized canning jars and follow proper canning technique. It will then keep at room temperature for 12 to 18 months!

Update: They no longer recommend canning tomatoes unless lemon juice is added and only fresh tomatoes are used! GMO tomatoes today have a different acidity and we now have “super bugs” so previous canning recipes and methods are no longer recommended.

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Tomato sauce

Tomatoes that have gone soft and over ripe make the best tomato sauce --  and preferable to fresh tomatoes -- so don't throw them out when they are perfect for making sauce!   And if intend to make sauce from garden fresh produce it is recommended you let them ripen and get soft first. 

Ingredients

  • over ripened, soft tomatoes
  • boiling water (enough to cover)
  • glass storage containers or jars

Instructions

  1. If necessary, place tomatoes in boiling water and allow to boil 5 minutes then drain to make peeling skins easier.  They will peel easier while still warm but do not try to peel while still hot. 
  2. Place peeled tomatoes in food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
  3. Place puree in sauce pan and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until reduced. Stir every 20 to 30 minutes.
  4. Pour into hot sterilized canning jars and proceed with proper canning technique.  Properly canned they will keep at room temperature for 12 to  18 months.   Or pour into clean jars and store in refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for up to 8 months. 

Due to acidity it is not recommended that tomato products be in direct contact with plastics, copper, or aluminum.

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  1. Basic Stewed/Diced Tomatoes (unseasoned) - Vintage to Modern Kitchen says:
    July 26, 2018 at 12:51 pm

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About Me

Hi, I'm Tammy!

I live in Idaho but I am a southerner and moved here for career reasons in 2000. However, I am now a retired widow and have lots of time to focus on what makes me happiest -- cooking, sharing recipes, as well as teaching and sharing with others what I know about cooking and nutrition.

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about cooking and I'm not a chef, although I do know a few and helped them out from time to time and my late husband was a trained cook and baker as well as a master at smoking meats and making BBQ, and I have studied nutrition at two colleges and one university along with other degrees. I like cooking from scratch and recipes made with prepackaged items are the exception rather than the norm.

However, being disabled, I have good days and bad days so I do use what I call "cheats" on occasion. For the most part though I've learned to pace myself and with a little preplanning I manage to do the prep one day and the cooking the next so the cheats still don't happen very often.

I have an enormous collection of recipes dating from the 1700s to the present (hence, vintage to modern). Because of my late husband's health issues I also have many diabetic and heart healthy recipes or my recipes often include substitutions along with the regular ingredients.

I do just about everything when it comes to cooking so other than predominantly scratch cooking, I don't really have a set focus on any particular cuisine. I even make a few cheeses, canning, homemade ginger ale, candies and confections, and the list goes on. If there is a recipe for something you'd like to see just leave a comment or write to me at: vintage2modernkitchen@gmail.com

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