Canning: Basic Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce is such a basic ingredient in so many things. Here is the one I like to can to have on hand.
The Recipe: Basic Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, unpeeled (about 24 cups)
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons fresh minced oregano or 4 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon pickling salt
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon for each pint jar or 2 tablespoons for each quart jar bottled lemon juice
Instructions
- Core and remove any bad spots on tomatoes. Chop tomatoes. combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, sugar, pepper, salt and bay leaves in a large non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 1 1/2 hours or until very thick. Press sauce through food mill or coarse sieve, removing seed and skins. Discard or compost seeds and skins.
- Put 1 tablespoon lemon juice for each pint jar or 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice for each quart jar into hot, drained jars, ladle sauce into jars leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Clean rim before capping with hot lids and rings. Tighten rings finger tip tight. At sea level to 3000 ft above, process half-pint and pint jars for 35 minutes and quart jars for 40 minutes in a hot water batch