Neither of us had ever made tomato sauce, but we didn't let that stop us. After reading 20 or more posts we came up with our own system. Hope you enjoy!
The first thing we did was buy our tomatoes. I know, buy...but the truth is we didn't plant tomatoes in the garden this year. BIG OVERSIGHT.
However, we were able to get tomatoes at a very reasonable price at the farmer's market. What we bought were the ripest tomatoes that needed to be used ASAP. Perfect for canning.
From there we washed our new tomatoes, cut any bad spots off, and cored them. No, we didn't remove the skin or pulp. I figure that there are probably some good things in both that we might lose by getting rid of them at this step, plus I saw a bunch of variance in this step.
We pureed our tomatoes and placed into our stock pot.
Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and let it cook. The foam will die down...but keep cooking.
In all it took around 2 hours, but I like my sauce a little more watery than others. I did reduce my liquid by half though. Once we were close to my desired consistency, I used my immersion blender to puree the sauce even more. I LOVE IT. Get one if you don't have one. It's fantastic. Though side note, if you don't have one you can use a blender.
Finally, I strained my final product. This removed any seeds or leftover skin that didn't cook and puree.
You're left with a super healthy and fresh product!! We simply froze ours in freezer bags, as we will use these within the year.
The final tally- .44 cents a "can" of sauce. This is a good 30 cents cheaper per can from my local knock off brand tomato sauce from the grocery store.
So not only are we cheaper than the grocery store, but we are using local products that are pesticide free, picked and used at freshness, and is HEALTHIER!! No sodium, as my family has to watch that in particular. If you don't have to, I would recommend adding some salt if you like during the cooking process, but even then you are likely to add less than the canned goods.
Now it is a little late to help many now, but that said, bookmark and get ready for next summer. Watch out, Tomatoes!!
Next up on my road to granola- sourdough bread.
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