Lately, my life’s evolved to be one big tomato canning experience. I wake up, I make tomato sauce and then I can it. Tomatoes here, tomatoes there, tomatoes everywhere. Wherever I look, I see tomatoes. Because my dad and his talented gardening hands have planted around 70 tomato plants at the beginning of summer.
I froze some tomatoes, I ate many many tomato salads and sauces and at this point I feel like my lycopene levels are to the maxx. We’ve also been giving them away, but now, everyone is full.
So today, I got another bucket and this time, being short on space in the freezer, it’s time to do some canning. Once I run out of jars, I’ll probably start sundrying the tomatoes.
For now, I made the most amazing tomato sauce using roughly chopped fresh tomatoes, salt, a little bit of garlic and some oregano. It’s going to be great for soups, sauces like the one in this shrimp recipe, to make pasta or pizza. Plus, canning the sauce will help preserve it for about a year (sometimes I’ve even had jars that are older and they’re still fine!).
How To Make Tomato Sauce From Fresh Tomatoes
First step is to pick the tomatoes and wash them very well. I do this by putting them into a huge bowl, fill it up with water and wash each tomato. This will remove any dirt, bugs and so on. Once I’ve done it, I discard the water and wash once more, this time leaving the tomatoes on the dish drying rack.
Now it’s time to cut the tomatoes into chunks – I just cut and throw them directly in the pan (no cutting board, but it’s a risky business – take precautions if you’re not experienced).
If you wish, you can also just blend the tomatoes or use the food processor to chop them very thinly.
If you don’t want peels in your tomato sauce (I don’t mind it) – you can grab a grater, cut a tomato in half and grate into a large bowl starting the juicy part. You will be left with only the peel in the end, which you can discard.
While you’re cutting the tomatoes, discard any bad or spoiled parts. I usually use these to make compost.
Now that we’ve got the tomatoes cut up or blended, add them to a large pan or a pot and bring to a boil. If using chunks – smash the chunks with a spatula to release the juices.
I added a few pinches of sea salt salt. Guidelines usually recommend about 1 teaspoon of salt per quart, but I prefer to add it to taste.
After a few minutes of boiling, I also add some roughly chopped garlic cloves as well as a handful of fresh oregano.
Simmer the tomatoes for 5-10 minutes. Some people actually don’t cook the tomatoes at all (my dad), but since some of them were a bit spoiled, I wanted to be on the safe side.
After 5-10 minutes of boiling, taste test and add salt as needed. I usually like the consistency of the tomato sauce as is, but if you wish, you can thicken it, by simply cooking it longer (stirring from time to time).
And that’s it! First part of the tomato sauce canning – check!
Canning The Tomato Sauce
To can the tomato sauce we just made, let it cool off first. It will be easier to work with it.
Before canning, I like to quickly sterilize the jars in boiling water for 5 minutes. This step is optional, since we’ll also be boiling the jars again once they’re filled with the sauce. As you can see – I used all kinds of old jars I had collected over the last year – I do not discriminate. If something comes in a glass jar – I just recycle it by removing the label. That’s all I also keep them separate from the lids.
Moving on, use a ladle and fill the jars with tomato sauce, leaving some space to the top. Stir in 1 tbsp of bottled lemon juice per pint (1/2l) of tomatoes.
Wipe the rims clean, in case some sauce got onto them.
Close the jars with the lid tightly. Then can them in boiling water for 45 minutes or use a pressure cooker for 15 minutes. It’s important for the jars to be fully submerged in the water.
Once boiled, take out the jars using tongs (you have to have a good grip on them).
Place them lid down on a rack (I use the one from the oven), until they cool off.
Then store in a dark and dry place (while worrying that they might not have sealed properly – that’s me).
And you’re ready! You just canned a ton of tomatoes! Store them in a dark cool place and use whenever you need some tomato sauce!
Other Tutorials
I hope you’re feeling a bit more free and relieved, at least that’s how I feel! And in case you have more food to preserve, try some of these:
- How To Dry Mint For Cooking and Medicine
- Freezing Melons For Smoothies and Ice Cream
- How To Freeze Dill For Months
Easy Tomato Sauce For Canning
Here's my favorite way to make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes for canning to use it on pizza, pasta or in soups and curries.
Ingredients
- 1 kg/ 2 pounds fresh tomatoes
- handful of basil
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- salt
Instructions
- First step is to pick tomatoes and wash them very well. I do this by putting them into a huge bowl, fill it up with water and wash each tomato. This will remove any dirt, bugs and so on. Once I’ve done it, I discard the water and wash once more, this time leaving the tomatoes on the dish drying rack.
- Now it’s time to cut the tomatoes into chunks.
- While you’re cutting the tomatoes, discard any bad or spoiled parts. I usually use these to make compost.
- Add tomatoes to a large pan and once things start heating up, start smashing the tomatoes with a spatula to release the juices.
- I added a few pinches of sea salt salt. I usually add salt to taste, a few pinches at a time until I feel is enough. You can start with 1/2 tsp salt and taste from there. Then we bring the tomatoes to a boil.
- After a few minutes of boiling, I like to add some roughly chopped garlic cloves as well as a handful of fresh oregano.
- Cook the tomatoes for 5-10 minutes, no lid.
- After 5-10 minutes of boiling, taste test and add salt if needed. I usually like the consistency of the tomato sauce as is, but if you wish, you can thicken it, by simply cooking longer (stirring from time to time). For safety reasons, before canning, add 1 tbsp of bottled lemon juice per pint (1/2l) of tomatoes.
- And that's it!