Canning Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes have to be one of the most versatile fruit that I grow. For my family it is also one of the most heavily used. Not only do we eat lots of salads and sandwiches that let us enjoy them fresh but we cook with them frequently. Anything from chili to spaghetti sauce, salsa and soups, gumbo and stewed tomatoes and okra. The list is endless. The only thing I use more than tomatoes would be onions.  For us tomato season has begun and the first order of business is canning tomato sauce.  The tomatoes were picked early this morning and washed thoroughly to remove dust and dirt. Then cored or sliced to go into the pots.  You can follow along with canning tomato sauce on page 23 of the Ball Blue Book(100th Anniversary Edition). 

Like last year I cook these down in my roaster to help with congestion on the stove top. This is a wonderful and versatile appliance for canning. 

And a large pot on the stove also.

And more tomatoes waiting in the wings.

I turn the pots on low heat and start cooking them adding a little water in the bottom of the pot to get them started without scorching. Then basically you want to maintain a hard simmer stirring your tomatoes frequently so as not to burn them. Now the Ball Blue Book says to simmer them for 20 minutes and then puree in food processor or food mill. I simmer mine for atleast 2 hours until the tomatoes start to break down and then I lower the heat.

Then I take my wand mixer. I bought two of these for soap making on sale. It has two attachments, one is a traditional mixer attachment and the other has a blade. This works great once the tomatoes break down to puree any seeds or peeling. I find this so much easier than the food mill or food processor.   I simply pulse it through my warm tomato sauce and puree good.  

Then I turn my heat back up to about 350 and simmer hard without a lid until it reduces by half. What you are doing is cooking the water from your sauce and reducing the volume and making it thicker. Notice in the cooker above how it is only now about half full. Don't forget to stir frequently to prevent scorching.

Notice on this pot how it is now about half full. 

Now put your jars on to heat up. 

And heat your lids and rings

Now I take my large slotted spoon and run it through my sauce catching any odd peelings or seeds I may have left behind. I find a seed from time to time in my sauce and really don't worry about it but I do try to catch any large peeling I may have missed.  

Now add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to each pint or 2 Tablespoons to a quart jar. ( Not cold or it will crack your hot jar!!) 

Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving  1/2 inch headspace.

Wipe rims to remove any residue

Put hot lids on hot jars and finger tighten only

Put jars in boiling water bath canner and process pints 35 minutes and quarts 40 minutes. 

Remove and cool completely until lids recess and seal. Allow to cool overnight then remove rings and wash jars with soapy dishcloth and dry. Label with contents and date and you have fresh canned homegrown tomato sauce ready for your pantry. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link To Laura Williams Canning Carnival

Link To Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop