CANNING HOMEMADE PASTA SAUCE


Every summer I try to can a year's worth of pasta sauce.  I grow 8-10 different types of tomatoes and just use whatever type is ripe at the time though there are some tomato varieties that work better than others.

Once you start making your own pasta sauce, it's tough to return to the store-bought version.


INGREDIENTS
  • 10 lb tomatoes  
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1 small)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/8 cup finely minced, fresh basil
  • 1/8 tsp Citric Acid or 1/2 Tbsp bottled lemon juice per hot jar
  • 3 to 4 (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
or if you want a shortcut, use a packaged salsa mix like Mrs. Wages pasta sauce mix.  You can usually find it at your local market.


PREPPING THE TOMATOES 2 WAYS

Easy Way: 


This is the way I have started doing most of my pasta sauce.  You can find directions here.  

LONGER PROCESS:

  1. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute and transfer into a bowl of ice water. (This makes it easy to remove skins)
  2. Cute ends from tomatoes and remove skins. 
  3. After you have peeled the skins off the tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half or quarters if they are large.
  4. I place my tomatoes in a colander or drainer to allow some of the juice to drain off. Maybe 15 minutes or so works great.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare canner, jars and lids
  2. Working in batches, puree tomatoes in food processor.
  3. Place processed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil into pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to a low simmer until desired thickness is achieved.
  4. Add 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar.
  5. Ladle hot sauce into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot sauce. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
  6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process pint jars for 35 minutes and quart jars for 40 minutes, adjusting for altitude.