Making homemade tomato sauce from scratch is simple, and freezing ones stay longer especially in jars for later use.
If you have a garden that is overflowing with juicy, ripe tomatoes or if your neighborhood farm stand has them, this is an excellent way to preserve some of the summers and enjoy it throughout the winter.
In addition, I believe that it results in a superior flavor than simply opening a jar or can. It doesn’t really make that much of a difference in which kind of tomato you buy, can, or grow.
Make sure to use tomatoes that are fully ripe and packed with flavor before continuing. Those woody, mealy, pinkish tomatoes you get from the grocery store aren’t going to cut it here. I make use of whatever is the cheapest and appears to be the most appetizing.
You are even free to use a variety of them. I’ve found that beefsteak tomatoes work best for this particular sauce. Although it seems like a lot now, the ten pounds of tomatoes will reduce in volume as they cook. This should make approximately 8 pints of liquid.
The amount of the recipe can be readily increased by a factor of two or three. Because my kitchen is on the smaller side, I like not to overcrowd it all at once, so I repeat this process multiple times and work in batches. I like to add a lot of diced onions, garlic, and herbs to the sauce so that it has a lot of flavors.
It’s best to use fresh herbs, but dried ones will do in a pinch. You may also choose to include shredded or diced garden vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, celery, bell peppers, eggplant, or anything else that strikes your fancy. In addition to that, I put in a few miniature cans of tomato paste.
This step is completely optional, but adding it helps the sauce thicken a little bit more while it cooks and provides another depth of flavor that comes from the tomatoes. However, this is not required in any way.
The tomatoes can be peeled quickly and easily by dropping them into a kettle of boiling water for about thirty seconds. This is the easiest method.
The skins are going to peel off quite easily. To keep your hands from becoming burned, give them some time to cool down.
Next, you have the option of chopping the tomatoes by hand, putting them through a blender or food processor, squishing them with your hands, or using a mix of these methods. (I don’t think I need to tell you which one is more fun to do!)
Since I enjoy both chopped and pureed tomatoes, that’s the method that I use.
After that, preparing this tomato pasta sauce is the same as making any other tomato pasta sauce: heat the olive oil, add the onions and garlic, saute until the onions and garlic begin to soften, and whisk in the tomato paste (if you are using it), then add the chopped tomatoes.
If you are using fresh herbs, you should wait to add them until the very end of the cooking process; however, dried herbs can be added at this time.
After bringing the mixture up to a simmer, continue to cook it over medium-low heat for around 1 hour and a half to two hours.
Cooking the tomatoes in this manner at a low temperature for an extended period of time will help bring out their flavor while also allowing them to become softer. It is important to keep an eye on the bottom of the pan to prevent it from catching fire.
As the sauce cooks, the surplus liquid will evaporate, causing it to become darker and thicker. It’s almost unimaginable.
After it has been reduced to a consistency that satisfies your preferences, if you are going to use fresh herbs, now is the time to add them, and then fully season it with salt and pepper.
In order to restore the proper balance of acidity, a touch of sugar or honey may be added, but only if this becomes essential. After that, it has to sit out and wait until it reaches room temperature before it can be frozen again.
For the best results when freezing the sauce, use storage alternatives that are suitable for the freezer, such as BPA-free plastic containers, plastic freezer bags that are acceptable in size, or glass jars that are safe for the freezer.
When it comes to thawing, utilizing plastic bags makes the process much simpler, and you can also stack them without much difficulty.
Jars and other containers made of plastic or glass offer some additional protection against freezer burn, making them preferred for foods that will be stored in the freezer for longer periods of time.
In the meantime, you should get a large basin of ice water ready to go for when we get there.
Start a boil in a large pot of water by placing it on the burner and turning the heat up to its highest setting.
As you work your way through the batch, place the tomatoes one at a time into the water that is boiling, and then leave them there for thirty to sixty seconds, or until the skins split open.
Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water one at a time using a slotted spoon and carefully lay them in the dish that is filled with cool water.
When the tomato skins have cooled down to the point where they can be touched, pull them off and then dispose of them. After that, cut off the rough end of the stem and remove the core. Get rid of any places that could cause problems.
You can roughly chop the tomato with a blender, a food processor, or a knife; or, you can simply smash it with your clean hands to achieve the same effect.
Set aside. Olive oil should be added to an extra-large stockpot that has a capacity of 8-10 quarts and then heated over a medium-high flame.
When the oil has reached the shimmering stage, add the diced onion to the pan. After roughly eight minutes have passed since the beginning of the cooking process, the onions will start to turn yellow and get softer if you often stir them with a large wooden spoon.
Continue cooking for a further 30–60 seconds after adding the garlic, making sure to turn the food regularly to prevent it from burning.
Following the addition of the tomato paste, the cooking process should be continued for an additional one to two minutes with frequent stirring and scraping of the pan’s bottom to prevent the tomato paste from becoming scorched.
Add in the tomatoes that have been finely diced. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer, uncovered, for around two to three hours, or until it has thickened.
Once it has reached the desired consistency, remove it from the fire. By stirring the sauce at regular intervals, you can prevent the burnt residue that’s accumulated at the bottom of the pan from igniting.
If you choose, you can also add sugar or honey to the dish, in addition to the herbs, salt, and pepper that are already in it.
After you have sampled it, determine whether or not it requires additional salt and pepper, and then season it accordingly. Place the sauce in the refrigerator to chill.
Please wait until the sauce has completely cooled before serving. Put the mixture into bags or containers that can be frozen, or pour it into containers that can be frozen.
Put the items in the freezer after first carefully labeling them with the date and the contents of each container. If you put the sauce in a deep freezer, it will keep for a period of time that is significantly longer than the typical three to four months.
Because sauce can expand as it freezes, you need to make sure that there is approximately 1 inch of empty space above the sauce in the jar. This will prevent the sauce from spilling over when it freezes.
It is adequate if you have a standard jar that has a lid that can be removed by twisting it off and that has been used in the past for products such as honey or jelly.
In conclusion, it is suggested to always store glass jars in an upright position in the freezer, regardless of the goods that are kept inside the jars.
This recommendation applies to both empty and full jars. It is vital that you do not leave an excessive amount of headspace at the very top of the jar.
If you do so, the lid could not fit properly. This could allow an excessive quantity of air to enter the jar, which could lead to frost forming on the surface or freezer burn, both of which will have an influence on the flavor of the contents of the jar.
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