Have you ever wondered about the Italian secrets to making homemade tomato sauce? The secret with step by step photo instructions is out!
Prep Time1 hourhr
Cook Time1 hourhr
Sealing Time30 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs
Course: How To
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12Quarts
Calories: 98cal
Equipment
Food Mill
Quart Jars
Bernardin Lids + Rings
Ingredients
1bushelRoma or San Marzano tomatoes (approx. 52 pounds)washed
½cupolive oilsee notes for oil free
2yellow onionspeeled & cut in quarters
1red onionpeeled & cut in quarters
12clovesgarlicpeeled
4-5bay leaves
2tablespoonsea saltor to taste
1cupfresh basil leavesloosely packed
10teaspoonscitric acidor lemon juice or vinegar, see notes*
Instructions
Using a food processor, process your onions and garlic until finely chopped, but not pureed. Set aside.
Slice each tomato in half, looking for any bad spots as you cut into them. (You do not want to use any rotten tomatoes, as this may ruin the batch of sauce.)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the cut tomatoes. The cold tomatoes will likely cause the water to stop boiling. Once it returns to a low boil, drain the tomatoes immediately. Do NOT overcook the tomatoes in this step. Drain them once the water starts boiling, and/or once you see that the water is foaming orange on top. (See pic for reference.)
Use a food mill to crush your tomatoes which will separate the skins and seeds and leave you with only the tomato sauce.
Heat the oil with the onions, garlic and bay leaves and cook for about 5 minutes, until onions and garlic are slightly golden. Watch carefully not to burn. Add the sauce and salt to the pot and bring to a low boil. Cook for 1 hour, adding the basil in the last 20 minutes or so. Stir often! You do not want any sauce to burn at the bottom of the pot, or you may spoil the entire batch. Taste for salt, and adjust if desired.
Now depending on the size of jars you're using, add the citric acid to the bottom of each jar. *see notes
Carefully fill your jars leaving ¼" space from rim of the jar. Then tightly seal your mason jars using Bernardin lids and rings.
Heat a couple inches of water in a large pot and place the sealed jars into your pot once heated. Do not add the jars to cold water! The jars are very hot, and adding them to a pot of cold water may cause them to crack. Once the jars have all been placed in the pot, slowly fill with enough water to cover all the jars and bring to a boil for at least 30 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit for 12 hours or overnight. (So call it a day.) Once the water and jars are cooled enough to handle, remove from the pot and store in a cold dark place for up to 12 months.
Notes
*For the citric acid, add ½ teaspoon to quart (32oz) size jars or a ¼ teaspoon to pint (16oz) jars before filling with the tomato sauce.Although there are methods to use bottled lemon juice or vinegar instead of citric acid, I find these will affect the taste of your sauce. So our preferred choice is citric acid for preserving your tomato sauce.If you prefer to use lemon juice, make sure to use the already bottled kind to ensure the correct level of acidity and PH which can vary among fresh lemons and use 1 tablespoon for pint jars or 2 tablespoons for quart jars.If you prefer vinegar, use 5% or higher acidity, and add ¼ cup to pint jars or 2 tablespoons to quart jars.If you're avoiding oil, you may sauté the veggies in water instead. Just watch carefully to ensure nothing gets stuck to the bottom of the pot. You do not want anything to burn, or you risk spoiling the batch.