Homemade Tomato Sauce

It's been a while. I'm sorry. I totally flaked on "The Challenge" updates. It wasn't unbearable, but not the easiest of events. The challenge, that is, not the blogging of it. That, obviously, proved impossible. I did survive, though I wouldn't want to do it again. That means, before too much longer, hubs is going to have me attempt it again. That's just my luck.

In any case, back to the issue at hand. It's been a long time coming and many, many unused pictures, but I need to do a write-up about how I make tomato sauce. I'm constantly posting pictures from various stages of the process on my Facebook page, specifically on my "Restock Thursday" posts, so I figured it's about time. And I updated another one of my blogs, so I had to even it out. Forget the other four....

So, here we go!

The process is pretty basic. Grab veggies (ahem, tomatoes are fruits), cook down, purée, and can, er, jar in my case...

I don't measure much. If you've been following my blog or Facebook page, in the same manner as my chili, I just throw in what seems good in arbitrary amounts. Thus far, it has served me well.

Onward!

So, here we have tomatoes, garlic, onion, and some bell pepper (not pictured). You read that right, bell pepper. I love the bit of flavor it adds. Not too much though, you still want it to taste mostly like tomatoes. For this batch in particular, if you like measurements, I used about 5 lbs of Roma tomatoes, half an onion, most of that head of garlic, and about half a red bell pepper. I also always use salt and pepper. I don't know how much, maybe a tsp each? Or less... Most of the time I'm going to be adding salt and pepper to whatever I make with the tomato sauce, so I don't really stress about how much I do or don't add here.

Ok, so, first step, wash the tomatoes and cut the top bits off. I used to leave the seeds and skins, but after the natives kinda made a mention about not caring for the seeds in the final product, I started taking those out too. I chop the tomatoes into big chunks and use water running from the tap to help me clear out the seeds. The skins I leave on. I chop the onion into big chunks and add that. Then, I peel as many garlic cloves as I feel like at the time and toss those in too. When it comes to the red bell pepper, I add it if I have it. I cut those tops off and take the seeds out and usually cut it into strips. I've actually had quite a few lately as I've taken advantage of sales and stocked up. I've found that they freeze quite well, just chopped up which has really expedited fajita nights (and having the frozen peppers means fajitas more frequently too!) or when I need them to toss in with stir fry. So, in any case, I'll grab a small handful 1/4-1/2 a pepper's worth and add that to my pot as well. I top with salt and pepper and that's it for prep work!

Let's get going! Just add heat!

The next part of the process is long and drawn out. The pot goes on the stove to cook away on med/low heat. It takes hours, so make sure to do this on a day where you have time to be at home. You could cook it faster, but the hotter it gets, the more nutrients you can lose to overheating, not to mention, it could burn. Low and slow is the way to go. Like with brisket. Not that I've ever made one, but I'm Texan, so I know that's how to cook one. The tomatoes have plenty of water content, so you don't need to worry about starting them off with some. Just check the pot periodically and stir it if you feel like it. Eventually it will start to look like mush. I like to wait to allow as much extra moisture to evaporate off as possible. I like the sauce to be pretty thick and the amount that releases when it gets puréed is astounding.

Mushy veggies, liquid mostly gone.
If I have the time, I'd let it go longer.

Cooked down, but very liquidy

So, after you have some nice mush, it's time to purée. I will typically remove from heat and let it cool if I've got the time. My blender instructions indicate that you shouldn't use it with hot ingredients, so I try to give the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt that it actually makes a difference. It's probably a good idea to let it cool at least some. That does allow extra liquid to evaporate and prevents the top of you blender from exploding off due to extra pressure and steam building as you blend. Just sayin'.

Ok then, away you go with the puréeing! I like to go at the highest speed my blender achieves. Then I mix it up a bit with the lower speeds, for no real reason, just because.

Now, at this point, I deviate from a lot of other people. If you like to do the canning thing, go for it. I don't. I probably could, but fear of the unknown keeps me at bay. And I don't like the fact that it requires the use of lids that have to be replaced. However, if you are lacking the deep freeze that I use as the lifeblood of my kitchen, canning is a great option for storing at room temperature.

So, yeah, my sauce goes into pint sized mason jars. I use mostly pint sized jars because of convenience. Most cans in the store are 12-15 oz., so this is pretty equivalent if you use recipes that call for canned ingredients and you like to substitute your own like I do. Tomato sauce is usually available in 8 oz. and 15 oz. cans, so one pint sized jar is equivalent to two 8oz. cans. There ya go, I did the math for you. So, that's about it for me. I cap the jars and freeze.

Total yield varies, but I get roughly one jar per pound of tomatoes. It makes a difference how much liquid content there is, which is why I try to grab paste tomatoes when I can. Roma tomatoes are just the most commonly available. The extra veggies will add bulk as well as nutrients and flavor. We can discuss costs, if you want to go there. Most of the time, making your own sauce not going to be cheaper than buying conventional tomato sauce. I'm sorry. That's just how it is. If you can get an amazing deal on your tomatoes as in $.59 per pound, you might get comparable pricing, especially if you typically purchase organic. Finding organic tomatoes for that price is highly unlikely. I could be wrong. My solution to this issue is to limit tomato sauce uses when my stash is low. I try not to purchase tomatoes for sauce if I can't find them for less than $1 per pound. At that price I'll just get a small amount. When it's $.30-$.40 cheaper, I stock up and make more to have on hand later. This is one area where having the extra freezer space is a true blessing since I can maximize these types of sales and seasonal pricing. Even if it's not cheaper, making your own means it'll taste fresher and you avoid cans, not to mention you control the salt and additives, so there is that.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think and if you have any questions!

Extra little tidbit for entertainment purposes... I actually had almost an entire blog post about how I make tomato sauce just waiting for me to review and post. I discovered it after publishing this one.

Extra little tidbit 2... I used pictures from at least 4 different tomato sauce making sessions, so please forgive me if quantities seem to change from image to image. They quite likely were very different. Like I said, a lot of unused photos. Some of these are from as far back as April 2015. Oops.