preserving home made pasta sauce

[Sandra17]

Spurred on by yesterday's tomato sauce making success, I'm keen on making more preserved tomato products. Some things I can freeze, and I'll be doing a few more batches of tomato sauce (I have a large pan but it will only take six kilos of tomatoes at a time). But I have the jars from the pasta sauce that I buy on special sometimes at the supermarket and I'm trying to work out how/whether I can make my own pasta sauce and preserve in the same jars. Our freezer space is limited and so preserving in jars is best if possible.

Any and all suggestions (recipes, tips and stories of your own success with this!) gratefully received. Thanks.

[British Red]

Sandra,

I wouldn't personally use the existing jars, however pressure canning them is possible.

If you would like to try something a little unusual, if the sauce is vegetable only, heres an interesting alternative. You can dry the sauce on sheet of greaseproof in a dehydrator or range oven in the same way you make fruit "leathers". A few of us do this and also make "hamburger rocks". This gives us healthy, light nutritional food for nights in the woods.

It lasts well (many months) without refrigeration. I don't have a picture tutorial on sauces but I do have one on fruit leathers if its any help.

All the best

Red

[Clara]

Tomatoes are a borderline case for bottling without using a pressure canner - though the addition of lemon juice prevent any botulism growth.

[ina]

Sandra,

I wouldn't personally use the existing jars,

Why not?

I made pasta sauce a couple of years ago, bottled it and it is still perfect. Must admit, they were not fresh tomatoes - I barely grow enough to get a red one to eat! - but everything else was from my garden: courgettes, onions, garlic, herbs.

Just made the sauce, filled into screw top jars boiling hot, put in pan, filled with hot water up to 1cm below tops, boiled for about 45 minutes.

[mauzi]

Hi - yes ina that is the way we do it as well.

It is important to make sure the jars are sterile otherwise you may have problems. We boil the jars in a large stockpot for about 10 minutes and then dry in the oven. The seals also need to be in good condition. Other than that it stores well for years.

[British Red]

Sandra,

I wouldn't personally use the existing jars,

Why not?

Simply because I would use a new kilner jar and pressure can. I prefer a jar thats meant to be re-sealed (and replace the seals each time). It all depends on the ingredients and the risk for me personally. Anything containing meat for example is a pressure can must for me. Pickling though I'll use whats availble in older jars etc. since its the vinegar rather than heat or vacuum at work.

The reason I wouldn't use an older jat for anything that could give food poisoning is simply I don't know how good the seal is (although if I was going to, I would use the ones with a tamper proof seal so at least I could check integrity)

Thats just me though - each to their own - I'm always a bit leery about botulism I guess and to some, over cautious

Red

[QuakerBear]

If you're freezing, here's Mr. QB's recipie. It makes lovely, rich, delicous sauce.

4 pounds of tomatoes
2 large onions
3 large cloves of garlic
1/2 tub of marscapone
salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Use a pointy knife to cut out the top of the stalk from the tomato (it's only wasting a tiny bit).
2. Prick the tomatoes, and plunge into boiling water for 30 - 60 seconds.
3. The skins should easily peel off. If they don't, give 'em another dunking in the boiling water.
4. Finely dice onions.
5. Fry onions in olive oil till they are translucent, it's better to over-do them till they're golden then to under-do them so they retain they're texture.
6. When onions are really done, add the garlic and tomatoes. On a medium heat let the onions and tomatoes cook. Stir them regularly so the tomatoes are in contact with the pan and give them a good mushing with your spatula.
7. When the tomatoes have compleatly broken down (no lumps at all) add the salt and peper.
8. Simmer your sauce to let it reduce. I reduce it quite allot so it's fairly thick but ultimately how thick you want your sauce is up to you.
9. About 3 -4 minutes before you think it's ready add the marscapone, stir it through well and allow to cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. Your sauce will now be orange. Without the marscapone this sauce can be abit acidic.
10. Varients can include: Adding tobasco, liquidising sauce to make it smoother (this will make it more runny and watery though), add other pureed vegtables.

This sauce freezes very well and can be defrosted in a microwave or on the side.

Enjoy.

[QuakerBear]

Have you tried making your own pesto? That works expecially well in jars, even if they're opened and closed regularly because the olive oil makes a seal on the top of the sauce.

[ina]

Thats just me though - each to their own - I'm always a bit leery about botulism I guess and to some, over cautious

Red

Fair enough - I suppose I'll carry on as before until I get a nasty shock one day... And I don't use this method for meat, anyway.

[Wombat]

I've been preserving tomato stuff using existing jars for 20 years or more and have never had a problem, and I don't have a pressure canner! Tomatoes are generally too acid for botulism to be a problem, but boiling for a half hour destroys the toxin anyway

Nev

[MsWildFlower]

Sandra do you have the New Zealand Gardener's 'Homegrown' mag? It's gorgeous, worth getting just for the pictures ... ooo how decadent and wasteful of me

Anyways there are a few tomato recipes in there - relish and Tomato Kasundi. Looking at either recipes, I wonder if the tomato pasta sauce can be made similarly, with a high vinegar content and then when cooked sugar could be added? Just wondering ... and hoping ... coz I'd like to bottle my own pasta sauce too.

[MsWildFlower]

http://www.pickyourown.org/spaghettisauce.htm

Found this site this morning. Looks like it might be worth investing in some agee jars Sandra. I put an ad in my local freecycle and got about 30 of them.