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bcskye

Tomato Sauce Question

bcskye
16 years ago

These are the ingredients of a recipe very similar to a freezer tomato sauce recipe my mother used many, many years ago. It was also my favorite. I would like to can it instead of freezing. Would 20 minutes at 10 lbs. be right? Also, I've already milled my tomatoes and have about a gallon of pulp & juice. Had to do them in a hurry so I wouldn't lose them and forgot to count the number of tomatoes. How much would I use to equal the amount of tomatoes required in the recipe?

20 tomatoes

4 large onions

4 large carrots (grated)

1/2 c. chopped parsley

3 T. sugar

2 T. salt

3/4 tsp. pepper

Comments (13)

  • ksrogers
    16 years ago

    You should add some acid to this recipe. As to the tomato count, its obvious that tomatoes vary in size and also the amount of pulp/juice they give out. Counting on a specific count of tomatoes will not tell you what they will fill as to jars. As to the amount of other ingredients, you would have to TASTE the mixture while adding the specific ingredient. A count of 20 tomatoes can give you as little as 1/4 cup of juice as a total, all the way up to about a gallon. Adding the ingredients to your nearly gallon of juice/pulp would most likely give you an amount of about 4-5 quarts, but even for that, you would also be cooking the mixture some, so some of the water would boil out in the process. Many times recipes don't factor in the size of an ingredient or its water content, so you could end up with a small batch or a large batch.

  • shirleywny5
    16 years ago

    I would prefer putting the salt in the jars just before filling. 2 Tbls. of salt is enough for 6 quarts of tomato product. If you have 1 gallon of prepared juice and tomatoes, that would make 4 quarts. I think 2 Tbls of salt is too much. Try 1 teas. salt per quart or 1/2 per pint.

  • digdirt2
    16 years ago

    I agree - add the salt to the jars, not the mix and it definitely needs some acid as Ken says. Lemon juice - 2 T to each quart. But you first need to accurately measure your vegetable ingredients.

    If you have 4 quarts (about a gallon) of pulp and juice you will be cooking it down by 1/2 to sauce so 2 quarts about. That is alot of onions and carrots for 2 quarts of sauce.

    Here is how I would do it as recommended in the BBB:

    Measure all the juice and pulp, dump it all into a large stockpot, add the parsley, carrots, and onions and simmer all for 20 minutes. Then reprocess through the mill to remove the onion and carrot pieces but retain the flavor. Remeasure as the other veges will add some additional liquid and some will have simmered out.

    Cook it down to 1/2 for sauce, taste, add pepper and sugar to taste. Put 1 tsp. salt and 2 T lemon juice in each quart jar (1/2 each for pints) and process 40 minutes in a BWB.

    It is slight variation on the Seasoned Tomato Sauce recipe in BBB.

    Dave

  • bcskye
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I really appreciate the responses. So all of you think it is safe to BWB for the extended length of time despite the carrots rather than pressure can?

  • digdirt2
    16 years ago

    BWB is only safe IF you add the acid as recommended by all above. That's the crucial point. ;) Otherwise it would have to be pressure canned.

    Dave

  • bcskye
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks everyone. I feel confident about preparing this now. Will be putting it up tomorrow morning.

  • readinglady
    16 years ago

    The Ball Italian-Style Tomato Sauce calls for only 2/3 cup finely chopped onion and 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots plus 2/3 cup celery (the 1/2 cup parsley in your recipe is similarly low-acid) per 8 cups of fresh tomato puree. 4 T. lemon juice for that amount.

    I would be careful not to exceed those amounts of low-acid vegetables. The problem with old recipes like that, as Ken mentioned, is they aren't very precise in their measurements compared to volume or weight measures.

    Carol

  • bcskye
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    That is exactly what I was thinking of, Carol, and that is why I wanted to pressure can it. I wanted to keep the amounts that are shown, but felt it wasn't safe to BWB. I don't mind pressure canning it, but wasn't sure of how long at 10 lbs. pressure in a weighted, not dial, pressure canner.

  • readinglady
    16 years ago

    Well, I think you could use the Tomatoes and Vegetables recipe, which is tomatoes, celery, onion and green pepper. Yours would be tomatoes, carrots, onion and parsley with the bottled lemon juice, 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.

    But again, proportions are important. Let me know if you want the recipe.

    Carol

  • bcskye
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I would appreciate the recipe, Carol.

  • readinglady
    16 years ago

    Sure. This recipe comes from "Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving." I recommend it highly. Far more thorough than the Ball Blue Book. I notice several recipes have been updated. For example, the Italian-Style Tomato Sauce no longer calls for olive oil.

    This calls for fresh tomatoes rather than sauce and is the closest I could come to your recipe. Notice there's still the added acid. I just wouldn't trust lemon juice to be sufficient to do this recipe in a BWB because of the low-acid veggies plus the density issue.

    Stewed Tomatoes and Vegetables

    16 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes
    1 cup chopped celery
    1/2 cup chopped onion
    1/4 cup chopped seeded green pepper
    1 T. granulated sugar (opt.)
    2 tsp. salt

    Per pint: 1 T. bottled lemon juice or 1/4 tsp. citric acid.

    Per quart: 2 T. bottled lemon juice or 1/2 tsp. citric acid.

    Bring mixture to a boil and boil gently until tender, about 10 minutes.

    Add acid to jars.

    Use a slotted spoon to pack solids in jars, leaving a generous 1" headspace. Cover with cooking liquid to 1".

    Remove air.

    Process in PC 10 pounds for weighted gauge and 11 pounds dial gauge for 15 minutes pints and 20 minutes for quarts.

    I hope this helps.

    Carol

  • ksrogers
    16 years ago

    Actually a half teaspoon of salt per quart would be more appropriate. A teaspoon is a bit too much. Added before the filling. I also use a half teaspoon of citric acid to each quart too.

  • readinglady
    16 years ago

    The total yield for this recipe is 7 pints, which is just a bit more than 1/2 tsp. salt per quart. Neither salt nor sugar are safety issues in this recipe. Add to taste.

    Carol