I processed a lot of fresh picked tomatoes this morning and made some Tomato Sauce. Cutting the tomatoes up was like cutting into a watermelon, they were full of juice. I guess they have soaked up an extra amount due to all the rain that we have had.

Seems like the rain helped them along.

What kind of tomatoes? I love the San Marzanos, they are grown in volcanic soil in Italy, which are low acidic, very sweet & totally the best tomato for sauce, in my opinion. Beefsteaks are perfect for Caprese salads.

Someone said they concentrated thin tomato sauce by straining it through a pillow case!

But wouldn't you lose some soluble vitamins and minerals?

ChefDebbie said:What kind of tomatoes? I love the San Marzanos, they are grown in volcanic soil in Italy, which are low acidic, very sweet & totally the best tomato for sauce, in my opinion. Beefsteaks are perfect for Caprese salads.

What I picked today was about 50/50 Early Girl and Celebrity and they felt really heavy as I was harvesting them. Guess it was all the juice inside.

RickCorey said:Someone said they concentrated thin tomato sauce by straining it through a pillow case!

But wouldn't you lose some soluble vitamins and minerals?

After I blend them all together in the blender along with some spices, I then boil on medium heat for about 30 minutes. The sauce gets a bit darker ( more red ) and a bit thicker "normally". Some times I will even add a small amount of water, but this time no so. Really thin but I still tasted OK. I actually used two pints today in my "secret" BBQ Sauce.

When life give you lemons, a wise man will make lemonade. Well life gave me a record amount of rainfall and juicy tomatoes like watermelons, so I made tomato juice today. And it really taste great.

That was pretty clever & just made me laugh. An even wiser man will bring a libation of some sort to mix with that lemonade... and sit back to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

ChefDebbie said: That was pretty clever & just made me laugh. An even wiser man will bring a libation of some sort to mix with that lemonade... and sit back to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Well Debbie I guess I should fess up to it, I made 3 pints and only put up 2. Yep with a dash of extra salt I drank one of them. Boy it sure is hard for me to put up enough stuff for Winter, because I either eat it or drink it as fast as I can harvest it.

But that's ok. If you're happy, healthy & enjoying it, that's what matters. I'm sure you're accomplishing all that you can & that's definitely something to celebrate!

ChefDebbie said: That was pretty clever & just made me laugh. An even wiser man will bring a libation of some sort to mix with that lemonade... and sit back to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Tomato juice = bloody Mary's around here!

Weedwhacker said:



Tomato juice = bloody Mary's around here!

also

RickCorey said:Someone said they concentrated thin tomato sauce by straining it through a pillow case!

But wouldn't you lose some soluble vitamins and minerals?

I always reduce my tomato juice into thick sauce using the pillow case method. I don't know about loosing any soluble vitamins, but then when you eat as much as I do, you don't have to worry about vitamins

I wasn't too impressed with the San Marzanos last year. I prefer the San Marzano Redorta for sauce. This year I have them along with a few Viva Italia, we'll see how I like them.

tveguy3 said:

I always reduce my tomato juice into thick sauce using the pillow case method. I don't know about loosing any soluble vitamins, but then when you eat as much as I do, you don't have to worry about vitamins

I wasn't too impressed with the San Marzanos last year. I prefer the San Marzano Redorta for sauce. This year I have them along with a few Viva Italia, we'll see how I like them.

I tried those San Marzanos last year and wasn't impressed either. They will not be back again in my garden. This year giving the San Marzano Retortas a try so we will see how I like them.

I love Viva Italia but not growing any this year. Another I want to try for sauce in the future is Burpee's Super Sauce. Maybe next year.

I “liquidfie” ( for a lack of a better word ) my tomatoes two different ways. What I call Tomato Juice, is when I puree the tomatoes in the small container on my blender. It takes about 2 to 3-seconds and it turns the bulk into microscopic particles and very smooth.

What I call Tomato Sauce has some “chunks / pieces” in the mix. I blend these in a 72oz size container on the blender for maybe 1 to 2 seconds. This large container has fewer blades so it does not puree.

I cook both styles the same way and put them up in pint jars.

Thomas, do you mean you're able to do skin, seeds and all that way?

What kind of blender do you have? (I have an el-cheapo of some sort -- pretty much only gets used for frozen margaritas... )

Weedwhacker said:Thomas, do you mean you're able to do skin, seeds and all that way?

What kind of blender do you have? (I have an el-cheapo of some sort -- pretty much only gets used for frozen margaritas... )

Hi Sandy,

I put the whole tomato in and blend it that way. I do remove the vine connection area and any blemished area. I then cut the tomato in quarters and just drop those in the container and add my spices, blend and transfer to a sauce pan to cook. I have a Ninja 1500 watt blender that came with 4 different size containers and each container has it's own set of blades. Making a BBQ sauce or a Pizza sauce with homemade tomato soup/juice/sauce is just so much better than canned "stuff".

I often blend them the same way, skin seeds and all. I put it into the freezer for winter use.

Whew, I might need to get a Ninja!

I make my tomato sauce by roasting the cut-up tomatoes in the oven, then running them through a Squeezo strainer to remove the skins and seeds.

Weedwhacker said:Whew, I might need to get a Ninja!

I make my tomato sauce by roasting the cut-up tomatoes in the oven, then running them through a Squeezo strainer to remove the skins and seeds.

Your way sure makes a great thick and dark red sauce but you do loose a lot of volume and some of the fresh taste,