Pasta Porn
- Thread starter 82bordeaux
- Start date
I’m tryna make sauce outta my backyard farm tomatoes this summer. I hope this isn’t assuming based upon heritage, but who’s got a good place to start on tomato sauces to freeze?
yes, I discovered the difference between determinate and indeterminate this year lol.
yes, I discovered the difference between determinate and indeterminate this year lol.
I used to freeze a lot of sauce. It helps greatly to have a food mill to remove seeds and peels. Check eBay for "foley food mill" if you don't have one. Used are under $15. I just cut up my tomatoes and cooked them down on low heat in a large pot. You can scald in boiling water and peel first if you like, but that's tedious. Once cooked down run the tomatoes through the food mill and you'll get a puree that is too watery for sauce. Stir the peels several times in the mill as you'll miss a lot of pulp if you don't. Simmer the puree to reduce the water content. I generally don't season at this point, I wait until its final use. If you do, season lightly. Once reduced, I pour into 1/2 gallon plastic milk jugs with screw-on lids. It helps to have a good funnel. The jugs pack into your freezer neatly and allow for some expansion. It will keep in the freezer quite a long time. I've found 2-3 year old sauce in the bottom of my freezer that was fine. Depending on the type of tomato, I usually got 2-3 quarts of sauce per 5-gallon bucket of tomatoes.
As far as seasonings go, I use basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary as the basics with proportions in the order listed. If I have it, I may substitute marjoram for the oregano. 2-3 bay leaves, as well, per pot of sauce. Salt to taste. Not big on garlic, but a little goes a long way.
If you have Roma tomatoes, you can scald, peel, dice and cook to desired texture if you want a chunky sauce. They don't usually have a lot of seeds so I sometimes just leave them in.
As far as seasonings go, I use basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary as the basics with proportions in the order listed. If I have it, I may substitute marjoram for the oregano. 2-3 bay leaves, as well, per pot of sauce. Salt to taste. Not big on garlic, but a little goes a long way.
If you have Roma tomatoes, you can scald, peel, dice and cook to desired texture if you want a chunky sauce. They don't usually have a lot of seeds so I sometimes just leave them in.
If you ever roast your tomatoes, peel off the skins and dry them out. Then grind them with a mortar and pestle, mix in a little water and oil. Then you have a really good tomato soup paste.
My grandmother (immigrated from Italy) didn’t really do tomato sauces. Her ragu used just a little tomato paste. Mainly a sofrito followed by ground meats, broth, and red wine. Lots of variations. Samin Nosrat (Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) has a good ragu recipe with some cool variations I’ve tried.
My grandmother (immigrated from Italy) didn’t really do tomato sauces. Her ragu used just a little tomato paste. Mainly a sofrito followed by ground meats, broth, and red wine. Lots of variations. Samin Nosrat (Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) has a good ragu recipe with some cool variations I’ve tried.
Crop,
I think the quality/type of the tomatoes you are growing will make all he difference. The best tomatoes for making a puree are of course Romas. But cherry tomatoes make a great puree, and the skins are usually so thin, and the seeds so small, that you can just crush them up and use them without any of the hard work that @nittinsc does. But what he describes is what you must to with regular tomatoes. Growing up, when we were forced into servitude in September every year, we had to give the tomato a little squeeze after cutting to eliminate a little of the water from the tomatoes. And those were hand picked Romas.
Now if you want sauce recipes, I can give you sauce recipes for freezing. The simplest one is a marinara. Just add a generous amount of non-EVOO olive oil. Good olive oil is a waste on this. Then take about 8-10 peeled garlic cloves and brown them in the oil on the lowest setting. Keep moving them around and do not burn them. If you do, start over. The burnt taste will stick. remove the garlic cloves, add about 4 quarts of puree, add about 2 round teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of dried basil, one large bunch of fresh basil finely chopped. red crushed pepper to taste. simmer on low heat until bubbling steadily, simmer for 2-3 hours stirring regularly to make sure the bottom doesn't stick and burn. When cool, place in your containers for freezing and freeze. I use the reditainer Chinese soup containers from Amazon. Get the freezable style.
The key is to use plenty of oil. If you think there is too much when you're done, just skim a little off the top of the pot before placing in containers for freezing.
I got some romas and some San Marzano’s. I also have a bunch of cherry varieties, but most that I planted this year are sauce varieties. I googled a bit more. But I also suck at labeling, so the whole thing could be a crapshoot, too.
appreciate the info, gents. Good group of people.
appreciate the info, gents. Good group of people.
We strain our sauce through a fine mesh colander. And run it through the blender. We lose texture, but we often add diced Romas as we're heating up the sauce.
We season ours with onions, green peppers, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and sugar. As many fresh ingredients as we can get rather than dried. It never tastes the same. We subscribe to the "throw shit into a pot and keep adding stuff till it tastes good" method. It's always good, just never quite the same.
Man, this looks like pizza sauce to me. Try doing what i described above. Trust me. And use plenty of oil. And don't burn the garlic.
I don't disagree with you, and I'm sure my Italian grandmother is rolling in her grave. But as Bo once famously said "It's what we do". That's what I get for marrying a Polack, which I also am.Man, this looks like pizza sauce to me. Try doing what i described above. Trust me. And use plenty of oil. And don't burn the garlic.
If you want to try making Mexican sauces, check recipes fron Pati Jinich's website. Most of them are really easy -- essentially, throw a bunch of stuff in a blender, then cook in oil.
One caution: start with half (or less) of the oregano in her recipes, and add more to taste. Oregano can overpower the other spices and make it taste non-Mexican.
This has been my go to for the last 20 years. I love tangy!!! Freezes best. Good for over 2 years. Pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, over manicotti. Works great for anything.
Good luck.
I add a few more peppers flakes than called for 😊.
Tangy Spaghetti Sauce for Canning Recipe - Food.com
This is a very mild spaghetti sauce. Thick and chunky just like we like it. I make this with the veggies from my garden. I have tired many different h
www.food.com
Similar threads
