Chefs Binge · European · Serves 8 servings

Rustic Fresh Tomato Sauce in Jars

Make a simple Rustic Tomato Sauce for canning with fresh tomatoes and basic ingredients. Perfect for pasta, pizza, and year-round use.

Prep

30 min

Cook

2 hrs

Total

3 hrs 10 min

Serves

8 servings

Per serving

36 kcal

Ingredients

2 kg fresh - ripe tomatoes (Roma or San Marzano preferred)

60 ml extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp salt - or to taste

1 tbsp bottled lemon juice - per 500 ml jar, or 1/4 tsp citric acid. Bottled, not fresh.

Equipment

Large Pot · Glass Jars · Ladle

Method

Blanch the Tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a large pot or bowl. Pour boiling water from a kettle over the tomatoes, ensuring they are fully submerged. Leave them for 10-15 minutes or until the skins start to break.

Prepare the Tomatoes. Remove the tomatoes from the water, peel off the skins, and chop the tomatoes, removing the hard white middle part as well.

Cook the Sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Stir in the salt and dried oregano. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer gently for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened to your desired consistency.

Adjust for Quantity. If you are working with a large amount of tomatoes, the reduction process may take longer. To speed up the process, consider using multiple pots. Wider pots provide more surface area for evaporation, helping the sauce to reduce more quickly.

Prepare for Canning. Sterilise the jars and lids by boiling them in water for at least 10 minutes. Keep them hot until ready to use.

Add acid. Add the acid first. Into each empty 500 ml jar put 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice, or 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid. Use bottled juice rather than fresh, as the acidity of fresh lemons varies. Tomatoes sit on the borderline of the acidity needed for safe water-bath canning, so this step is what makes the sauce safe to store.

Fill the Jars. Ladle the hot tomato sauce into the prepared jars, leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace at the top. Wipe the rims of the jars clean, place the lids on, and screw on the bands until they are finger-tight.

Process the Jars. Place a cloth or dish towel at the bottom of a large pot to prevent the jars from making direct contact with the pot. Arrange the filled jars on top and add hot water until the jars are covered by at least an inch of water. Bring the water to a full rolling boil and keep it there for 40-45 minutes. A gentle simmer does not reach the temperature the processing time assumes.

Cool the Jars. Carefully lift the jars out of the pot and stand them upright on a towel or rack, leaving a little space between them. Do not turn them upside down. The seal forms from the vacuum created as they cool. Leave them undisturbed to cool completely.

Store. Once cooled, press the centre of each lid: a sealed lid is firm and does not flex. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months, and refrigerate any jar that did not seal, using it within a few days. Once opened, refrigerate and use within 5-7 days.

Freeze instead. Prefer not to can? Cool the sauce and freeze it in portions instead. It keeps for months and avoids the acidity question altogether.

Chef’s notes

The acid is not optional if you are storing the jars. 1 tbsp bottled lemon juice or 1/4 tsp citric acid per 500 ml jar, doubled for a litre jar, into the empty jar before the sauce. Bottled rather than fresh, because the acidity of a fresh lemon varies.

Reduce it properly. Thin sauce in the jar stays thin. Expect to lose about a third of the volume, and use wide pans rather than one deep one.

Full rolling boil for the whole 40 to 45 minutes. A simmer does not reach the temperature the time assumes. Start the clock when it is boiling hard.

Do not invert the jars. The seal comes from the vacuum as they cool. Check every lid before storing: firm, no flex. Anything that did not seal goes in the fridge or the freezer.

Honest caveat: tested water-bath formulations are plain acidified sauce. The oil and oregano here put it outside the letter of one. To stay strictly inside a tested process, can it plain and add them on opening. Or freeze it, which avoids the question.

chefsbinge.com/rustic-fresh-tomato-sauce-in-jars

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