tomato putter uppers!! I made sauce this weekend from a bushel of tomatoes for the first time

barring the hurricane stuff, it was so much fun.

but I think I did a few things wrong and since I had nothing to guide me I was wondering if you can tell me your "canning" process.

I blanched the tomatoes to remove the skin, then I split and squeezed them to remove the seeds. this is where it got a little wonky. this step.

a lot of juice was lost when I squeezed the seeds. I thought maybe I should strain the seeds from the juice and then add the strained juice in with the diced tomatoes but I realized I don't have a mesh strainer upstate and my super cool paper towel over the colander did NOT work. so I lost all of that juice....but I was wondering if that is even the way to do it. or is there some other method.

the sauce was actually pretty good considering. but I do need to tweak my recipe also.

any tips you can give me are very much appreciate.

thanks!

Re: tomato putter uppers!! I made sauce this weekend from a bushel of tomatoes for the first time

I do the same as you.. except sometimes I am lazy so I just cut the tomatoes. It does lose a lot of water.. but that helps you pack in more tomatoes - too much water yields less sauce later. Once they are packed in I just add a little water and a little lemon before sealing. When I put them in the pressure cooker it seems to 'make' more juice before I put them away. I could - in fact - be crazy though.

You can also put them back in some simmering water after seeding. Then you use THAT water after packing in the (now wetter) tomatoes.

Message edited 8/31/2011 9:17:59 AM.

Re: tomato putter uppers!! I made sauce this weekend from a bushel of tomatoes for the first time

When I do it at home with my tomatoes from the garden or when we do our big yearly jarring of 20+ cases of tomatoes, we always lose some water when taking out the seeds.

The yearly process, we have a press, so we can't control that.

But, when I make them at home, I slice the tomoatoes and use my knife & fingers to fish out the seeds- no squeezing.

I think it's just part of the process though.

Re: tomato putter uppers!! I made sauce this weekend from a bushel of tomatoes for the first time

We do 6 busshels every year. We cut the tomatoes and put them in a big pot (turkey fryer). I do not seed or remove skins. Let it cook down for 1-1/2 hours ten run through a food mill. It removes the seeds/skins.
Then jar and water boil.

There is a ton of liquid left and a lot get thrown out. I add some to the tomatoes before jarring. I also jar some of the 'tomato water' to add to soups and sauces later in the year.

Re: tomato putter uppers!! I made sauce this weekend from a bushel of tomatoes for the first time

ahh I see. thanks guys.

I am very incapable of using a food mill for some bizarre reason. I am blaming it on being left handed and leaving it at that

I will just know that I will definitely need more tomatoes for a really big yield.

thanks!!!

Re: tomato putter uppers!! I made sauce this weekend from a bushel of tomatoes for the first time

Posted by Ophelia

I am very incapable of using a food mill for some bizarre reason. I am blaming it on being left handed and leaving it at that

Re: tomato putter uppers!! I made sauce this weekend from a bushel of tomatoes for the first time