Tomato sauce, Spaghetti sauce, Pizza sauce, Taco sauce.

[Gary350]

I found a Youtube video, how they make tomatoes sauce in Italy. This family has been making tomato sauce for about 100 years. It use to be done by hand but now they have machines. They showed how to make sauce both ways. I studied this video to learn the best way to make tomato sauce at home. I had to watch the video again to make notes.

1. Pick ripe tomatoes then let them rest in the house 2 to 3 days this brings out the best sweet flavor of the tomatoes.

2. Cut tomatoes into 4 pieces then drop them into a colander so the seeds and juice run out through the holes.

3. Bring cut tomatoes with skins to a boil for about 15 minutes to soften the tomato pulp and cook flavor from the skins into the pulp.

4. When cooked tomatoes have cooled run them through a screen wire strainer to save pulp and remove seeds & skins. This was not easy for me so I put cooked tomatoes into food processor this removed pulp and did not chop up the skins. Now it is easy for tomato sauce to pass through the screen wire leaving skins behind.

5. Add, salt, vinegar, sugar, to taste. In the video they added salt 3 times, stir & taste 3 times. Next they add vinegar stir & taste several times, next add sugar stir & taste several times. Then they added salt 2 more times stir & taste each time. A little more vinegar & a little more sugar tomato sauce was finished. Sugar hides the salt & vinegar taste but salt & vinegar gives sauce good flavor.

6. People in video put 1 basil leave into each empty glass jar then fill jars with tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce taste very good to me but wife needs to taste this to see what she thinks. Wife said, that is very good, I think this is better then Hunts tomato sauce that we buy. Wife opened a can of Hunts tomato sauce and said, next year we make 30 jars of that tomato sauce for our pantry.

Wife added, 1 teaspoon of Italian season, 1 garlic clove, 1 slice of onion, to our 1 cup of tomato sauce boil then let it marinade for 1 hour then puree in blender. She said, this is a very good spaghetti sauce.

Wife added another 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning & a punch of crushed red pepper boil then let it marinade for 1 more hour then she said, that is very good pizza sauce.

After we were finished with that I heated sauce 1 more time then added 1 sliced Tabasco pepper to marinade 1 hour. This is excellent taco sauce. LOL

I only had enough tomatoes to make 1 cup of tomato sauce, tomatoes are almost finished for this year.

[Gary350]

Today I learn from Lidia's TV cooking show best pizza sauce & best spaghetti sauce are made with bitter tomatoes not sweet tomatoes. Roma is the choice tomato.

[imafan26]

I know paste tomatoes are preferred,San Marzano is the best. Paste tomatoes are meatier and less juicy. If it has too much juice then it makes the sauce watery instead of thick.

[Gary350]

I know paste tomatoes are preferred,San Marzano is the best. Paste tomatoes are meatier and less juicy. If it has too much juice then it makes the sauce watery instead of thick.

Are San Marzano tomatoes, determinate or indeterminate?

The thing I do not like about determinate tomatoes like ROMA 1 plant will make 20 tomatoes in 1 week then plant dies. No more Roma tomatoes all summer unless you plant 1 tomato seed every week all summer to grow more new plants all summer.

[imafan26]

They are determinate. Most people want determinate paste tomatoes because they want all the fruit at one time to process them. They are 6-8 ft vines and the fruit are clustered. It is a fairly heavy producer for its' type. Apparently from reviews both Roma and San Marzano have their fans. San Marzano has a stronger flavor and is less acidic but Roma does better in a hot, dry climate.

[Gary350]

They are determinate. Most people want determinate paste tomatoes because they want all the fruit at one time to process them. They are 6-8 ft vines and the fruit are clustered. It is a fairly heavy producer for its' type. Apparently from reviews both Roma and San Marzano have their fans. San Marzano has a stronger flavor and is less acidic but Roma does better in a hot, dry climate.

I have always grown indeterminate tomatoes so we have tomatoes all summer. I have never got use to growing determinate tomatoes they leave an empty place in the garden when plants die. Your right it will be best to process pizza sauce & spaghetti sauce in 1 week then be finished for the summer. I learned that trick with cucumbers 10 plants keeps me busy for 2 months trying to make Bread & Butter pickles with only 3 or 4 ripe cucumbers every day, it is best to have 70 plants so enough cucumbers are ripe in a few days then be finished for the summer. We don't eat pickles but they make good relish and we eat relish it lots of other foods, bean salad, coleslaw, potato salad, hot dogs, sandwiches, etc. No children at home anymore I need to learn how to grow a garden for 2 people.

[imafan26]

I prefer indeterminate tomatoes too. I used to grow them almost exclusively. Now, I have fewer choices. Most of the TYLCV tomatoes are determinate, except for the currant. The determinates are more manageable vine wise. I thought they would be once and done, but that doesn't really happen for me. They actually live six months at least. They are not as heat tolerant, so far, I haven't found heat tolerant ones so they will stop producing tomatoes in the heat. But, they will start to grow and produce more tomatoes once the weather cools again. They produce fewer tomatoes than indeterminates over all, but still more than I need. I just wish these particular TYLCV resistant ones tasted better. At least more tomatoes are coming out with resistance, so I have more choices and opportunities to find a better tomato. Red current is actually very prolific and sweet, just very tiny.

[imafan26]

Today I made bolognese from scratch

1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1/2 lb hamburger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 celery ribs chopped
1 cup of carrots grated
29 oz can of crusheed tomatoes
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 packet sazon
4 teaspoons of truvia or sugar
2 bay leaves
salt an pepper to taste ( I only use salt substitutes)
1 cup red wine

Sauteed the hamburger an sausage in a dutch oven in hot oil. Added in garlic, onions and celery and cooked until onions were transluscent. Added in carrots, and both cans of tomatoes. , 1 packet of sazon, sugar to balance the acidity, salt substitute and pepper to taste. Added in 2 bay leaves. Brought it up to a boil and reduced to a simmer and simmered for 2 hours. Added in the wine and simmered another hour.

Cooked some spaghetti in salted water and served with a ladleful of of bolognese. and added cheese on top.

It should taste better tomorrow. These are all ingredients I had on hand and needed to use up. I'll probably add some red pepper flakes to kick it up a bit more. This is not salty because I used no salt tomatoes and salt substitute. You would have to adjust seasoning to taste, but this does make a very thick bolognese which is how I like my pasta sauce. I don't like it runny. I added the sugar because I do not like the acidity from the canned tomatoes. It would be a bit more tangy without it.