I have a stupid question about canning tomato sauce...

[stepstephens2]

I've been canning for a few years now- long enough to know the official answer to any canning question is "No, you can't do that and you're going to die of botulism poisoning." But I'm going to go ahead and ask anyways. I'm always working on trying to get my tomato sauce thicker. I hate standing over a bubbling pan forever and I don't like to add paste (as some recipes call for) because it feels like cheating. Last night I was canning whole skinned tomatoes in their own juice and I got half way through and decided to quit. I had a giant bowl of salted tomatoes left over and I stuck them in the fridge. I decided to turn them into a pizza sauce to be stored in the freezer today. I took them out and 75% of their moisture had separated from them. I used a colander and strained them, dropped them in a pot, and used a stick blender on them. They were almost immediately thicker than the thickest sauce I have been able to get after hours of boiling.

So my question is: Would it be safe to allow the salt to drain the moisture out overnight in the fridge and then CAN them the next day following one of the official sauce recipes? Also, does anyone know why you have to take the seeds out of tomatoes when you are making sauce? Is it just to make it look nice, or does that also keep me from dying of botulism poisoning? I went ahead and froze this batch, but it would be nice to use the shortcut the next time around and can it. What are your thoughts?

 

[lesa]

I can't answer your "thicker" question- I just cook down. However, you certainly do not need to remove seeds. Some people do not like the seeds, and I suppose it does look better. I remove the seeds from my sauce, but not from the whole tomatoes.... Just personal preference. Happy Canning!

 

[NwMtGardener]

Yeah, the only thing the seeds add is a more bitter flavor, i think thats the reason people try to de-seed. But i just do *some* seed removal, dont worry about getting every single one. And...i've not done that much canning, so i'll go ahead and say "DONT DO THAT, YOU'LL DIE OF BOTULISM!!" and then add: i cant imagine that you're changing the pH by draining the water in the manner you did, so i would think you'd be okay! It seems like the same thing to me, cooking off the water for hours and hours, or letting it separate in the fridge and pouring it off the next day.

 

[Veggie PAK]

The way I reduce the water when making tomato sauce is to gently squeeze each tomato after you've removed the skin. The amount of water that will come out is amazing! Let me put it this way: Before when I peeled the tomatoes and put them in a pot, they looked like chunky tomato soup and sought their own level in their juices. Now when I do it, I look in the pot and the tomatoes are piled up in the center of the pot like an inverted funnel, with very little juice in the bottom of the pot. That saves hours of cooking down for me! What a difference! Then they make thicker sauce when cooked.

I left the seeds in mine, but there does seem to be an over abundance of seeds in the sauce. Enough to notice them when eating it. I don't know of a way to reduce them significantly though. Too thick for a colander.

Now what to do with that tomato water/juice? I hate to just waste it.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Now what to do with that tomato water/juice? I hate to just waste it.

I know what you're talking about. Some say to use it for tomato juice. Yuk I have tried many ways to make it taste good with no luck. At our house it goes on the compost pile.

 

[stepstephens2]

The way I reduce the water when making tomato sauce is to gently squeeze each tomato after you've removed the skin. The amount of water that will come out is amazing! Let me put it this way: Before when I peeled the tomatoes and put them in a pot, they looked like chunky tomato soup and sought their own level in their juices. Now when I do it, I look in the pot and the tomatoes are piled up in the center of the pot like an inverted funnel, with very little juice in the bottom of the pot. That saves hours of cooking down for me! What a difference! Then they make thicker sauce when cooked.

I left the seeds in mine, but there does seem to be an over abundance of seeds in the sauce. Enough to notice them when eating it. I don't know of a way to reduce them significantly though. Too thick for a colander.

Now what to do with that tomato water/juice? I hate to just waste it.

That's actually what I have been doing... Leaving it out overnight with some salt took out moisture than squeezing them. It was really amazing. Within 15 minutes of heating and blending I was starting to near paste in thickness. The tomatoes were tracing like how soap does.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I tried your trick with the salt over night this past weekend. I am sooooo glad I did. It seemed to take forever (slight exaggeration) to make my sauce even with the "speed method". It looks good and I think that we are going to have some tonight for supper. I do have enough tomatoes to make another batch I believe. We'll see how it tastes. Thanks for the tip!

 

[stepstephens2]

I tried your trick with the salt over night this past weekend. I am sooooo glad I did. It seemed to take forever (slight exaggeration) to make my sauce even with the "speed method". It looks good and I think that we are going to have some tonight for supper. I do have enough tomatoes to make another batch I believe. We'll see how it tastes. Thanks for the tip!

Glad it worked for you too! If the tomatoes are willing to help you make thicker sauce by separating THEMSELVES from all the extra juice, I say let them...

 

[hoodat]

Now what to do with that tomato water/juice? I hate to just waste it.

I know what you're talking about. Some say to use it for tomato juice. Yuk I have tried many ways to make it taste good with no luck. At our house it goes on the compost pile.

In another big pot add some celery, sliced onions or shallots, bell or hot peppers and perrhaps a bit of basil just before canning to your tomato liquid (the liquid is too thin to call tomato juice). Now you can it up and you have a vegetable stock to use in your cooking.

 

[stepstephens2]

Now what to do with that tomato water/juice? I hate to just waste it.

I know what you're talking about. Some say to use it for tomato juice. Yuk I have tried many ways to make it taste good with no luck. At our house it goes on the compost pile.

In another big pot add some celery, sliced onions or shallots, bell or hot peppers and perrhaps a bit of basil just before canning to your tomato liquid (the liquid is too thin to call tomato juice). Now you can it up and you have a vegetable stock to use in your cooking.

I like that idea, I'm gonna have to do that next time... I make a lot of soups in the winter.