We froze the sauce last year, which was great - except that I had trouble stuffing everything I wanted into our small chest freezer. We researched canning the sauce, even going as far as buying jars, but the tomatoes ran out before we gave it a try.
This year we learned canning.
Action shot (gotta move quick with those hot jars!) |
We roasted up and milled two boxes of tomatoes before my mom arrived. Roughly four quarts of sauce was reheating in the dutch oven (and painting my stove top orange) when Mom arrived. She inspected our equipment and quickly put us to work. My tall stock pot had enough room for five pint containers. It took two batches in the hot water bath to seal all the jars. Still, in less than two hours we had seven pints of tomato sauce lined up on the counter. All but one of the jars sealed as they came out of the water. Ping! The last one pinged as it was set on the counter. It was wild watching the contents continue to bubble for several seconds after they were removed from the hot water bath. (I tried to take a video, but the bubbling was hard to see.)
Not bad. It almost seemed too easy. When I froze last year's batch I knew they'd be okay. These all sealed properly and should last for months on the shelf. But there's a part of me that's nervous somehow they'll spoil before we can eat them. So much work to make that sauce! But I really need my freezer space.
We have another couple of quarts of tomatoes ready for milling and canning later this week. At which point, if we get any more tomatoes, we may freeze the rest. It's been a learning adventure. I look forward to enjoying our hard work all winter.
Good for you! That sounds like time and effort very well spent. I didn't grow tomatoes this year, but I've been thinking about growing some Romas next year and trying to put up a few pints of tomato ketchup for one reason: so I don't have to deal with those narrow-neck plastic bottles for a year.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your lovely sauce!