I am fairly new to vegetable gardening and did very well last year gave away bags and bags of tomatoes, cucumbers, and okra the 2 previous years. Then I started thinking I work very hard on my garden and it stinks to be eating ragu in december with all of those tomatoes I grew and gave away. So i can pretty much season my sauce but how do i prepare the tomatoes, what is a food mill, how long do i simmer the sauce, I do not own a pressure cooker where is the best(cheapest) place to buy one and if it is just tomatoe sauce do I have to pressure cook? Please help I am clueless, and I do not want to poison my family.

-- Brandy Tallent (MooreBrandy@prodigy.net), January 13, 2002

Answers

I have a Victorio strainer, it's a screw type that puts the sauce out one side and the seeds and skin out the other. It works great because you don't have to skin the tomatoes. I put the sauce in a deep, wide enamel kettle and let it cook for about 3-4 hours, or until it gets thicker. Then follow the directions for hot water bath canning, tomatoes don't have to be pressure canned.

It's time consuming but oh so good.

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy (KincoraFarm@aol.com), January 13, 2002.

Brandy, I like to skin my tomatoes first by dropping in hot water for about 30 seconds or so and then dipping out with a slotted spoon. The tomatoes are then very easy to skin. I then quarter them into a large kettle and cook for several hours. The food mill I have is a screen type thingy with a handle on the top that you turn around and the blade thing pushes the sauce down through and leave the seeds in the top. I find I have less waste that way. I then put it back into the kettle and cook until it is the consistancy that I want and season to taste (I like to put onion, garlic and peppers in my original kettle with the quartered tomatoes and then run them all through the food mill) I then can mine using the hot water bath method.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 13, 2002.

The Ball's Blue Book has a very good recipe for Seasoned Tomato Sauce that does not require a pressure cooker. Last year I bought a Back To Basics Food Mill and Sauce Maker. It was about $40, but so much easier than using the less expensive food mills, and can run tomatoes through in much less time. When having a lot to can I figured the time saved was worth the cost. Most any store that sells housewares will have some similar brand.

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), January 13, 2002.

the best way is to wash and dry your tomatoes,then pack them into large zip lock bags and freeze.when you want to make sauce you take them out and run them over cold water.the skin comes right off,chop them up and throw in pot.cook down for maybe an hour with seasonings.you would never know they werent freshly picked.its the best. shirley

-- shirley kelsoe (farout96@aol.com), January 13, 2002.

I buy "gone-south" produce at the vegetable stand-for $1 a bag you get between 4 & 5 lbs tomatoes. I cut the bad out, quarter them, throw them in my 6 quart crockpot overnight with whatever is handy (garlic, peppers of any type, even squash, celery or eggplants skinned and chopped) add LOTS of basil, a teeny bit oregano, turn it off when I get home next day and let cool-I'll have 4 big ziplock baggies of sauce to lay flat in my refigerator freezer. If I have too uch tomatoes for the crockpot then I freeze the extra after trimming, in ziplocks. Should be good if used within 6 months.

-- Mitzi Giles (Egiles2@prodigy.net), January 13, 2002.

Take some advive from an Italian. First take the tomatoes and scald them in rapidly boiling water for 45seconds to a minute; usind slotted spoon take the tomatoes out and skin. Reserve skin. take the peeled tomatoes and squish them with your hand (over a bowl) to extract the water and juices then added the squished remaining tomato to the same bowl until all the remaining tomatoes are done. I a large saucepan or stock pot add 2onions and 3-4(cut up in to 1/2 inch pieces) Italian Sausage links saute on med. high 2-3 mins add garlic (1 large clove, or to medium cloves, for every pound of tomatoes) saute for 1 minute, add a little Balsamic or Red wine vinegar and (if desired a cup or so of good red wine(don't use cooking wine it has a ton of additives)). Add tomatoes and 4-6 large fresh Basil leavesand salt and pepper to taste cook over medium high for 20 mins, stiring often reduce to medium heat. Take the tomato skins a puree them until smooththe add as a tomato paste. And cook semi-covered for 1 and half to 2 hours and add about a tablespoon of sugar( to absorb the acid) and serve with pasta (recipe uses 3- 5 lbs of tomatoes). When adding the sausage you may also add pork and beef neckbones and remove an hour later. If adding meatballs do so 15 - 30 minutes before serving. I have never used or will ever use a pressure cooker though it may save time you'll lose flavor because that is the beauty of tomato sauceslow cooked and simmered always gives the best flavor. Its a Food Of Love. Don't worry about seeds you'll hardly notice them. Add if you run through a food mill you'll lose beautiful texture. Final note when making meatballs use 1/2 lbsof beef and 1/4 lbs. of ground pork and 1/4 lb of ground veal try this and you'll never give a way another tomato again!

-- Chandler Joseph Wible (ProvidenceFarms2001@yahoo.com), January 13, 2002.

Take some advice from an American (who has been living in Italy for 9 years!!)

Boil up a pot of tomatos, add an onion, a carrot, a peice of celery if you like some garlic and a litlle salt. When everything is soft pass it through some sort of food mill (I have one especially for tomatos - it seperates the seeds and skin from the pulp ) With the help of a funnel pour the sauce into clean beer bottles. Make sure to leave about inch from the top free or else they will explopde) top the bottles (you can buy a simple inexpensive contraption that does this)

Put the bottles lying down flat, in an oldoil drum or pot (depends how many bottles you have - I usually do around 70 each time) make sure to put layers of newspaper between the bottles. Boil for about 30 minutes- I do this outside with wood so I put wood on until it boils and then let it cool down until the next morning .

simple wonderful.

-- kelly (kellytree@hotmail.com), January 14, 2002.

Oh Boy now I am very impatient I want to start those seeds now to hurry up and get those fresh tomatoes again. I got on the web yesterday to look at seed companys because I have been waiting for the catalog and have not received it yet. Hope it comes soon can just taste those sauces they all sound delicious.

-- Brandy Tallent (MooreBrandy@prodigy.net), January 14, 2002.

Here's the system used by a lazy person who does a fair amount of cooking (that would be me). Core the tomatoes and cut out any hard (green) spots. Put the raw tomatoes through your blender- skin, seeds and all. This is your basis, to which you add your choice of spices, and other ingredients. I use dried peppers, mushrooms, and powdered dried mushroom stems to thicken, which reduces the "cooking down" time considerably. I do not add meat before the canning process, but rather when I heat it to eat, and pork is my much preferred meat. We generally get our ground pork rather than sausage when the piggies "take a ride". You'll never notice the tomato skins. The seeds are no problem either. And you eliminate the time and persnickity chore of blanching and skinning. GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), January 14, 2002.

Stick with the ragu it less work and don't plant all of the tomato plants. Plant flowers that will be no work on your part.

By the time you do all that cooking the cost of the gas for cooking you could buy several cases of Ragu that will last all winter..and will be just as good. Take it from a old farmers wife.

-- Betty (betty crocker@prodigy.net), February 07, 2002.

Stick with the ragu it less work and don't plant all of the tomato plants. Plant flowers that will be no work on your part.

By the time you do all that cooking the cost of the gas for cooking you could buy several cases of Ragu that will last all winter..and will be just as good. Take it from a old farmers wife. Have a nice day

-- Betty crocker (cheerbb2@netscape.net), February 07, 2002.

take the skins off, run through the squeezo. pour into cleaned out milk jugs. freeze. take out of freezer and turn up side down in the sink. the water will thaw first and run out. pour whats left into 18 quarrt roaster. Simmer until the right thickness. Add seasoning and can. the 18 quart roaster is great, it wont burn and doesnt add heat to the house. If you want to cheat and add alittle to the cost, but save time, buy a can of tomato past and thicken it up. one can of paste will thicken two batches of 18 quarts. Ragu-yuck. I am lucky, i work for a company that makes spagetti seasonings, so i don't have any costs.

-- randy in missouri (rwybrant@coin.org), February 12, 2002.