Canned Pizza Sauce

Using fresh tomatoes to make your own home-canned pizza sauce is a rewarding and delicious way to preserve the taste of summer for year-round enjoyment. Making your own pizza sauce at home can bring numerous benefits that go far beyond just the delicious taste.

One of my favorite things about making my own sauce it that I have complete control over the ingredients and the sauce can be customized to suit your own personal tastes. In addition to the health benefits of making your own pizza sauce at home is that it can be a cost-effective and satisfying culinary endeavor. whether you are purchasing ingredients in bulk or using produce from your garden it can reduce costs. I find the process of making the sauce to be a fun and rewarding experience. It can also be a great activity to do with family and friends, bringing people together in the kitchen. Plus, the joy of knowing that you’ve created something from scratch can make the meal even more enjoyable. Pair this with home made pizza dough and your taste buds are in for a real treat. To start begin by selecting ripe, firm tomatoes, preferably plum varieties like Roma, as they have fewer seeds and a meatier texture.

Ingredients:

25 pounds fresh tomatoes
3 cups chopped onion
6 cloves minced garlic
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
½ - 1 Tbsp. of black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. salt
1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Bottled Lemon juice or critic acid (1/2 Tbsp. of lemon juice or 1/8Tsp. citric acid for each ½ pint. If you are using pint jars then it would be 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and ¼ Tsp. citric acid per jar)

To prepare tomato puree from fresh tomatoes:

There are a couple of methods you can use when prepping your tomatoes to make the sauce. The method we us is: Wash the tomatoes and cut them into halves or quarters. If the tomatoes are super ripe we can go ahead and run them through the KitchenAid strainer and juicer attachment for our mixer. If they aren’t super ripe we will put them in the food processor first and then run them through the kitchen aid strainer and juicer attachment. This attachment does a fantastic job of separating the juice from the seeds and skin. We don’t have to heat the tomatoes first.

Another method you can use is to; Wash, core and halve tomatoes; heat to boiling (you may have to use a couple of pots depending on how many tomatoes you have and the size of the pots. Then you put the tomatoes through a strainer to remove seeds and peels.

Making the pizza sauce:

In a 12-quart or large stock pot combine the chopped tomatoes with finely diced onions, minced garlic, and a blend of Italian herbs such as basil, oregano, and thyme. Add a splash of olive oil and simmer the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally. To enhance the flavor, consider adding a bit of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce cook until it reaches your desired consistency, which can take anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours, depending on how watery the tomatoes are

Bring back to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until sauce reaches desired consistency (reduced by 1/4 to 1/3), usually an hour or two, depending on if you started with fresh or frozen tomatoes. Make sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking (if you have a thin-bottomed stock-pot, stir more often to prevent scorching).

Canning the pizza sauce:

Once you have the jars, lids and rings prepared and ready to use add the lemon juice or citric acid to each jar and then fill the jars with sauce leaving 1/2-inch headspace. I like to take a paper towel and wipe off the rim of each jar to make sure there isn’t anything on there that will get in the way of the jars sealing properly. Attach the lids and rings and tighten until fingertip-tight. Place in canner rack and repeat with remaining jars to fill canner (keep sauce and jars warm, as you will need to do a couple canner loads when using half-pints).

Process both pints and half-pints for 35 minutes in a boiling-water canner (find more details about Canning on my webpage Canning Basics).

When the jars are done remove them and let sit on a cooling rack. Allow jars to completely cool before checking seals, labeling and storing in a cool, dark place. If you have a jar that didn’t seal you can always reprocess it or put it in the refrigerator and use in the next few weeks.

Storage: Jars will keep safely for up to one and a half years.

Nutrition Facts:

**This is an estimate actual totals may vary depending on types of tomatoes and other products used.

Items needed:

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