youngchefpat
Assistant Cook
I'm just sharing an experience from a few weeks ago, please share your thoughts, it is a little long...
So being from an Italian background it was that time of year to make tomato sauce for the year, and did we ever. It started with 500lbs of tomatoes layed out in the basement to ripen. Then they got washed, cut into quarters and put in mason jars along with fresh basil to be squashed with a wooden pole. These jars went onto being boiled in a huge steel barrel in the garage on a portable burner fueled by propane. This preserves the tomatoes so fresh tomato sauce can be made bi-weekly.
The next day was the cooking of the sauce in full and preserving it in jars for ready to eat purposes (which is good for about a year). This starts the same with cleaning and cutting the tomatoes, which go directly into massive pots that each hold about 150-200lbs of tomatoes. Also in the pot goes chopped onions, garlic and fresh basil from our garden. The tomatoes in these pots get squashed by hand a little then make there way to the burners
where it cooks untill it simmers for an hour(alot of attention is required to ensure no stick at the bottom, the wooden spoon i used was the size of a
small canoe paddle). The hot sauce then goes through a machine that seperates the skin and seeds and pours out the nice thick sauce, which goes back on the heat for further reduction and final seasoning.
Now for the interesting way of jaring the sauce. We heated mason jars in the oven at 200degrees F and filled them up one at time using heat proof gloves. Then the jars get a new seal/lid and get tightened by hand then flipped upsidedown covered with tableclothes(to keep the heat in). The pressure from the heat keeps the seal operatonal as long as the jars are upsidedown. Leave upsidedown for 24 hours and we are done, ready to use fresh sauce that needs no refridgeration(unless opened)for pasta or tons of other dishes that can be made.
There is truly no comparison between this sauce and any store bought brand. Great taste, good quantity, and a very eventful experience.
Thank you for reading and I apologize for the length of the thread
youngchefpat
So being from an Italian background it was that time of year to make tomato sauce for the year, and did we ever. It started with 500lbs of tomatoes layed out in the basement to ripen. Then they got washed, cut into quarters and put in mason jars along with fresh basil to be squashed with a wooden pole. These jars went onto being boiled in a huge steel barrel in the garage on a portable burner fueled by propane. This preserves the tomatoes so fresh tomato sauce can be made bi-weekly.
The next day was the cooking of the sauce in full and preserving it in jars for ready to eat purposes (which is good for about a year). This starts the same with cleaning and cutting the tomatoes, which go directly into massive pots that each hold about 150-200lbs of tomatoes. Also in the pot goes chopped onions, garlic and fresh basil from our garden. The tomatoes in these pots get squashed by hand a little then make there way to the burners
where it cooks untill it simmers for an hour(alot of attention is required to ensure no stick at the bottom, the wooden spoon i used was the size of a
small canoe paddle). The hot sauce then goes through a machine that seperates the skin and seeds and pours out the nice thick sauce, which goes back on the heat for further reduction and final seasoning.
Now for the interesting way of jaring the sauce. We heated mason jars in the oven at 200degrees F and filled them up one at time using heat proof gloves. Then the jars get a new seal/lid and get tightened by hand then flipped upsidedown covered with tableclothes(to keep the heat in). The pressure from the heat keeps the seal operatonal as long as the jars are upsidedown. Leave upsidedown for 24 hours and we are done, ready to use fresh sauce that needs no refridgeration(unless opened)for pasta or tons of other dishes that can be made.
There is truly no comparison between this sauce and any store bought brand. Great taste, good quantity, and a very eventful experience.
Thank you for reading and I apologize for the length of the thread
youngchefpat
