Tomato Sauce Made with Jersey Tomatoes
New Jersey, the Garden State, is well known for its
vegetables and fruits, particularly for its tomatoes.
Tomatoes have a high nutritional value; they are packed
full with vitamin C. They contain an important phytonutrient
called lycopene that has been proven to help fight aging, as well as, contain anti-cancer properties. It
appears to be particularly effective
against prostate and colon cancers.
Tomatoes
stimulate the production of the amino acid carnitine, which has been shown in research
to speed the body’s fat-burning
capacity by over 30 percent.
I love tomatoes not just because of the high nutritional
value, but more notably the variety in which they can be used. One of my favorites is the little cherry tomato
that is great for salsa or bruschetta.
Next would be beef tomatoes that are great sliced with some mozzarella
cheese. Lastly, plum tomatoes are great
for making tomato sauce.
Everyone loves a good tomato sauce; unfortunately, store
bought tomato sauces are high in sodium and sugars! 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
could have up to 15 grams of sugar and 400-500mg of sodium.
According
to the American Heart
Association (AHA), the maximum
amount of added sugars men should eat in a day is 150 calories (37.5
grams or 9 teaspoons) and for women 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6
teaspoons). So by eating a store bought
cup of tomato sauce, you might reach your sugar intake for the day. In order to
prevent this and save your health a great idea would be to make your own tomato
sauce.
Here is what you
need to make your own homemade tomato sauce, and if done right the sauce will
be able to store for months.
Ingredients
- 25lbs
of juice plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded (to peel, cut a small “X” on the top
and drop in to boiling water for 10 seconds and drop in to an ice bath. Skin
will easily peel off.) (see “blanching” below)
- ½ cup
of olive oil
- 6
medium onions, diced
- 15
cloves of fresh garlic (or more to taste), finely minced
- 4 cups of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 5
sprigs of fresh thyme leaves (or 3tsp dried)
- 5
sprigs of fresh oregano (or 3tsp dried)
- 6 bay
leaves (remove when done)
- 8
sprigs of parsley (or 6tsp dried)
- 4 teaspoons
of sea salt
- 3
carrots (1/2 of that should be grated and added to sauce, the other half should
be added at the end of cooking and then removed)
- 3
tablespoon honey (or more to taste)
Instructions
- Pour
the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.
- Add
diced onion, garlic and grated carrots.
- Sauté
for 6-8 minutes or until onions are translucent and tender.
- Add
tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, parsley and sea
salt.
- Simmer
on low hear for 3-5 hours or until cooked down and starting to darken
- Add
carrot piece for the last 30 minutes to absorb acidity.
- Remove
spring of herbs and pieces of carrot
- Use an
immersion blender to purée sauce until smooth.
- Simmer
on low for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare your jars. In order
to sanitize your jars, I place them in the dishwasher and turn on the sanitize
cycle. When your sauce is done, place the hot jars on a top of the kitchen
cloth on the counter. With the help of canning funnel, ladle sauce into the
jars, reserving ½ inch headspace. Use a nonmetallic spatula to remove any
trapped air bubbles, and wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth. Place on the
lids and screw bands and tighten. After a couple of hours you will hear a
“popp” and your sauce is sealed. You can store them in the refrigerator to
improve shelf life or in cold space.
Blanching
The skins of some
vegetables e.g. tomatoes, onions, and fruits e.g. peaches and plums will need
to be removed before they are ready for use in a recipe.
Otherwise, the
skin’s texture can become chewy and rubbery after cooking, and nobody will
enjoy that. Blanching is also used with some vegetables like asparagus, corn,
peas, in order to keep their color vibrant once canned.
Instructions
1. Wash
your vegetables or fruits under cool water.
2. Prepare
and ice bath by filling a large bowl or your sink.
3. Fill a
large stainless-steel pot two-thirds full with water and bring to boil over
high heat.
4. Using a
slotted spoon, gently place one item at the time into the boiling water.
Boil
for 30 seconds, remove the item with the slotted spoons, and immediately plunge
it into the ice bath. Continue
until each item has been blanched.
5. Peel of
the skin of your vegetable or fruits, they should slip off easily.
6. Cut the tomatoes in half and use your fingers in order to remove the seeds and also squeeze the tomatoes. The less water the tomatoes are having, the thicker and creamier will be your tomato sauce. Alternatively, you can use a food mill for this process.
It is very simple to make extract with the powder. First, boil
two cups of water. Next, add 1 tsp. of
your dry leaf powder and reduce the temperature to a simmer until it reduces
and it may thickens to the consistency of syrup.
