I'm wondering why you need to put it through a food strainer? Wouldn't that just give you a thin sauce?

I roast skinned tomatos with fresh garlic, large handful of basil, salt, chili peppers and a little olive oil in about a 325-350 degree oven for 2-3 hours. This amount of time allows much of the water to evaporate and concentrate the flavours-sweetness is often the result of this slow, long roast. Sometimes, I have added sugar(1tsp) to the sauce but this year,I've added so many sweet cherry tomatos that my sauce is sweet enough. When cool, I use my immersion blender to chop it up a little more fine but I could leave it chunkier. Then transfer to containers and freeze.

Hope this helps!

Sorry, Michele about questioning your use of the food strainer-obviously, you're looking to get rid of seeds/gel.DuH!!It's really too early for me to think clearly! hee. I personally don't care about seeds/gel in the sauce but I do see your point.

I'd try roasting them a little longer in a slighter cooler oven, as previously suggested with the addition of a little sugar to counter the bitterness. Then strain.

Alternatively, since you're using Italian paste vars. with few seeds/gel anyway; you could halve them, scrape away seeds/gel and roast them, then lightly blend them or put them in a food processor.

If you are going to freeze it you can basically make and season it anyway you wish. For canning that isn't the case as there are restrictions that would apply. I can all my tomato sauce so I'm not sure how much my recipes would appeal to you but one we use often is a sauced version of the BBB Stewed Tomatoes recipe. In other words we make the stewed tomatoes recipe and them mill it all and cook the sauce down by 1/2 and can it.

Your recipe sounds good but I would suspect either reactive aluminum cookware or too much basil as the source of the bitterness. Small amounts work well but if too much it can turn bitter. As a general guideline, since so many herbs and spices intensify during storage many find it best to make the sauce plain - just tomatoes and some salt and/or sugar, and then add the herbs and seasoning at serving preparation time.

So why not try just roasted tomatoes in a bit of olive oil with a little diced garlic and a bit of salt and then process it. Make sure all the cookware you use is non-reactive too.

Dave

Brown onions and garlic in olive oil (ground beef too if you want a meat sauce), add strained tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, worcestershire sauce, crushed red pepper and simmer for hours on the stove on very low setting stirring occasionally. If it scorches it will be bitter. Add fresh basil at the end of the cooking process. Obviously this isn't for canning. For that I just cook down the strained tomatoes to a sauce-like consistency.

Caryl

Today is the big day, I am going to make the sauce. Thank you for all the great suggestions! Dave, I think you are right, I used too many spices and overcooked the tomatoes in the oven. I don't think it was reactive bakeware, I used 1 glass lasagna pan and my roasting pan with is coated with a nonstick surface.

Mornin, I watch a lot of Alton B. He says there is something in maters that alcohol dissolves and really enhances the flavor of the fruit. My better half made a marinara sauce and tried the alcohol thing using white wine. The flavor was incredible. Really bright and rich.
Something you could try while making your sauce. I don't know what step you would add the wine or vodka or what ever you use though? Think you would want the alc. to evap. before canning though.
Dave