Well in part your expectations are too high. ;) Any sauce will require some cooking down before canning or freezing - not to mention it is needed for food safety.

You can shorten that cooking time a bit by shelling out the seed cavities prior to milling the fruit - running it through your tomato mill - and then letting them drain a bit but there will still be some water that only cooking can remove.

This gets discussed often over on the Harvest and preserving forum here and the 2 varieties that most often get recommended are Amish Paste and Big Mama. My personal favorite is San Marzano and it and Viva Italia are what we use for the base in all our canned and frozen sauces.

But that said, since some cooking is required anyway, we find that a mixture of many different types and varieties - even beefsteaks - give you the best tasting sauce in the end. Granted the cooking down time is longer but the taste is well worth it.

Another "trick" used by some regulars on the Harvest forum is adding a can or 2 of tomato paste to their fresh sauce during cooking. It supposedly makes it thicken up faster. But I can't see why I would want to add a commercial canned product to my sauce - sort of defeats the purpose.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Favorite paste tomato discussions

Opalka will not let you down. They are mostly tomato meat, very little seeds and juice. And taste much better than Roma in my tomato opinion.

Oh yeah, and regarding the other post above you will certainly still have to cook them down. Don't want to give the impression that you do not.

But in comparison to a Cherokee purple, I froze a half gallon of Cherokee purple raw puree, and when I cooked it down to sauce thickness, I only had 1/4 the volume of a half gallon of frozen opalka puree cooked to the same consistency. (I had a personal event that meant I couldn't make sauce last summer, so I just ran all my tomatoes through the food mill before they went bad and froze that so I could deal with it later)

Thanks folks! I went with Olpaka....too weird looking to pass up and I do remember seeing that name mention a lot in the past.

Dave - should I be cooking my puree before freezing? For my entire pureeing career (2 years!), my tomatoes have gone from the mill to plastic containers right to the freezer. Am I heading for some bad times ahead?

Thanks again,
Bart

Dave - should I be cooking my puree before freezing?

Most definitely! That was my point above. ;) Even if you are cooking them some before milling as many do, you still have to at least heat to boiling after milling for safe storage. Otherwise you are just preserving the molds, mildews, and bacteria along with the sauce.

So since you have to cook anyway why not do it long enough to boil off some of the remaining water.

Dave

I'm not Dave, but I don't think freezing your sauce straight from the food mill should cause you any problems. You still should be cooking it down before using anyway. However, I would always cook mine down first, unless I had a timing problem or a personal problem, because it would take up a lot less space in the freezer once its been reduced.

I'm sure Dave is right about boiling it first for safety reasons... but I kind of like "cooking it down" when I am ready to use it, and the hot stove can heat the house when it's COLD outside and I want the heat! ;)

I agree with "digdirt"

But so far I know, roma has less water and more meat.
It is best on the grill and for canning. But not for slicing.
I did some canning last year and here is how I do.

1- drop them in boiling water for about 20 secs., Take it out drop in real cold water (ice water is best)

2- peel them. skin comes right off.
3- cut into halves, sqeez the seeds and the juice around it. save the juice for drinks.

4- smash them, blend them and strain through a fine straines. Throw away the pulp. Now I have a nice thick juice.

4- simmer at low heat until it is halfed in volume.
5- can it according to canning principals.
I add some herbs like oregano, thyme, basil during last few minuts of simmering for flavor. This is almost a spaghetti sauce, little thinner.

TO SUMM IT UP, I THINK ROMA TOMS ARE BETTER FOR MAKING SAUCE.

H-m-m-m. I've been on the Harvest Forum for quite some time and I know that a lot of the members just pop their whole raw tomatoes into bags into the freezer, or cut them in quarters and freeze without pre-cooking. When they are ready to use, they take them out (peels will practically fall off on their own) then will either let them thaw (if in a colander, the watery liquid will drain off) or just put them in the pot to cook down. There's been several threads on this and one of them is:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg0800110928295.html

I would have no problems with pureeing the tomatoes then freezing the puree with no cooking. However, I would definitely cook down the puree before using. If I didn't can it as I normally do, I personally would cook mine down before freezing in order to save on freezer space.

Ooops! I do cook the puree down before canning.

Freezing whole tomato is perhaps the easiest and siplest way, BUT it would take a lot more storage space. With my methed volue will bereduced to 1/3 that of whole tomato. and it is versatile to be used any time, right away.

I don't cook the puree before freezing, but I would before canning.

I don't like to run my air conditioner in the summer and I really don't want to heat up the house if I can avoid it, so I don't want a put of sauce on the stove for the amount of time it would take to cook down if I am just going to freeze the stuff. Plus I usually have too much going on in the summer to baby sit a pot of sauce.

Canning already heats up the house enough.

In the winter I bust out all the frozen puree and make sauce. Then i get to enjoy the heat and moisture it puts into the air.

There is a crucial difference between freezing tomatoes whole without pre-cooking and freezing tomato sauce without pre-cooking. The skins, which are the source of all the bacteria, molds, etc. Obviously a good prewashing will remove much but keep in mind that freezing does not KILL all contaminants, it merely retards its growth. Frozen whole, then skinned removes most all the contaminants. The follow-up cooking does in the rest.

Once milled or processed however, since most do it with the skins still attached, those bacteria that were on the skins and stem attachment are now spread throughout the sauce. That is why it is recommended that sauce be cooked prior to freezing for safety (and quality) best results.

Dave

I tried Opalka for the first time last year and it was a real winner. I have a 'Vitamix' so I just cut whole tomatoes in quarters, grind them up and reduce them by half. I feel using the whole tomato - skins/seeds is probably more nutritional.

I found a better way to thicken my tomatoes than cooking them down. Less time and much better flavor! I start the same as cyrus gardner,

1- drop them in boiling water for about 20 secs., Take it out drop in real cold water (ice water is best)

2- peel them. skin comes right off.
3- cut into halves, sqeez the seeds and the juice around it. save the juice for drinks.

Then I continue this way:

4. coursly chop the tomatoes and put them in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, just until the tomatoes start to break down.
5. Turn off the heat and let cool a little.
6. Line a colander with 1-2 layers of cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl. Pour the tomaotes into the colander and let drain.
7. Gather up the edges of the cheesecloth and lift the cheesecloth containing the tomato pulp out of the colander and place in another bowl. Discard the cheesecloth. Tomatoes are ready for immediate use or for freezing.
8. Use the tomato "water" left behind in the first bowl in another recipe.

You get thickened tomatoes which taste much fresher because of the short cooking time and you don't have to keep stirring a pot for a long time to reduce the water.

You can probably omit steps 1-3 if you are using a food mill to separate out the skin and seeds. Just start with whole, fresh tomatoes at step 4, and put the pulp from step 7 (which still has seeds and skin) into the food mill.
Come to think of it, I think I'll give it a try this year!

My canning method evolved a lot last year, mainly due to reading the Harvest forum, as several have already mentioned. The biggest change I made was to switch to roasting the halved tomatoes first (skin on) and then running them through the food mill. If you search a bit on the Harvest forum, you'll find lots of ideas to try. The quick and dirty version is to wash and halve the toms and lay them cut-side down in a roaster pan. (Note: For me and my wandering attention span, glass/Pyrex is far better than enameled steel for ease of clean-up.)

Anyway, slide the pan of halved tomatoes into the oven. I set mine at ~375. I learned the hard way watch the juice level in the pan instead of the timer. There's a sweet spot between the juice having cooked off just enough and a scorched enamel pan that's an hour-long scrubbing project. See note above :)

After running the roasted tomatoes through Grandma's Foley food mill (DH gave me a Roma food mill for Christmas. Can't wait for canning season.), the resulting sauce heaped up in the pot like a thick applesauce. A wooden spoon would stand upright in it. Much thicker, and I would have worried about getting enough heat penetration in the pressure canner.

This method for sure doesn't address the hot summer kitchen problem. Also, if you're doing more than, say, 7 quarts at a time, the rotating of the roasting pans through the oven can take up a lot of time. (I have several from a garage-sale score, so that helps.) I should mention I used mostly San Marzano and Roma last year. Roasting a juicier slicer would probably take more time...

Have fun!

Mrs.B,

I am loving that idea! The roasting must give them a nice rich flavor... I know it does when I roast butternut squash for soup =) I will be trying it out with the tomatoes this year! Hmm... I bet it would be tasty if I also roasted diced eggplant, peppers, and squash to add to the sauce...

Mrs. B,

I like that idea, too, so glad you passed it on from the Harvest forum.

Would it be possible to set the cut tomatoes out in the sun in those Pyrex (or other clear) glass containers, cover them with plastic wrap, and watch to see when enough juice has drained from the tomatoes? IOW, to "semi-sun-dry" the tomatoes? If it would take only a day in the heat of summer, then you wouldn't have the hot oven inside to deal with.

I'm planning to grow Opalka and Monomakh's Hat for sauce tomatoes this year, both of which I believe are indeterminates, so if it works, I could use this technique for freezing preparation as they ripen and not be overwhelmed by so many all at once.

I was a little concerned about how to freeze the processed tomato sauce at this stage since I have a Food Saver system, but I can just set the filled bags upright in the freezer to freeze the sauce before removing the air from the bags.

I never got "into" canning anything because I remember the sweaty hours and hours the women in my family spent in the kitchen when it was unbearably hot anyway (before the days of air conditioning in people's homes). But freezing is easy, and we have a freezer in the basement that keeps us in a lot of garden-grown veggies during the winter.

And quite unrelated, I am praying that this year is better gardening for us in the South than 2009!

Viking - That sounds luscious! I can see I'll be back over at the Harvest forum, looking for a new canning recipe :)

Anney - I wonder if that would work... Your weather is a lot warmer than ours. It seems worth a shot. Would the plastic wrap keep the liquid from evaporating? It sure would be nice to find a way around the sweltering kitchen. Last year, almost all of my canning happened in October & November. I hadn't thought of it until now, but I guess there was a bright side to last summer's cold weather. Thanks!

I would go with my highest yielding tomatoes, last year it was Gogosha, Legend, Jetsetter, Marvel Striped, and Verna's Orange Oxheart. I just cut the tomatoes up and either cook down on the stove or in a crock pot, which eliminates most of the watching and stirring, though I think I got into trouble overnight on HI. I leave the lid off. The crock pot could be put in the garage or outdoors if nothing would get into it, or perhaps something like screening or mesh could be put over it. In the PNW with air conditioning and a daylight basement to cool the house, I don't have to swelter... but the cool nights make tomatoes take a lot longer to ripen.:-(

I run the reduced sauce through a food mill which is a pain to keep scraping out the seeds and skins, but I think it is faster than methods above? Each to his own. I prefer to freeze the finished sauce, and hate canning though it doesn't use freezer space and can't get into trouble if the power goes off.

*Lots* of info on the web about this subject (such as below).

We've frozen "chunks", semi-dried/frozen slices, and of course, made Marinara sauce and frozen it.

But I have a question for cooking advocates -- when you eat tomatoes fresh, do you peel them? If not, aren't you concerned about the bacterial issues?
-WC2K8

Here is a link that might be useful: freezing tomatoes

This thread reminds me that I need another freezer.....

To answer the question - anything but Roma - a waste of space - not prolific & lacking in flavor. We use Amish Paste & San Marzanos for sauce(s). Sometimes we'll add other varieties "to fill the pot" as needed.

Our stove has a fan above it - maybe some peoples' vent fans aren't actually vented to the outside? Having been in construction, I know this isn't unusual. Many "vent" fans in kitchens are really just stove lights... because their fans are useless, just recycling the air. If vented properly, the fan should take care of the stove heat as well as the aroma in the area by sucking it outside. I love the smell of fresh sauce cooking in the kitchen, but not in my bedroom...lol. As for the winter heat, thats a good idea. I think about that with the oven.

As far as making the sauce - after peeling them, we squeeze/de-seed/de-juice them in a extra deep bowl them put them into a blender. Some of it pureed and some just quickly chopped(in the blender) - a mix... We add the puree to a pot w/ sauted onion & garlic that was deglazed with red wine. Prior to that we may have browned ground veal, bulk italian sausage or grnd beef or add meatballs later. Then we add fresh herbs. We add pureed cooked carrots. Our cacciatori sauce has peppers added and dry white vs red wine. All of these sauces cook for a few hours. They reduce by a 1/3 or more. Pizza sauce is reduced much further.

I'm baffeled why anyone would wait until winter to make sauce from frozen tomatoes...From a gardener's perspective and somebody who likes to cook and eat good food, I don't get it...We make ours from the freshest ingredients possible and then deep freeze it in vaccum sealed bags. Everything in our sauce, except for the meat & wine, comes fresh from the garden - and we're "working" on the other two... The whole idea IMO is to make it from scratch and from fresh stuff, just picked IMBY... In Ohio that means we only have about two months to make "fresh" homemade sauce - August and September - when we still have a herb garden, onions, garlic, carrots, peppers, tomatoes and zuchinni - all in the garden at the same time. I always get a kick, when I read a recipe on how to make homemade spaghetti sauce and they start off by telling you to use canned tomatoes. Huh? Well, I guess I've become a "sauce snob". To each his own, I just find it funny.

I agree with jurassicdaryl about the fresh ingredients for sure. Last year's batch was very light due to blight problems, but the sauce was highly successful. I wanted to alter the recipe for this season to try some new things, but my wife told me in no uncertain terms that she loved the sauce and divorce would follow if I changed anything. It has been my goal for some time to grow everything in the sauce in the garden, and the only thing missing has been the garlic...until this year.

To answer the original question, I rely on Roma, Opalka, Amish Paste, Super Italian Paste, and Czech Select (technically not a paste, but who couldn't love this tomato). Fresh basil, Rossa di Milano onions, and Red Russian garlic.

I'm busting with anticipation already!

Michael

What's the difference between freezing tomatoes, then cooking... and cooking sauce, then freezing? I can understand making fresh sauce in the summer for eating right away, but if you're preserving for later...? I'm confused.

Vikingkirken,

Much of the difference is volume in the freezer. Frozen tomatoes take up the volume of the tomato; cooked tomatoes, much less.

Andrew

Andrew, good point... I guess it comes down to which is more valuable to each particular gardener, the freezer space or the energy savings (the stove in the winter helps to heat the house, whereas the heat in the summer is wasted and you have to run a fan as well to send it outside)!

Mostly, I was confused about how quality would be different if ingredients were frozen, then cooked vs. cooked, then frozen...

I have a pretty big deep freezer - about 15sq ft., but to add a couple(or more) bushels of tomatoes would take up way too much space and just delay the inevitable anyways. We do about 3 "grocery bags" of tomatoes at a time for each batch. The way many people make sauce - the finished product becomes just a fraction (in volume/wt)of what you brought in from the garden (or the freezer in some people's case). I still get amazed at how little we end up with as compared to what we brought in. Well worth it though! Where we live, the heat loss cost sucked through the exhaust fan in the winter would far outwiegh the AC lost through the fan in the summer. Heating oil is expen$ive. We always have the fan on when we cook so the rest of our house doesn't smell like our kitchen. Not to mention 3+ hrs of steam is not the greatest for wooden kitchen cabinets, drywall, etc... I heard a while back about how much an exhaust fan really costs - in just a couple hours(the time to cook sauce), the amount of cubic feet sucked through just a smaller bathroom fan can equal the entire cubic feet of a house. Thats expensive if you run AC or heat your house. Here in Ohio, fortunately September is a relatively cheap month for utilities and coincedently is when we still have alot of ripe toms. For us, it makes the most sense to just "get er done", besides we have all the other ingredients that make up sauce still in the garden - also fresh & free. We do freeze some whole tomatoes for recipes that aren't tomato heavy like soup, chili(sorry TX) or paella. I have heard that its easier to peel toms that have been frozen. That sounds like a plus. I couldn't say which tastes better though. I envision a freezer full of extra large zip locks w/ freezer burnt/frosty toms. We use vaccum $ealed bags on just about everything we freeze/store for extended periods. To use those on raw toms would get pricey, but they could be reused w/ some effort in that senario. To each his/her own - tomato/tomaaatoe. Just some food for thought.

I'm enjoying this =) Last year was my first attempt at making tomato sauce, I did probably less than a dozen containers of crushed tomatoes/sauce before that horrid late blight hit!! I'm hoping this season will be better, and I'll be able to can and/or freeze enough to last the family through till next season. So it's nice to read about different approaches and why people do them... food for thought.