freezing spaghetti sauce question

17 years ago

first of all I want to say this is a great board to find information....

This is our first year for gardening, and my husband went overboard with tomato plants..we have 18 and so many tomatoes I think we have them coming out of our ears.

I just have a couple of questions..

--When freezing tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce, do we need to "pressure cook" the filled jars before putting them into the freezer?

--how long should we let the jars cool before putting them into the freezer?

--do we need special jars for freezing or will any canning jars work?

here is what I think we can do, if I am wrong, please someone lead me in the right direction.

wash each tomato

place into boiling water for 30 seconds or until they split

remove and submerge into a cool bath

peel tomatoes

puree with food processor

add spaghetti sauce mix

bring to boil and cook according to recipe

fill jars

are these the right steps?

sorry for so many questions, but I am as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof about bacteria and doing the right thing..

Thank you.

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Comments (5)

zabby17
17 years ago
harriet, welcome! congratulations on your tomato bonanza.

No, you don't have to "pressure cook" the tomato sauce if you're going to freeze it. You can just make it --- any recipe you want, including meat, veggies, whatever, if it's to be frozen --- cook it as much as you like till it's how you want it, then put it into containers and freeze it.

("Pressure canning" and "Water bath canning" are for if you want to store the sauce in jars that do NOT go in the freezer --- just stay on the shelf, like jars from the store. If you want to try that, then you need to follow a tested recipe to be sure that it's safe for home caninng. Get the Ball Blue Book for a start! But if you are going to freeze it, you can make any recipe you want.)

Yes, the containers can be regular canning jars. But they don't have to be jars at all --- they can be almost anything, in fact: little plastic tubs with snap-on lids, or even freezer bags wit the tops close tightly. BUT whatever you use, be sure to leave a little extra space at the top (like a half inch) because the sauce will expand a bit when it freezes and you don't want to pop the top off!

You should let the sauce cool to almost room temperature before freezing it just so it doesn't warm up your freezer too much. You can let it cool first, then put it in the containers --- I find this easier than pouring in hot sauce.

Your steps are fine. You probably want to cut out the tough "core" in the top centre of each tomato when you chop it. If you don't like the seeds you can take those out too at that time, but some people don't care (I leave 'em in).

Hope this helps. Welcome to the forum. Good luck with yoru tomato sauce project!

Zabby
readinglady
17 years ago
You want to cool your spaghetti sauce rapidly, so consider how much you want to make at one time. Worst case scenario would be large amounts of sauce sitting out on the counter for 24 hours.

Package in pints or quarts. Leave 1/2" headspace for pints, 1" for quarts (when frozen it will expand). Consider plastic freezer containers rather than jars. They're much more space-efficient.

If possible, fill containers (don't put on lids yet) and set in a pan or sink with ice to cool. Pop on lids and put in the freezer.

Here's a good source with some helpful tips on freezing. If you want even more information, hit the "General Freezing Information" link at the top of that page.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Pointers for Freezing Foods
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I like "Blue Ribbon Preserves," but some of its recipes don't follow currant canning guidelines and I avoid those. The curd is an example. Hence, the caution about using some of its recipes without careful checking. However, comparing the recipe on page 254 (I'm assuming it's that one and not the "Easy Spaghetti Sauce") to the one in "So Easy to Preserve," which is a standard, safe canning guide, the 15-pounds of tomatoes recipe calls for 2 cups of low-acid vegetables (1 cup each onions and sliced mushrooms) plus let's say an added 1/2 cup of assorted fresh herbs. It also has increased acidity with the cup of red wine. The oil is precisely half of that in the "So Easy to Preserve Recipe" as is the tomato weight. The "So Easy to Preserve" recipe calls for 2 cups of low-acid vegetables, not including the pound of mushrooms, which is about another 6 cups sliced or 2-3 cups cooked down. In other words, double the tomatoes and more than double the low-acid veggies than the "Blue Ribbon Preserves" recipe. The processing time (also pressure canned) is also 10 minutes less for pints than "Blue Ribbon Preserves", which calls for a full 30 minutes for pints. I'm not "official" so take it for what it's worth, but in this case I'd feel comfortable canning a recipe more acid and processed for a longer time than the University of Georgia-approved one in "So Easy to Preserve." Carol
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I'm sorry but that is a cooking recipe, not a canning recipe. In most cases cooking recipes cannot be canned but they can be frozen with no problems. Since there has been no lab testing of this recipe there simply is no way to know what the pH is (although with so little added acid it would be quite high), what the density is, or what the pressure canning processing time would have to be. Plain tomato sauce can be turned into all sorts of things after opening and the more things you add to it before canning the more its uses are limited. But you could always add a little dry Italian seasoning to it if you wanted. You can always safely add dry herbs and seasonings (onions, basil, oregano, etc.) as they don't affect the pH like fresh herbs and seasonings would. The Ball Blue Book offers several different flavored tomato sauces to choose from. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Link to the recipe
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shirleywny5
17 years ago
I would cool the sauce in a shallow pan and pack into containers when cool. I've been known to place a fan near the container and stir the sauce occasionally. You may freeze the sauce in straight sided wide mouth jars. Less chance of overfilling.
irpingold
17 years ago
Harriet -- your method of freezing tomato sauce is pretty much the same as mine. However, I don't make the seasoned spaghetti sauce ahead of time, although this a great idea if you have the time.

If you just freeze the tomato puree, you can then use it a jar or 2 at a time for various other dishes (chili, stuffed peppers, tomato sauce, etc.) and season accordingly. Aahh, and tomato soup, too . . . can't beat homemade tomato soup with fresh (frozen) tomatoes!!

I usually boil the tomatoes until the skins split, then puree. However, yesterday I only put them in boiling water for about 1 minute and the skins came off easily also. However, the tomatoes were much firmer and it was more difficult to put them through the food mill (the old-fasioned hand-crank food mill). I don't know if there will be a difference in the flavor with either batch -- doubt it, though.

I like your idea of food processing -- much easier. I think I'll put the tomatoes in the blender, then the food mill to remove the seeds. Or, I'll just leave the seeds in.

I too have a bumper crop of tomatoes this year! Have fun and enjoy your harvest.
tyra0827_gmail_com
13 years ago
Hi there just wanting to know how come my sauce is a little watery after I freeze it? When I take it out I let it defrost in container in sink then when it is more then 1/2 way defrosted I heat up on very low heat utnitl desired temperature. Is there something I should do differently

freezing spaghetti sauce question

Comments (5)

zabby17

readinglady

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shirleywny5

irpingold

tyra0827_gmail_com

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