I'm not carol...but
Are you simmering with the lid off?
You can always add more tomatoes.

Yes, it is simmering uncovered. I added more tomatoes, could add some more, I guess.

I even took the stick blender to it. So it's not chunky anymore, but it is just so thin.

I'll keep simmering until it reduces, but what can I do to balance out the vinegar flavor? You think adding even more tomatoes will help? Or maybe another can of tomato paste?

Linda

I would never make a double batch of any new recipe until I tried it out first.
I know we trust each other's recipes, but one person's "tangy" is another's "blazing hot" and one person's "nice bite" is another's overwhelmingly vinagery.
I read the recipe and thought ,...wow that's a lot of red wine vinegar for that amount....but know it's likely necessary to ensure safetyw hen canning.
Which is why my freezer is full or plastic tubs of this and that.
Linda c

are you cooking this in a narrow stock pot? It may take along time to cook down if it's got alot of inches of liquid.

Linda,
It took about 4 hours for it to cook down. I believe that it only takes 40 minutes when you pour off some liquid after the tomatoes first start exuding their juice. (She posted that addendum in on my spaghetti sauce thread)
I had a tall pot, and it was taking forever, so I put half of the mixture in a short pot. I 5 timesed the batch. It did not find it vinegary tasting at all. To me the piquant flavor was perfect. It smelled vinegary, but the taste blended well. Hmmmm. Just let it keep thickening, then try it would be my suggestion.
Sorry if you don't love it, though. I like it better than any I have ever tried.
Sherry

Thanks, you guys. Yep I have it in an 8 quart stock pot.

Linda you're probably right, I should have tested the waters first with a single batch as written. But it'll be okay.
Four hours, huh Sherry? Looks like I'll be at this a while. (I thought 40 minutes didn't sound quite right....)

I added some more tomatoes and some fennel and Italian Seasoning. I think I might add some parmesan and just freeze this batch. It's getting better.

I'll keep playing with it. I have 2 more hours to work on it! LOL

Linda

Sorry I missed this earlier. I hope this works out for you despite all the frustrations and you don't give up on canning even though this batch is headed for the freezer.

This is more for future reference, I guess.

As Sherry mentioned, the problem for me with all these cooked tomato sauce/ketchup/salsa recipes is that regardless of what the instructions say, they can take forever to cook down. Wasteful of utilities plus you lose the freshness of flavor. I always take the measured tomatoes, bring up to heat then drain off the watery liquid. It really shortens the cooking time and you get a thick sauce almost immediately.

You may just not care for the tanginess of the sauce. Everyone has different preferences. This sauce is almost a "concentrate" and could be diluted with plain sauce when used. However, sauces do change flavor during processing and this tends to mellow the flavor somewhat.

Also the wine and the wine vinegar make a big difference. I like Merlot better than Cabernet Sauvignon for this recipe and I've found an organic red wine vinegar that has a softer finish than a lot of other brands I've tried. Since the wine and vinegar are such significant elements of the sauce, finding what works for your taste is critical.

I love this sauce but that doesn't mean it's for everyone.

Carol

Also the addition of some grated parmesan will soften it...I wouldn't add tomato paste, to me that has a sour taste.
And I really cringe when I see poeple recommending to pour off some of the juice to make the sauce cook down faster. To me that's like saying "wash the berries for jam mash slightlty and start to cook....when the juices run, pour off some so the jam thickens faster."
I just can't dump that good stuff!
Why is it....you turn your back for a minute on a pot and the liquid boils off and it starts to scorch in the blink of an eye....but you want to reduce a pot of sauce and it takes forever!!! My grandmother used to say that when the water boils away quickly it's going to rain soon because the sun is drawing the moisture...
yeah! Sure! LOL!
Linda C

It is thicker now. I turned it off to cool. I'll ladle it into containers and freeze.

I did add some parmesan and that actually was a good addition even if I have to freeze it instead of can it. It mellowed out the vinegar very nicely.

Oh, Carol, I certainly don't want you to think I was criticizing your recipe. I may have mis-measured the vinegar, who knows. It did mellow a bit with cooking. It's good, but at first the vinegar flavor was very strong. As I said, I doubled the recipe and maybe should not have doubled the vinegar!

I used a cab since that's all the wine I had on hand. I agree, a merlot or pinot noir or even a zinfandel would have been smoother. I normally don't drink cab because I find it a little too "tannin-y".

So I'll try gain! And we'll definitely enjoy this batch of sauce!

Linda

PS...Oh heavens no, it won't turn me off to canning! LOL

Okay, guys, I made my spaghetti sauce yesterday. I used the Basil recipe with the wine and vinegar. I thougt it sounded interesting. I like basil and like wine in stuff, but I must say, it was tart. I did not taste the end result when it cooked down. I feel I can add what I want to the finished product when I make spaghetti and meat sauce.
It did take awhile to cook down-probably about 2 or 3 hours. I used 12 cups of chopped tomatoes and it made 8 and 3/4 pints.
Once again, I have a questions:
1. This is the first time I have ever canned anything. So, I did not screw the lids on tightly. Every jar "pinged", but some louder than others. Will the weak "pings" be okay?
I was very proud of my efforts and the sauce looks so pretty.
2. Can I take the rings off the first batch and reuse them on the second batch?
3. I had to use pints vs. quarts as I could not get a pan deep enough for a water bath. BTW, what is BWB? Last two words are water bath, is the first word boiled?
4. I am going to make more spaghetti sauce tomorrow. I think I will try the It. Sp. Sauce recipe that has the oil in it. What is the deal with oil?
I am thinking if it comes from an officeal canning book, it ought to be okay. Does anyone have any comments or suggestons regarding this recipe?
I am enjoying trying these recipes.
I lost my mom in September and she canned all the time. So, I think of her while I can, and wish I had learned a little more about canning. But, I am so glad we have internet and this site to ask other knowledgable questions.

My feelings aren't at all hurt, LOL. I don't get "possessive" about recipes that way and don't take it as rejection if what works for me doesn't work for someone else. Vive la difference, I say. My only concern would be what compromises canning safety.

You might consider it a sin, but you could add just a wee bit of sugar to take the edge off if you find it too tart. As I said, I do think the wine you choose makes a huge difference, especially if it's a red with lots of tannin. I can just feel it taking off the tooth enamel.

And I should have mentioned the tomato variety, growing conditions and degree of ripeness can make a huge difference in how a recipe turns out. Some tomatoes have a fair amount of bite all by themselves. For this sauce I'd favor JetStar, which is a true low-acid tomato.

LindaC, as I mentioned in the other thread, I pour off the liquid and can it separately to add to soups, cook rice in, etc. I'm not wasting it, I'm just "re-purposing."

Eden, you screw on the lids finger-tight. Weak ping, strong ping or no ping are all fine. What you're looking for is the depression in the center of the lid, which may happen as soon as you take the jars out of the canner or any time after - some may seal quickly, some may take quite a while.

Set the jars out on a towel or layered newspapers. Leave a little airspace. No matter how tempting, don't touch them for 24 hours. After 24 hours you can remove the rings, wash and re-use with other jars. Then the jars can be moved to shelves in the pantry (some box extras up for storage). Any unsealed jar can either be refrigerated and used quickly or re-processed. (We probably shouldn't get into that right now.)

BWB is boiling water bath.

I don't remember the Italian Spaghetti Sauce recipe or the source. Generally recipes with oil (like chicken broth with some fat) are pressure canned. The exception would be a very few recipes like a marinated pickled pepper recipe I can think of that have lots of acid to counteract the oil. Oil is a big deal because botulism spores don't like acid. Oil in the recipe insulates or encapsulates botulism spores from the effects of the acid. In other words, under the right conditions, oil gives botulism a "safe harbor."

Sometimes a safe-tested recipe will call for a very limited amount of oil, but I do look at those recipes with a very jaundiced eye. A recipe can come from an "official canning book" and still not be OK, especially if the publication date is pre-1994. Standards have changed considerably.

Carol

So, Carol, if I make this I should find a sweet red wine? I had to grin when you talked about the wine "taking tooth enamel off". Yup, that's how some of it tastes to me!

I also pour off some of the water-y liquid when boiling down tomatoes, it's a good addition to vegetable soup when I don't want big chunks of tomatoes. I also scoop out all the seeds and goo when I'm making salsa because I like it thick and chunky.

I just picked the first tomatoes today, or at least the first that Dad hasn't managed to eat before I could get to them. I'll be canning in a week or two and Elery wants to try that Tomato Basil Sauce. It doesn't much matter to me, but he likes spaghetti, stuffed shells, all that pasta with red sauce stuff.

Annie

Hey Annie, what do you think of Manischewitz? Who knows? Maybe we'll start a new trend in pasta sauces.

I do confess this is a pretty potent mixture, but it's easy to dilute with the plain at time of service if it's too much of a good thing.

Carol

Good grief!n "knowledgeable answers" not "knowledgeable questions". I tried to edit this but either I don't know how or your not able to do it.