My basic sauce starts with a gonzo commercial can of puree tomatoes, a couple of cans of diced tomatoes (maybe three), a can of tomato paste. Chop/brown two onions, 4 celery stalks, 2 bell peppers. Brown 1/2 pound Italian sausage, 1-3/4 lb ground beef. Then I added granulated garlic (about a rounded tablespoon, plus), and a load of dried basil, oregano, a couple of bay leaves, some rosemary, red pepper flakes and whatever else looks like it should be in it. Cook all day. Cook again the next day, Add water as necessary to help cook down properly. I freeze my sauce in quantities for the two of us. I use freezer baggies, about a cup of sauce, burp out the air and lay flat. I can then put 6 or 7 bags flt into a gallon sized baggie. I should get 15-18 dinners. I used to put more meat into the sauce, but Jim likes grilled sausages or meatballs on the side.

Now I am hungry for spaghetti. We made sauce last week, tomorrow, I'll freeze.

You can actually freeze canning jars, I did that one time, loosening the cap and allowing about 10% for expansion when I filled the jars. I think the sauce would last longer safely that way than being refrigerated for a long time.

It looks absolutely yummy!

Thank you, everyone! I'm looking forward to our next spaghetti or lasagna dinner.

Oooops. Lucille, I meant to include in my post that we froze the sauce in the jars. Like others, I'm trying to move away from plastic containers for a variety of reasons. I used to can stuff, but my canning days are over - too much work. Plus, the jars fit in the freezer better than my plastic containers anyway!

I don't have the freezer space for the jars!

Yum! What time is dinner, and what can I bring?

Dinner is at 7:00 - bring garlic bread. We need carbs to go with our carbs!

I still can and it is a lot of work, and one can't safely can pasta sauce with all the yummy stuff added.

Sushipup, I am amazed at how much I can fit into my small freezer on top of the fridge. One trick I use is when I absolutely positively cannot fit in another container, I use freezer Ziplock bags that can conform to irregular spaces.

Once I decided I no longer wanted to can things, the freezer became my best friend. Of course, not everything freezes well, but most of what I like to stock up on freezes fine. If not, I don't make large batches of whatever it is. It also helps to have enough freezer space. We have a fairly new side by side and I swear it doesn't hold as much as the old fridge with the freezer up top even though the cubic footage is about the same. I know that the ice maker takes up a lot of space in the side by side; maybe that's part of the problem. Luckily, we also have a small chest freezer in the garage.

I stuck with canning things like fruit, jams/jellies, apple sauce, tomatoes, pickles, peppers and salsas. Never did try meat because I didn't have a pressure cooker and I was kind of afraid of something going wrong. Back when I was canning, it was so satisfying to see all of the filled jars lined up with their contents. Do you get that feeling of satisfaction when you can, Lucille?

Yes I do. And it is so helpful on a cold day to open a quart of canned turkey and make a nice turkey soup. Or to make something with sweet potatoes in July when you can't find fresh sweet potatoes.

Is it SAUCE or is it GRAVY? Is this only a difference in the name? Is it a regional difference? Ethnic difference? (Is it 'sauce' in Milan and 'gravy' in Palermo?)

Yes, and to know exactly what's in what you made with your own hands. I have an aunt who was a canning fool back in her day. I still remember the time she and my uncle were camping. He caught a fish and she canned it right over the campfire. Not considered a safe practice, I'm sure, but it turned out fine - they are still here. Why she had canning jars with her is something I don't know, but that's just the kind of person she is.

By far, the BEST jar sauce.

Good question, chisue. I call it a sauce, but the Italians I know would call it a gravy. To me, gravy is something made of pan juices (chicken, pork or beef), thickened and poured over mashed potatoes. Perhaps it's a combination of regional and ethnic differences, but whatever it is, it sure does taste good!

My favorite commercial brand is Victoria White Linen marinara sold at Costco.

Distinguish between Italians and Italian-Americans. I've visited Italy many times and have some familiarity with the language - sauce is described as being with or without meat, or with and without seafood (marinara), etc. Not as gravy..

Italian American tomato sauce made at home, often in families of Sicilian or Southern Italy origin and by grandma on Sunday, usually has multiple kinds of meat and is sometimes called Sunday Gravy. I believe the "gravy" moniker is a tongue-in-cheek name used only on this side of the Atlantic.

Lucille, or anyone else, do you happen to use a pressure cooker for canning? And you do meat? When we move on the boat, cold storage will be limited, so we're hoping to can. I have a large pressure cooker that will take pint jars. I'm wondering about canning meat or maybe fish. A little hesitant, but it sure would be dandy!

I was going to ask where you put the jar until you later added "in the freezer". I wonder if you could hot water can them with different lids?

For those that have never used glass jars in the freezer unless you purchase ones that state that they can be used to freeze things be very careful. Once glass is cold some types of glass become very brittle and bumping a container even on a soft material can cause it to break. Does not matter so much if it falls on the floor but falling back into the freezer can be very hard to clean up.

Aok I have two Presto 16 quart pressure canners. I used to have the larger one I think it is 23 quart but it is just too heavy for me to deal with.

I do meat: chicken, turkey, ground beef mostly. It is not difficult but it is time consuming. I follow the NCHFP directions and recipes to the letter.

At Thanksgiving when some stores practically give away turkeys, canning two turkeys over a couple of days can provide a year's worth of turkey for almost nothing in terms of cost.

There are several people in the Harvest forum including Dave who selflessly give a ton of their time to help people learn to can, I couldn't have done it without him.

Man, that looks delicious! Your pictures are GREAT!

Thanks, Lucille. I'll check out the Harvest forum.

One of my goals is to learn how to can things. Our county extension offers a 2 hour class once a year in Jsnuary. It includes pressure canning too. I’m checking the newspaper each week. I think it would be nice to can homemade soup. Freezer jam was a great success! Now I’m curious about waterr bath and pressure canning.

One of the many things I gave up when I went on my Florida adventure was my BIG canner. I could can quarts in it.

I have canned so much in my lifetime..., meat, and meatless. Always by a recipe... even though I hardly ever follow recipes while cooking.

Moni

And if you want to add more carbs to your carbs...I LOVE corn on top of my spaghetti...yes, along with lots of bread...aye yi yi!!!!

I usually make it from scratch but sometimes I start with jarred sauce for lasagna. I always add canned tomatoes, fresh garlic, oregano, and a little red wine to jarred. Kroger has a good jarred sauce. It's their Private Selection Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce.

What is the purpose of adding celery to spaghetti sauce? I see another person uses it too.

Why don’t you add the garlic when you’re sautéing the other vegetables? I’ve never seen a recipe where you added it in raw after the other ingredients were in.

Garlic burns very easily and turns bitter when it does. When I use fresh garlic, I add it last or gently saute it separately. I've been using granulated garlic in things like this. Not garlic salt or powdered garlic, but granulated.

https://www.finecooking.com/article/difference-between-garlic-powder-granulated-garlic

Why don’t you add the garlic when you’re sautéing the other vegetables?

Because the flavor of garlic 'cooks out' for want of a better term. Or rather, the flavor doesn't stand up to long term cooking. Learned that from Justin Wilson 'Lousiana Cookin'--he advocated 'layering' garlic. Adding garlic (repeatedly) at various different stages during the cook.

And, yes, it burns easily, too.

Well yes, I know garlic burns easily and I wasn’t suggesting adding it at the beginning of the sautéing process, but I prefer the mellowness it gets when it is sautéed rather than added raw. I also don’t need the garlic to have a distinct taste but like it to give a subtle “oomph” to the other flavours as it does when it is sautéed.

Mdln and Lucille, I'm not familiar with either of those brands. I will keep an eye out for both while doing future shopping.

Jrb, the jars that the base sauce came in are Kerr jars. I think using narrow lids wouldbe fine to make them useable canning jars.

Maifleur, that's good info about freezing glass jars. I dont know if they are rated for freezing or not,so will be careful when I handle them.

Thank you, Glenda! I love taking pics; some turn out better than others, that is for sure. Hopefully, the sauce is good too!

Interesting onestepbehind. I love pasta and sauce and corn. Mixing them together sounds like a win to me, plus we need carbs to go with our carbs!

Mayflowers, we add celery because we like the taste and texture and it is low in calories and rich in nutrients. It also adds a bit of color which is nice too.

Colleen, I skip sauteeing garlic because of the reasons mentioned above. I find that putting it in the sauce raw gives me the flavor i like best, but its definitely a personal preference.

I've also learned a lot about preserving food from this thread. Thanks to everyone who contributed to that discussion with their questions and knowledge.

Great to read about how others make their sauce too.

Thanks everyone!

I'm making pasta sauce tomorrow because I have so much oregano and basil in my yard right now. I start with 6-in-one canned tomatoes, which you can order on line. It was the consensus on the cooking forum that these were the best tomatoes (also the favorite at the Pizza Making forum), and I used to find them in a lot of stores in California, since they are made here, but now I just order a case at a time. I add fresh basil to my sauce just before serving and do not cook the sauce after the basil has been added. I have both Greek and Italian oregano in my yard, and so I have to remember which is which, as I neglected to label them. My basil is getting very big now, and so I will use some of it for Caprese salad as well. I do cook the oregano in the sauce, and I generally do not sauté the garlic.

Thanks all for the information about sauce/gravy. I first heard this called 'gravy' by a friend of Polish descent. Her MIL taught her to make "the Sunday gravy". I believe the MIL's family emigrated into the US from Sicily.

Sounds great, Lars. Years ago, I tried growing basil in my small veggie garden. They grew into huge plants that took over their corner of the garden. I had no odea they grew so big.

Chisue, one of my best friends is of Italian descent. Both her grandparents and her father called the sauce gravy. She calls it sauce.

Please note that anything with meat in it MUST be pressure canned to be shelf stable. A common pressure cooker will NOT achieve the high temp needed to kill any bad bacteria's. If you would like to try canning, pick up the Ball Blue Book of canning. Read through it carefully before you start. Also, you can get great info on the Harvest forum here at GW.

"Gravy". That's what they called it on "The Sopranos"!

pkramer while I agree that things with meat need to be pressure cooked I am not certain you meant common pressure cooker or steam bath cooker. A common pressure cooker is what millions of people use in homes to safely pressure can. They can raise the pressure and heat to a safe level.

Lars, that is truly a wonderful sight. I didn't realize that birds were so fond of basil seeds. Makes me want to plant some just for them this spring. Thank you for sharing your photos with us. :-)

I keep my marinara basic. Just tomatoes, garlic, and basil.

Lars, those look like gold finches.

I've been afraid to can anything beyond fruit preserves ever since we had that outbreak of botulism locally a few years ago -- traced to improperly processed home canned potatoes, used to make potato salad served at a church potluck. There was one death, and 25-30 victims overall. I heard that the person who did the canning was not a novice and had never had a problem before.

So read directions for canning very carefully and follow them exactly, please!

Raee is absolutely correct. Too many people use risky recipes or procedures because they or someone 'did it in the past and they are still alive'. Or they don't take the time to check their jars and/or wipe the tops before putting the lid on.

Use the NCHFP website and their recipes. If you want to gussy up a recipe with additional stuff, do it right before serving, not while canning.

Dawn your sauce looks yummy. It made me hungry for spaghetti so that's what I'm having tomorrow.

I agree with Mdln. Rao,'s is the best jarred sauce IMO beating even most homemade I've ever eaten. It's $$$ so it's a once a year treat for us. If you've never tried it I strongly encourage you to.

Raee This is exactly why I won't eat anyones home canned foods.

My sons neighbor canned spaghetti sauce with pork in it right around thanksgiving. He cooked it, pulled the jars out of the cubbord, filled them and put lids on them. Popped them into the pantry. My son was flabbergasted and told the guy so. The guy said...its fine and I'll be using it at Christmas. Well my son didn't want to be a party to anyone dying so he watched for this guy's guests to arrive on Christmas and went outside to warn them. They thanked my son and left. They didn't even go indoors. This guy is still alive so I suspect when he opened the jars the scent was foul. It would have had to be.

When I can't make my own sauce, the only store bought brand I will buy is Rao's. It's pricey, but every few months it's on sale, so I stock up. I'm Italian (Sicilian) and every Sunday there was a big family gathering at Nana's where she started her "sauce" at 8am and it would cook for several hours. It had chunks of homemade sausage, ribs, beef, homegrown tomatoes and herbs. Such wonderful memories.

I've never heard of or seen Rao's. I'll have to keep an eye out for it next time I go shopping. Thanks for the tip!

MamaP, that story makes my neck hairs stand up.

That's an odd story. Not only someone putting cooked sauce in jars directly into the cupboard but also having a neighbor waving off invited guests arriving at his house sometime later.

I had an elderly lady from Sicily who taught me how to make "gravy". She browned ground beef and Italian sausage in a large, deep pot and then removed the meat, leaving a thin coating of grease. She added the tomato paste and browned it. She kept scraping it of the bottom to avoid any burning. The paste was deep reddish brown before she added the onions and then all the other ingredients. It simmered about 4 hours. Fabulous. I think it was the browning that made it unique.

In Ohio, Mid's of Navarre is the best tasting Sicilian sauce when compared to other commercial sauces. It's also available in every store we shop. Affordable homemade taste, texture, etc.

We rarely eat pasta, unless it's a half cup side dish, but do use sauces over pork, beef, chicken and vegetable bakes.

Lars your bird pictures are gorgeous, thank you!

Rao's is the best. I haven't found any sauce I like as much, jarred or in a restaurant. It's more expensive than other brands, but it's still cheap for a meal.