Advice please.

[bramble]

I have a load of tomatoes and want to make sauce. Reading different advice. Must I use a water bath method or can I just use steralised jars.
This is a first for me.

[Bren In Pots]

I'd like to know as well Bramble because I always freeze my tomato sauces.

[SusieG]

Well Bramble, funny you should ask this ----- I'm new to this lark too, and I've got some tomato & chilli jam simmering away on the hob right now .....

I've washed my jars in soapy water, rinsed and put them into the oven for 10 minutes on 180c to sterilise. Then when jam is still warm and jars still warm, will fill them up ..... as per instructions in recipe...

Not done before so can't tell if this will work, but worth a try!

[Florence Fennel]

I just nuke my clean jars in the microwave for jam, but I've never done it with tomato sauce, I always freeze it. Huge Furry Whatsit and loads of others have made their own, but I can't remember whether it's bottled using a bath as you've mentioned. Too much messing for me

[mothhawk]

I just nuke my clean jars in the microwave for jam, but I've never done it with tomato sauce, I always freeze it. Huge Furry Whatsit and loads of others have made their own, but I can't remember whether it's bottled using a bath as you've mentioned. Too much messing for me

Same for me. I freeze tomato sauce in ice cube trays and tip all the cubes into one big bag. Then I can take out as little or as much as I want each time.

[bramble]

Thanks all for replying.Took the advice and now have a batch of tomato sauce tucked up in the freezer. It turned out a lot better than I expected.

[marchogaeth]

Isn't the water bath method for when you are simulating the canny process? You get everything really hot,kills the bugs, slap the lid on. Everything cools down, needs less volume, tries to suck air in but can't because of the rubber ring, something has to move so the rubber ring gets pulled on even tighter, expanding slightly in the process. This means no gaps for unsterile air to get in so preserving your sauce.

Freezing, slows bug growth right down if not stopping it. Jams rely on the sugar and boiling to help preserve the product but obviously you want the jars to be as clean as possible and as good a lid fit as possible. I always use lids with a ring in and do everything while the jam is hot to get as good a closure as possible but I know there's two schools of thought on this. I've got sugar mould in the house so it doesn't really matter what I do!

So there you go, I either know way too much about bottling and canning or I've just misunderstood the question you were asking and rambled or both.

[Kirk]

If for cooking not ketchup then I fry onions, add garlic or whatever alternative additional flavouring (chilli etc) add tomato's, add stock cook, then attack with a hand blender.

Then into plastic tubs and into freezer. Tub size depends on expected use.

[Alison]

I don't have sufficient space in my freezer for the amount of tomatoes I want to preserve so I've found bottling the way to go. Did water bath for a couple of years but found it a bit difficult to get right (had a very temperamental oven at the time) so now oand thrust which is much simpler but you do need extra equipment. You can't just store tomatoes in sterilised jars unless you have preservatives in too as you would with the vinegar and / or sugar in jams, pickles and chutneys.

[Scarlet]

I usd to use the water bath method for my bottled tomato sauce but the kids eat it every week - use it for pasta sauces, base for shepherds pie, chilli etc. It seemed to take ages to do, clean out the jars sterilise etc. that I just stick them in a bag and freeze now. It all depends on how much freezer space you have! I don't freeze beans etc as I don't really like them so frozen pasta sauces work well for me as ive got more freezer room than shelf space.

[bramble]

I actually did freeze the tomato sauce in the end. I think I was reading too many opinions in cookery books and on line. Started reading about botulism and realised putting the ssuce in jars like I would normally do with jam might not be wise.
There was vinegar snd sugar in my recipe which made me think it would be ok to put it in jars.

[bramble]

I actually did freeze the tomato sauce in the end. I think I was reading too many opinions in cookery books and on line. Started reading about botulism and realised putting the ssuce in jars like I would normally do with jam might not be wise.
There was vinegar snd sugar in my recipe which made me think it would be ok to put it in jars.

Alison, I wasnt trying to bottle tomatoes on their own. The recipe I used had sugar and vinegar in it. Made me think it would be safe to bottle it or put it in jars.

[Scarlet]

When I jarred mine, I just used the water bath method. My recipe also uses a good splash of vinegar. Probably not enough to preserve it though. If the caps "pop" to create a good seal I think it's perfectly safe. There's some good advice in this thread http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1480423

It's just so easy to bag and freeze...you don't even have to wash a jar ....