Homemade Tomato Sauce

One of the advantages of making your own homemade tomato sauce is that you know exactly what goes into it and therefore what you are feeding your family. There are three main types of basic sauces, long-simmered, barely-cooked and raw.

The long simmered has the richest flavor. Long simmered sauce thickens as it cooks and the water evaporates. It also allows a better melding of flavors. Cooking times range from two hours to all day. This type is excellent for freezing. Wash and peel the tomatoes. To peel tomatoes drop in boiling water for about three minutes or until you see the skin split. Remove and rinse with cool water until they can be handled. The skins will come right off. Chop the peeled tomatoes, put them into a pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer about 30 minutes until the tomatoes appear liquid. Sometimes it is necessary to mash them a little to reach the liquid stage. For 1/2 bushel of tomatoes add 1/2 cup of sugar to cut the acidity, one onion and three green peppers lightly sautéed, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, sage, salt and pepper to your taste.

Barley cooked is lighter with a stronger fresh tart sweet tomato flavor. Add some onions, garlic and herbs to enhance the flavor. Wash tomatoes, cut in half, cook in a covered pan simmering for 10 minutes. Put tomatoes in a blender and then back into the pot. Add butter, onion salt and sugar and simmer for 45 minutes.

Raw sauces need to be made seasonally when the tomatoes are ripe. Wash the tomatoes well in cold water. Chop the tomatoes then add a little virgin olive oil, basil or parsley and salt and pepper.