making tomato sauce

first batch ran thru the strainer equaled 3 gallon size zip lock baggies.




batch 2 tomatoes


some big


some cherry


strainer in action


that batch added another two gallon bags of juice


thawing


i helped the thawing along




i keep adding them one at a time


still thawing








finally got it all thawed and start cooking it down


pot two cooking down


time to start steralizing stuff


my regular canner has a pinprick leak i still havent repaired so i used my pressure canner instead (without pressure). notice how low my over-the-range microwave sits. it barely fits.


NOW we're getting nice and thick


in the canner


got four quarts of spaghetti sauce


pressure canner with my water canner lid, a little goofy but it worked


trouble with the over-the-range microwave is that moisture collects on its underside. some day i'm going to get a regular range hood and i'll be SO happy.


cracks in the tomatoes. if you dont use them RIGHT away, they start molding along the cracks. then they're all gross and wasted.


cracks and discoloration


looks big and pretty on one side


not so pretty with all its cracks


another one




truth is more cracks