This is tomato heaven

I am so glad I checked out this topic. We can Pasta sauce every year and roasting sounds like a really great idea. Since we are talking tomatoes... I have always grown Roma tomatoes for my sauce. What varieties are you growing and what makes the best sauce? I am thinking ahead and I would like to try something different in next year's garden.

Linda

'Best Sauce' is going to be a relative term.  What is best for you will be the tomatoes that give the flavor, texture, and workability that YOU want.  Some people want only meaty, low juice tomatoes for their sauce because it requires less time cooking down.  Others will use more juicy toms because of specific flavor or color they want.

Personally, the best sauce year I had was the year all my seedlings got killed by me during hardening off, and I had to rely ENTIRELY on volunteer mutt crosses that came up from my previous year's crop!  Most of them were varieties of Romas, but all of them had different colors and flavors, that when mixed made the most AWESOME sauce I have ever created.  But, I also loved the yellow sauce and paste I made one year out of strictly Lemon Boy slicers.

Tomatoes can be tangy, sweet, smoky, citrusy, etc.  Pick what you would like to try and go for it!

GG

I'm sticking with my gilberties and san marzanos.  Here are roasted gilberties.

My DH's favorite so far has been the SanMarzanos.  He loves the meaty tomatoes that he can slice and fry and cover his eggs with.  The Romas I have grown from nursery 6 pacs were not as meaty or flavorful but convenient in how they ripen in a flush and the result was satisfacotory.  This year I am growing 4 different paste tomatoes for a taste and cultivation comparison ~
Striped Roman (I bought a canning flat of these once and we really liked them, less green shoulders than SanMarzano we will see how it grows here though),
 Russian Black Plum,
Cuore Di Bue (an Italian oxheart sauce heirloom)
Principe Borghese (an Italian drying heirloom)
Oroma (a Oregon State release, known to handle cool weather and is a Roma type)

My sons prefer Cherokee Purples, both fresh and roasted and in sauce.  They are not a paste tomato and require a longer baking time to dehydrate some.  I like them all roasted, including Big Beef.

So far the Principe Borghese and Russian Black Plum are the only ones with any fruit set.

The latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine showcases Chef Marc Vetri's method of slow-roasting summer tomatoes and creating a tomato conserva then includes a couple of droolingly delicious sounding recipes to use the conserva.  In his restaurant, trays of thick slices of tomatoes are placed in a warm oven at the end of the day, then allowed to cook slowly over night in the residual heat of the oven, then in the warmth of the pilot light.  Since most folks don't have a commercial oven in their house, he includes a recipe with techniques for home roasting: Heat oven to 350 deg. F; in two rimmed baking sheets, drizzle sliced tomatoes and peeled smashed garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Arrange slices in a single layer and place baking sheets in the oven.  Reduce heat to 225 deg. F and slowly roast over a 5 to 6 hour period, or until slices are wrinkly and slightly browned in spots.  Chev Vetri recommends switching the positions of the baking sheets halfway through to get a more even roast.  Nonna, for one, will be trying this technique.  Yummmm.

I love these ideas for roasting tomatoes. I don't have much freezer space, so would like to can them, after roasting. How would I do that? I have fresh basil, when can I start harvesting the leaves? It is about 4-5 inches high.
Madge

unit649 wrote:I love these ideas for roasting tomatoes.  I don't have much freezer space, so would like to can them, after roasting.  How would I do that?  I have fresh basil, when can I start harvesting the leaves?  It is about 4-5 inches high.
Madge

So I roast mine in the oven under the broiler. After roasting there will be liquid in the pan underneath, I drained this off, poured it into ice cube trays and add the cubes to soups and sauces in the winter.

After roasting and peeling, you may freeze, dehydrate or can the tomatoes using any canning recipe. I would choose a recipe that uses tomato juice instead of water.





As for harvesting basil, you can pinch out parts of the plant for harvest and it will make more stems and leaves. There is a tutorial in this thread.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t13650-sweet-basil?highlight=basil

camprn,
Thank you so much. Your tomatoes look so yummy, they are making me hungry. I will check out that link for basil.
Madge

CapeCoddess wrote:M mm m.  I love roasted veggies, especially beets.  Don't remember doing tomatoes tho.  Some day I'll try it...if I ever get anything but green tomatoes.

CC

I hear ya! I had one rot on the vine it ws taking so long to ripen!

unit649 wrote:I love these ideas for roasting tomatoes.  I don't have much freezer space, so would like to can them, after roasting.  How would I do that?  I have fresh basil, when can I start harvesting the leaves?  It is about 4-5 inches high.
Madge

I would check directions for basic tomato/sauce canning; www.freshpreserving.com is the Ball website and the definitive source for canning instructions. You can pick individual leaves from your basil now. If you pinch them back they will get bushier and more productive.

herblover, thank you for the great advice.  That is a good site.

Well I tried my hand at the roasted tomatoes.  Prepared 3 large pans, sprinkled with my fresh basil, and roasted at 400 for about 1 hour.



Those 3 pans, only filled 1 quart jar, of course with a few bites left to snack on. 
Really smelled good.


But I went ahead and did a water bath, canning the one lonely jar.


Some lessons learned.  I cut my tomato pieces too small, I think.  Also, should have followed directions to put the peel side down, since laying the slices on the side, allowed them to really stick.  Also learned with my last tray, to let them cool, before trying to remove from the trays.  

Thanks to all for your help.
Madge

My almost 5 lbs of tomatoes are in the oven right now. Fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes and siberian tomatoes along with some orange mini bell peppers.

I'll let you know in a little over an hour how good they are, LOL!

I'm going to vacuum seal them when they're cooled and freeze them. Has anyone done this before?

Mmmmmmmm!!!! I probably ate 1/4 of my roasted toms, LOL! They're safely packed away in the freezer now.

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:My almost 5 lbs of tomatoes are in the oven right now.  Fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes and siberian tomatoes along with some orange mini bell peppers.  

I'll let you know in a little over an hour how good they are, LOL!

I'm going to vacuum seal them when they're cooled and freeze them.  Has anyone done this before?

 I haven't but would recommend freezing first before vacuum sealing.  Two reasons: one is to maintain their shape and two is so that no liquid gets sucked up into your sealing unit.

I think I will try roasting my purple cherokees tonight.  Anyone care to share a pasta sauce recipe?

R&R 1011 wrote:I think I will try roasting my purple cherokees tonight.  Anyone care to share a pasta sauce recipe?

 Ok guys, here we go.  A mix of purple cherokees, sweet 100s, and a couple of small big boys.  Im roasting at 300 deg. for 2 hrs.

If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick.  Skin side down will be easier to remove.

llama momma wrote:If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick.  Skin side down will be easier to remove.

 I read that.  Most of these are cut without skin.   I cut around the heavily scabbed parts.  A lot of my big tomatoes like these had bad splits that scabbed over.  I assume from all the rain we had?

llama momma wrote:If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick.  Skin side down will be easier to remove.

I use unbleached parchment paper. Nothing sticks.

CC

R and rOk great, didn't know if you saw the post re: sticking. Happy roasting bet the house smells great rightr about now!   And yes I agree from the rain.  I got some splitting going  on too. I was also wondering if I watered too much when a hot day came on and things took off too fast.

CC Ah, parchment paper. Non-stick cookies, roasted veggies, dehydrated food, drying seeds. Wonderful stuff.

I roasted 7 more trays of Tomatoes, and now have 5 quarts canned.  They do not make an attractive jar of tomatoes, because of the browned areas.  But they sure do taste good.  On one tray, I tried the drizzle of oil, sea salt and my fresh basil.  Will the oil be a problem in the canned product?
Madge

CapeCoddess wrote:

llama momma wrote:If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick.  Skin side down will be easier to remove.

I use unbleached parchment paper.  Nothing sticks.

CC

 LOVE my parchment paper!  Great addition to the compost as well.

GG

I have heard that oil ruins the canning process...don't know if it's true or not...just heard it handed down from grandmothers that they never used oil to saute garlic or other veggies before making salsa.  Check with your local extension office or google it to do some research.

Today I am loading up my smoker with veggies for another round of salsa (smoked garlic, corn, peppers, onion, black beans)...then just filling 1 gal freezer bags for the deep freeze and avoiding the canning process today.

No oil, butter, dairy, grains, etc.

http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/11/what-food-and-ingredients-cant-be.html

http://www.pickyourown.org/canningqa.htm#cantcan

For more info about canning refer to the canning sub forum.