I've been canning and making jam all week. I've included some pictures for you. I made a batch of spaghetti sauce this week. I picked up 40 lbs of tomatoes at a price I couldn't refuse.
Here is a site you might enjoy. You can see a step-by-step instruction of making sauce.
The website shows a process that is close to how I do it. Which is probably how everyone does. Our recipes are different but our process is the same. Especially the use of a pressure canner.
Did you know that tomatoes are the #1 most common home canned item in America? Probably because they can grow just about anywhere (even on a patio) and you don't have to use a pressure canner to preserve them.
You do not have to use a pressure canner for jams and jellies either. You don't have to use one for tomatoes if you aren't putting anything else (carrots, peppers, okra) in it.
But you MUST have a pressure canner for non-acid foods. It is the only known safe way to can low-acid foods. Yes, tomatoes are a high acid food, but today I'm making spaghetti sauce. I add other veggies in the spaghetti sauce (onions, peppers, carrots and maybe a zucchini). So we need the pressure canner.
To make my spaghetti sauce, I started off with 40 lbs of tomatoes. I bought them from a produce stand.
I clean them.
I chop them up and liquefy them with other vegetables and seasonings that I want in my spaghetti sauce. If, like me, you like wine in your spaghetti sauce, DO NOT add it here. Add it to your sauce when you prepare the sauce to serve over your pasta.
I cook the sauce until it is the thickness I prefer. See the rings? It was up to the top ring when I started. Yes, It took a couple of hours to cook down this far. But it's worth it.
I fill the jars leaving 1/4" head space. Head space is important! Too little and the jar could burst as the contents expand. Too much and the jar won't seal properly. There are many sites showing head space requirements. Check with your county extension office
Or buy a copy of the canner's "bible" the BALL BLUE BOOK: Guide To Home Canning, Freezing & Dehydration.
It is an invaluable tool to the home canner.
Here is my spaghetti sauce: cooked,
jarred, processed, and ready for use.
Here are some of the jars of peach jam and blueberry jam that I made. Y-U-M.
The peaches we bought were not good for eating. They were too sour even though they were ripe. But they made magnificent jam!
Go ahead!! Try your hand at making jam. It's fun! And economical!!!
In the next few weeks, I'll use the pressure canner to can dozens of jars of green beans, potatoes, gumbo mix, corn, and whatever else I have grown or can pick from a U-Pick farm for a very cheap price. I won't bore you with the process again. But I might show you the pictures of the finished product.
