How to Can Red Sauce
Canning your own red sauce is a great way to preserve homemade flavors and avoid using store-bought pasta sauces. Canning your own sauce makes it possible to make a homemade meal on the fly. Red sauce is easier to can that other sauces because the high acidity allows it to be canned with or without a pressure cooker. Low acid foods should always be canned in a pressure cooker to ensure the higher heats necessary for successful preservation. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Stock pot
- Canning jars
- Self sealing lids and lid rings
- Towel
- Jar grabbers
- Heat safe container or pot
- Wide mouth funnel
- Lemon juice
- Measuring spoons
- Ladle
Instructions
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1
Fill a stock pot about three-quarters of the way full and place it on a stove over high heat to boil.
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2
Place the canning jars and lids in the boiling water to sanitize them. Allow them to boil for at least 10 minutes.
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3
Lay the towel on a flat surface. Remove the jars and lids using the jar grabbers and place them upside down on the towel to dry. Meanwhile, transfer the boiling water from the stock pot to a heat safe container or pot and place the stock pot on the towel next to the jars.
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4
Turn the jars over, place the funnel in the mouth of the jar and ladle the red sauce into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space to allow for proper sealing. Put 1 tbsp. of lemon juice in the jar with the tomato sauce, remove the funnel and wipe the rim of the jar clean to ensure no food gets in the way of a good seal. Place the self sealing lid on the jars and tighten the lid rings onto the jars.
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5
Place the jars in the empty stock pot around the perimeter and in the middle, if space allows. Pour the hot water that was in the stock pot back into the pot to cover the tops of the jars with at least 3 inches of water and place the lid on the pot. Place the pot back on the stove on high heat and bring the water to a simmer.
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6
Allow the filled jars to simmer in the water for 20 minutes. Remove the jars with the jar grabbers and place them back on the towel to cool and dry. One cooled, store them in a cool dry place for up to one year.
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Tips & Warnings
If the center of the lid gives at all after canning is complete, the can is not sealed and the jar should be put back in simmering water to properly seal.
To avoid separation of the tomato sauce after it is canned, strain the sauce through a cheesecloth to eliminate excess water from the sauce.
Be careful to not burn yourself when moving and touching the hot jars.
References
Resources
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