Every year, our family gets together to make our annual batch of tomato sauce. This tradition was started many, many years ago, and I’m so glad we’ve all learned how to carry it on. Though every family has their own take on how to make sauce, we stick to a pretty simple recipe of just adding some basil when it is jarred. I’ve never had my camera with me when we do this, as this job gets a bit messy, but I grabbed my camera on a whim as I was heading to my parents place that morning, and I’m so glad I did. Enjoy!
Freshly washed jars ready to be filled!
5 bushels of tomatoes waiting to be washed!
My sweet girl helping to put basil in all the jars 🙂
The boys doing the dirty work- sorting through the tomatoes, tossing any spoiled ones, and washing the rest.
On the left- an average sized tomato for sauce making, on the right- a tomato grown in my grandfather’s garden!
The first batch has been washed, and now they head towards the boiling water!
Once they boil, tomatoes are placed in a table-cloth lined basket, poked with a knife, and left to drain any excess water for a few minutes.
Tomatoes are loaded into this machine and some serious magic happens! Sauce comes out of tiny holes, and the peels and seeds are separated and discarded.
Andrew was supervising all of us, of course 🙂
Oh look! I got in a photo! Filling jars with some pretty fragrant smelling sauce!
Not a drop goes to waste! All jars get tightened, and they head towards another boiling water bath!
