For Spaghetti Sauce & Chili, it has to be the San Marzano :)

PennyM · October 24, 2011

Here's some San Marzano that I picked recently. Their thick pulp makes them a perfect choice for our home made Spaghetti Sauce. They also freeze very well.
We keep the Freezer full of San Marzanos and Roma Tomatoes to enjoy Chili and Spaghetti sauce all Winter long. This get us by while waiting for the January Seed Catalogs to arrive.

Tomato-Ly Yours,
Penny

lakelady · October 30, 2011

I've been growing San Marzanos a long time and I always count on them for sauces too. One thing I do that might be helpful to some is this....

Near end of season, or if you don't have too many ripe at the same time (mine produce all season long, not all at once like some determinates do), I'll wait until I have 10-12 and bring them inside. I boil water, drop them in for a minute, then drop them into a bowl of icewater and peel. I take that time to also squeeze out the seeds for saving in a separate bowl. Then I take the peeled, somewhat seeded tomatoes and put them into a freezer bag. When the bag is full after several trips like this to the garden, I'm ready for a pot of sauce

. Its nice to see the bag of frozen tomatoes like that too, still whole. Reminds me they were fresh and not canned.

Jeannine Anne · November 2, 2011

If you freeze them with the skins on when you take them out of the freezer the skin just slips off, so in the end I find it easier than dropping them into boiling water first.Of course you don't get the seeds that way but just a thought.

XX Jeanniner

sicily · November 2, 2011

Great photo Penny! I also like San Marzano. One of my favorite chili tomatoes is Rinaldo, nice and meaty.

lakelady · November 4, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeannine Anne

If you freeze them with the skins on when you take them out of the freezer the skin just slips off, so in the end I find it easier than dropping them into boiling water first.Of course you don't get the seeds that way but just a thought.

XX Jeanniner

You can freeze tomatoes whole? Just pop them into a zip bag? No cooking? wow, I never knew that.

Jeannine Anne · November 4, 2011

Yep, we rinse them and freeze them. Then they go into sauces, soupes etc. XX Jeannine

Elizabeth · November 4, 2011

I do pretty much the same thing as Jeannine Anne - but I usually make sure the stem bit is off first or it will poke holes in the bag, me as I loading the bag in the freezer and the other tomatoes before they are frozen.

They are rather like billiard balls when frozen - sound just like them and I imagine would feel just like them dropped on your toes - I make sure the bag isn't totally full so it won't pop open and drop those little bombs on my toesies.

lakelady · November 4, 2011

I'm definately going to have to try freezing whole tomatoes for cooking. What could be easier? Those little bombs sound deadly as I am one who frequently walks around my house barefoot, and things always seem to find their way south onto the tootsies.

I'm curious, would freezing the tomatoes prevent the seeds from being viable anymore?

Boutique Tomatoes · November 4, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakelady

I'm definately going to have to try freezing whole tomatoes for cooking. What could be easier? Those little bombs sound deadly as I am one who frequently walks around my house barefoot, and things always seem to find their way south onto the tootsies.

I'm curious, would freezing the tomatoes prevent the seeds from being viable anymore?

They likely won't be viable as the cell walls will rupture. Freezing seeds can only be done when they're at a very low moisture level.

I believe I read in some of the literature from one of the seed banks I got seeds from that they stored them at less than 7% moisture content.

dustyrivergarden · December 20, 2011

You can not beat those yummy San Marzano. My plants produced tons what a great sauce tomato.

FILMNET · December 20, 2011

I love them but i suffer from BER really bad every year with Roma's, so i have given up.

Tracydr · December 21, 2011

I grew the Striped Romans last year and they were a wonderful sauce tomato. I also have some Amish paste sed but I heard they were almost too juicy to be considered a saucing tomato?
I'd love to trade some seeds for San Marzano or other good saucing tomatoes. I prefer something with a uniform size and somewhat dry/meaty. No sense having to reduce the sauce down by 90%, I'd have to grow 1,000 pounds just to get a winter's worth of sauce the way we like our sauce thick!
Last summer I used a mix of tomatoes. The sauce was incredibly tasty but I did have to cook it in the crock pot overnight for about 12-14 hours per batch. Took a lot of pounds to make a little sauce.

Tracydr · December 21, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by FILMNET

I love them but i suffer from BER really bad every year with Roma's, so i have given up.

I had that problem on the Srriped Romans but only when it became too hot and the plants were really suffering. Before the heat hit, the fruits were big and beautiful.

lurley · December 21, 2011

You can try the method I use, no cooking down required, speedy process, does a lot in a lot less time.
Jerry used it and posted some great photos of it here
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...+method&page=3

and my original description is posted here
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ley%27s+method

October 24, 2011	#1
PennyM LIAR AND THIEF Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 45	For Spaghetti Sauce & Chili, it has to be the San Marzano :) Here's some San Marzano that I picked recently. Their thick pulp makes them a perfect choice for our home made Spaghetti Sauce. They also freeze very well. We keep the Freezer full of San Marzanos and Roma Tomatoes to enjoy Chili and Spaghetti sauce all Winter long. This get us by while waiting for the January Seed Catalogs to arrive. Tomato-Ly Yours, Penny

October 30, 2011	#2
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	I've been growing San Marzanos a long time and I always count on them for sauces too. One thing I do that might be helpful to some is this.... Near end of season, or if you don't have too many ripe at the same time (mine produce all season long, not all at once like some determinates do), I'll wait until I have 10-12 and bring them inside. I boil water, drop them in for a minute, then drop them into a bowl of icewater and peel. I take that time to also squeeze out the seeds for saving in a separate bowl. Then I take the peeled, somewhat seeded tomatoes and put them into a freezer bag. When the bag is full after several trips like this to the garden, I'm ready for a pot of sauce . Its nice to see the bag of frozen tomatoes like that too, still whole. Reminds me they were fresh and not canned. __________________ Antoniette

November 4, 2011	#7
Elizabeth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Diego Coastal - Zone 10b Posts: 204	I do pretty much the same thing as Jeannine Anne - but I usually make sure the stem bit is off first or it will poke holes in the bag, me as I loading the bag in the freezer and the other tomatoes before they are frozen. They are rather like billiard balls when frozen - sound just like them and I imagine would feel just like them dropped on your toes - I make sure the bag isn't totally full so it won't pop open and drop those little bombs on my toesies. __________________ Elizabeth If I'm going to water and care for a plant it had better give me food, flowers or shade.

November 4, 2011	#8
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	I'm definately going to have to try freezing whole tomatoes for cooking. What could be easier? Those little bombs sound deadly as I am one who frequently walks around my house barefoot, and things always seem to find their way south onto the tootsies. I'm curious, would freezing the tomatoes prevent the seeds from being viable anymore? __________________ Antoniette

December 20, 2011	#10
dustyrivergarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Holbrook, Az zone 5 Posts: 157	You can not beat those yummy San Marzano. My plants produced tons what a great sauce tomato. __________________ “The yield of a crop is LIMITED by the deficiency of any one element even though all of the other necessary elements are present in adequate amounts”. J. Von Liebig's law of the minimum.

November 2, 2011	#3
Jeannine Anne Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 1,553	If you freeze them with the skins on when you take them out of the freezer the skin just slips off, so in the end I find it easier than dropping them into boiling water first.Of course you don't get the seeds that way but just a thought. XX Jeanniner

November 2, 2011	#4
sicily Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 192	Great photo Penny! I also like San Marzano. One of my favorite chili tomatoes is Rinaldo, nice and meaty.

December 20, 2011	#11
FILMNET Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA Posts: 1,803	I love them but i suffer from BER really bad every year with Roma's, so i have given up.

December 21, 2011	#12
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I grew the Striped Romans last year and they were a wonderful sauce tomato. I also have some Amish paste sed but I heard they were almost too juicy to be considered a saucing tomato? I'd love to trade some seeds for San Marzano or other good saucing tomatoes. I prefer something with a uniform size and somewhat dry/meaty. No sense having to reduce the sauce down by 90%, I'd have to grow 1,000 pounds just to get a winter's worth of sauce the way we like our sauce thick! Last summer I used a mix of tomatoes. The sauce was incredibly tasty but I did have to cook it in the crock pot overnight for about 12-14 hours per batch. Took a lot of pounds to make a little sauce.

December 21, 2011	#14
lurley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 741	You can try the method I use, no cooking down required, speedy process, does a lot in a lot less time. Jerry used it and posted some great photos of it here http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...+method&page=3 and my original description is posted here http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ley%27s+method