food 4 tots

Basic Tomato Sauce

tomato sauce, fresh tomato, tomato paste, homemade tomato sauce, easy tomato sauce, toddler, kids, food for tots

 

I love tomatoes for their vibrant colour, flavour and nutrient. I buy tomatoes almost every week from my favourite vegetable seller who sells his own produce from Bukit Tinggi, at the foothill of Genting Highland. Their tomatoes are not only fresh and cheap but also pesticide-free. As you can see from the photos, they even come with green stem attached. How lovely!

 

Tomatoes are so versatile that I can cook them whichever way I like. If I have a large batch of fully ripe tomatoes on hand, I’ll definitely think of making tomato sauce.

 

tomato sauce, fresh tomato, tomato paste, homemade tomato sauce, easy tomato sauce, toddler, kids, food for tots

tomato sauce, fresh tomato, tomato paste, homemade tomato sauce, easy tomato sauce, toddler, kids, food for tots

 

There are many methods to make tomato sauce. Amongst those that I have found, I consider the recipe from The Kitcn as the most basic and versatile. It takes between 30 and 90 minutes to cook the sauce until it reaches the desired consistency. The longer the cooking time, the thicker the sauce and the deeper the flavour. Regardless of the length of cooking time, the method still remains the same.

 

You can use any variety and sizes of tomatoes to make the sauce. Well, the smaller ones will require extra prep work. Choose tomatoes that are brightly red, free of blemishes and bruises.

 

I removed the skins, hard cores and seeds from the tomatoes as they cannot be broken down during cooking. Seeds will cause the sauce to turn bitter after cooking (source: She Knows). If you want to save yourself some work, you can retain the seeds. The gels surrounding the seeds contain lots of liquid. I pressed the gels through a strainer to filter out the seeds and let the juices flow through. After doing that, I got a bowl of wonderful red tomato juices which was added back to the sauce later.

 

To flavour the sauce, I used garlic, onion and bay leaves. You can sauté them first before adding the tomatoes. However, I skipped the sautéing step and added them straight together with the tomotes to simmer. If you prefer a neutral base, you can leave these ingredients out and just cook the tomatoes alone.

 

In the past, when I blended the cooked sauce,  the colour of the sauce changed to bright orange. I think this could be caused by oxidation. Thus in this latest attempt, I skipped the blending step. Although the texture is a bit chunky, I’m happy with it as the colour remains bright red. However, you are free to do your experiment and are welcomed to share your finding with me.

 

This tomato sauce is good on pizza, pasta, or any tomato based dishes. You can store the sauce in fridge for a week or so, or freeze it for up to three months. If you can find an abundant supply of cheap, fresh and fully ripe tomatoes, then transform them into jar(s) of delicious, free of artificial colouring and preservative tomato sauce. It is definitely worth the effort!

 

Get the recipe and step by step tutorial for Basic Tomato Sauce at PAGE 2 BELOW

 

tomato sauce, fresh tomato, tomato paste, homemade tomato sauce, easy tomato sauce, toddler, kids, food for tots

peel tomato skin, tomato sauce, fresh tomato, tomato paste, homemade tomato sauce, easy tomato sauce, toddler, kids, food for tots

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18 Comments

  1. tigerfish says:

    Tomatoes is a must-have ingredient in my kitchen. I like to include them in many dishes that I cook. I usually don’t make tomato sauce in batches (maybe I should?) but just make them when I made tomato-based pasta on the same day. I don’t remove the tomato skin though, so the texture of my sauce is definitely not as fine and smooth as yours.

  2. sylvia says:

    Can i buy your tomato sauce?so hard to find free-pesticide tomato here in miri sarawak.i love to bake pizza for my girls but i just feel not easy thinking that they are eating something not organic.

  3. Sweet Day says:

    Lovely peeled tomatoes! Tomatoes appear in my groceries every week!

  4. So fresh and delicious! Homemade tomato sauce tastes so much fresher and tastier.

  5. Ling LIng says:

    So nice to have pesticide-free tomatoes! Organic ones here are ouch to the the pocket. Love those red and plump tomatoes you can lay your hands on!

  6. Sumikojoy says:

    hi, have u tried the recent tomato rice craze using rice cooker? if so can share your version of recipe? thanks and thanks for your effort in maintaning and sharing with us great recipes!

    • food-4tots says:

      Sumikojoy: Yes, I had tried the original version using my Tefal food steamer as I don’t use rice cooker. I find it healthy but the taste is a bit bland. Hopefully I can come out something I like and share with you soon. 🙂

  7. Sally says:

    I must say your method of slicing the tomato for easy peeling is just genius! It has been a headache for me. Gonna learn this! Thanks! 🙂

  8. Chloe says:

    Hi, can I know where to get the bay leaves?

  9. Sharon says:

    Can I not add lemon juice? I plan to make and freeze a small portion in my breast milk storage bags. Thanks!

    • food-4tots says:

      Sharon: The addition of lemon juice is to ensure the safe level of acidity for canning. It is better to use it. Instead of breast milk storage bags, you can use ice cube trays to freeze the sauce. 🙂

Leave a comment to Sharon