I don't have a fancy vitamix, but that is exactly the process I use to make my sauce for the freezer. Last year I used my old Oster and it pureed even the skins just fine, but the blade froze up recently. I did order a replacement, but in the meantime decided to get another blender so I could get this year's sauce done for the freezer. Found a $99 Kitchenaid on sale at Target for $49 (because apparently red isn't a popular color, LOL). I love both my Oster and my Kitchenaid!

I make tomato sauce in the blender just like you, Donna. Have been making it like that for years ever since I discovered that it's a great way to make use of all those extra grape/ cherry tomatoes and pot leftovers from canning whole tomatoes. I also process the skins from canning whole tomatoes because there always seems to be some pulp clinging to the skins.

I reduce it a little if I want to can tomato juice, reduce it by about a half if I want canned tomato sauce. And, I like to can some in those 12 oz jelly canning jars as well as a few half pints and whole pints. We find a lot of canning jar lids (flats) at the rummage & estate sales we love to go so I always have plenty of them at very low cost.

Amazingly, I scored a Vita-Mix this summer for only $20 so I'm anxious to try it out when I get back to wanting to cook. It's an oldie but runs great. Only drawback so far is that it's sooo tall that I almost need a stepladder to run it!

Now, if only my tomatoes would cooperate; it's not been a good year for toms what with the late cold spring and almost non-existent summer we've had here in central WI.

"----I scored a Vita-Mix this summer for only $20---"

Nice!

Old blenders have extremely dull blades. Get a small metal file and sharpen the blades, or find a way to sharpen the blades, it will make a big difference.

Does yours have a reverse switch?

dcarch

Ryse Ryse 2004,

When I read your post about apple seeds I had to google it. Some time in the past I got some bad info that apple cores are good for dogs, so we always feed them to our dog. The seeds are poisonous. I had head they were good for their fur. The only good thing is it says the seeds actually have to be broken to cause harm and to actually harm a dog they would have to eat a very large quantity.

ci lantro, every pot of sauce is different, depending on what I find hanging around in the fridge. Our tomato plants didn't cooperate this year either, so DH and I picked 100 pounds of tomatoes last weekend and filled the freezer with sauce. Gallons and gallons of it. We were a bad judge of how much we would need, since I usually cook just one pot at a time when the harvest gives me enough. We discovered that 50 pounds would have been more than enough! I posted with a question last week about adding our plentiful zucchini to the sauce. I thought I would have to cook it longer to reduce, but it actually reduced quicker than the pots without zucchini. And we determined that there was no detectable difference in flavor. I also threw the following into the blender for the sauce: bell peppers, celery, onions, garlic and carrots. No matter what I put into it, I know DH is going to add "things" to it when he uses it for dinner, but it is a great base and he brags about our sauce. Only spices I added were basil and oregano, a bit of salt and pepper. And we froze (whole) 4 gallon bags full of tomatoes for soups and stews. Washed and dried them, and placed them in a single layer on waxed paper on the freezer racks until frozen, then bagged them. Then did it again to get all the bags filled. Lots of standing for these old feet, but so totally worth it.

dcarch--yes, it has a reverse switch but I don't know why? Three speeds. Stainless steel canister with a spigot. The blades have a really low pitch to them, unlike a blender.

Anyway, I've barely used it so far. Did make a marinade for chicken that everyone really liked. Cut a lime into chunks and tossed it in the VM. The whole lime...didn't bother with de-seeding it even...some water, some oil, garlic, cilantro, black pepper, a couple of jalepenos (very, very wimpy ones cause they were immature & we'd had NO hot weather.) Grilled the chicken & the boyz both said it was the best chicken that I've made! DS1 suggested adding tequila next time & told him that I would have added it but that I thought Dad had drank it all up!

DSI just brought in a case of chicken halves last night so I need to restock on limes and tequila (and hide the tequila.) :)

Donna, that is a LOT of tomatoes!

So far, I've picked only 4 tomatoes plus Sungolds. The Sungolds don't ever seem to make it into the house...

Lots of toms last year & I tried canning a pasta sauce. Again. Just don't like it much. We all prefer the thick n' chunky Ragus.

I'm going to try your method and freezing it. I think the long processing time (and added acid to make it safe for canning) just throws a huge monkey wrench into the sauce. Herbs go wonky tasting in the canned versions...get bitter. So, I omitted them in the sauce I did last year...adding them when I heat to serve...and I'm still not happy with the sauce. I suspect that a frozen version is going to be superior.

I have added zucchini to sauce (not when I'm canning it) in the past and really like it, too.

I just need some toms and a bigger freezer!

Yes, that is a lot of tomatoes. But not from my garden. I re-read my post and see that I neglected to mention that because our tomato plants didn't produce, we had to head out to a U-pick farm and pick those hundred pounds.

I like to cut the toms in half, put them on a big baking tray, add seasoning and garlic and roast for 30 mins or so then whazz up.

"-----dcarch--yes, it has a reverse switch but I don't know why? Three speeds. Stainless steel canister with a spigot. The blades have a really low pitch to them, unlike a blender.---"

Yes, that is a monster. Big , heavy and very tall. You can't see what is being blended.

Rather than having it taking up storage room, go to an auto supply store and get some chrome polish to polish it up and sell it on eBay for a good price. Use the money to buy something else you can use.

dcarch

Amen, RyseRyse.

I love to make tomato sauce in my Vitamix.

I puree the whole tomato (minus the stem) on high and then let it sit in pans for about four hours. If you let it sit like this, the thick sauce rises to the top and the juice settles to the bottom and you don't have to reduce it at all unless you want it more like a paste. I skim the sauce from the top and simmer it in a pan for about 15 minutes to get the air bubbles that the VM incorporates into the sauce out of the sauce (prevents siphoning when canning), and then I can the sauce separate from the juice.

I add whatever I want to the juice (vegetable cocktail) or the sauce and pressure can. It's made my tomato-canning life soooo much easier. I've canned close to 300 jars of various tomato products this year and have really appreciated my VM.