Canned Italian Pasta Sauce

Homemade Pasta Sauce is much easier than you think. This Canned Italian Pasta Sauce is made with just two ingredients and the canning process is simple too.

There once was a time, not so long ago, that I would watch my Mom spend hours, even days, canning the produce that my Dad raised in his garden. Times have changed, and while canning is still really popular, the hours and days that it used to take our Mothers and Grandmothers, has been simplified.

I am super excited to be one of the Can-it-Forward Day Ambassadors. On August 1st, I will be helping teach people around the world all about the joys of fresh preserving from the new state-of-the-art Jarden Home Brands headquarters in Fishers, Indiana.

Fresh preserving never really went away, but it has certainly become popular again in the last few years. I know personally, I’m hearing about more and more home cooks that are cooking for their families using real food. 2014 marked the most successful sales year in the Ball canning brand’s over 130 year history.

I couldn’t be happier about this. I feel like there are many things that we used to do, like cooking at home, fresh preserving, growing our own food, and so on, that we all should focus on.

Over the next few weeks we will be sharing 3 recipes with you to show you just how easy fresh preserving is. We begin today with Italian Pasta Sauce. The recipe is from FreshPreserving.com and with the help of our new FreshTech Automatic Home Canning System, we will show you how easy it is. But, never fear, if you don’t have the Home Canning System, you can use the same recipe and can the jars using the Water Bath Method.

Let me show you how easy it is…

First we begin with clean jars, a quick wash it all it takes because the FreshTech system will sterilize them.

Fill the inner pot with water to the fill line, place the rack in the bottom of the liner and add the jars.

Then you turn on the FreshTech Automatic Home Canning System to the preheat setting and it will sterilize the jars, beeping when it’s done.

While the jars are heating, it’s time to prepare the tomatoes.

1. First you need to score the tomatoes by cutting an “X” in the bottom. Then place them in boiling water, and cook for 1 minute.
2. Remove from the boiling water and place immediately in ice water.
3. Peel the skin from the tomato.
4. Then puree the tomatoes in the food processor.

After the tomatoes are pureed, add them to a large pot on the stove and add the Ball^® Italian-Style Pasta Sauce Mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Next comes filling the jars.

1. Remove the jars from the Home Canning System one at a time, use the jar funnel and fill the jars with the pasta sauce.
2. Be sure to leave 1/2 inch headspace, and remove air bubbles using the Bubble Remover/Headspace Tool. Wipe down the rim of the jar.
3. Add the lid and rim.
4. Then use the Sure Tight Band Tool to tighten the jars.

Then using the Jar Lifter, carefully add the jars back into the FreshTech Automatic Home Canning System.

There are 70 recipes that are programmed into the Home Canning System. It auto-senses and constantly monitors the time and temperature to optimize the canning process for every single recipe. For the Italian Pasta Sauce, press sauces then the number 3, it takes about an hour to process and you are done. Yes, it’s that easy!

Head on over to FreshPreserving.com for the Italian Pasta Sauce Recipe.

Join us on Saturday August 1st for International Can-It-Forward Day! Now in its 5th year, Can-It-Forward Day will broadcast live from the new state-of-the-art Jarden Home Brands headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, celebrating the joys of fresh preserving. To showcase the simplicity of home canning and spotlight “Made From Here” recipes.

Follow Ball Canning on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more inspiration!