Hi Jean- do you have to add any lemon juice to the mixture? I had someone tell me you had to add lemon juice. I know sometimes you have to do that, but I didn't think it would be necessary for spaghetti sauce?

Hi Corrina,

For boiling water bath canning of newer hybridized tomato varieties, the USDA recommends adding lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid to lower the pH for boiling water bath canning. If you're using only heirloom tomatoes, they are likely to be high enough in acidity but unless you're about to test using litmus paper for an acid level below 4.9, you can add an acidifier to be sure the tomatoes have a high enough pH to be processed in a boiling water bath canner rather than a pressure canner. When adding lemon juice to your jars, the USDA recommendation for "Standard Pasta Sauce" is to process in a boiling water bath canner for 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quart jars. The above recipe calls for processing of 50 minutes so adding the wine vinegar will suffice.

In my own canning of pasta sauce, I use red wine vinegar rather than lemon juice because I prefer the flavor in pasta sauce. Since I also include vegetables such as onions, garlic, celery, peppers, etc., I use a pressure canner for processing homemade pasta sauce. I use a boiling water bath canner when processing whole peeled tomatoes packed in tomato juice with a 1/4 tsp. Vitamin C or citric acid. You can also use the citric acid to add a tart flavor to drinks, or to keep cut foods from turning brown (such as potatoes or lettuce edges). -- CM

"Add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use one tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling with product. Add sugar to offset acid taste, if desired. Four tablespoons of a 5 percent acidity vinegar per quart may be used instead of lemon juice or citric acid. However, vinegar may cause undesirable flavor changes." -USDA

We didn't use Roma tomatoes and it turned out fantastic. Found that if we skimmed the water off tomatoes before we started cooking and added a little more paste it cut the cooking time to 6hrs. We added a little corn starch mixed with warm water to help thicken and that also helped.. We got nine and a half quarts of sauce,getting ready to order a full bushel for more sauce, not bland, sweet and savory!!!!!!!

I used BIG BOY Tomatoes. I skinned them, quartered them and removed the seeds and the juice in the tomatoes. Then cooked it. It cut the cook time down to 4 hours for me. I saved the juice from the tomatoes added a little salt to it then put it into a container (homemade tomato juice).

Only thing I will change next time I make this sauce is to cut down on the Oregano a little bit. Otherwise this Spaghetti Sauce is pretty good!

This is absolutely delicious!!!!

I made mine with home grown "orange Blossom" variety tomatoes. They are a gorgeous rich yellowy orange color. I cut the recipe down to a half gallon worth. With the green peppers and herbs against the deep yellow, the sauce is both beautiful and delicious!

We absolutely luv this recipe. but i did have to make some changes (due to diet restrictions). i replaced the sugar with splenda. And i added a couple stalks of celery and carrot chopped fine.

I also forgot to sweat the veg, i added them right in with the tomatoes, so i ended up having to drizzle some oil in. but i bet if i had of done them properly it would have been even better (if that was possible!!). i let it go all day til the hubby got home to help me can.

it's so good, my son (who hates spaghetti sauce) asked for extra :) and the hubby was quite pleased as well. i ended up with 26 cups of it. thanks so much jean for giving me a recipe i could work with. i'm so grateful ;)

This recipe is absolutely delicious! I added red pepper flakes to give it a little zip (my family likes spicy). By far the best recipe I have found!

This recipe is fantastic. I used a bushel of Roma and I added celery and carrots. I also added a couple of leafs of basil to each of my jars. I ended up getting 38 1/2 litre jars. I will be making this a regular every year!

Hi Jean, can I possibly get away with not peeling the tomatoes? I have zillions of cherry and slightly larger tomatoes this year. I have to use them some way!

I have not made this particular recipe before, but I never skin or de-seed the tomatoes. I just wash, core and cut the tomatoes up to fit in my kettle. I mash with my potato masher to get the juicing process started. After the have cook for awhile,I then use my immersion blender to make it smooth. Then simmer for hours. My spaghetti always turns out good. We love using the skin and seeds as these are also nutritious. Happy canning!

I use commercially canned tomato products to make my spaghetti sauce. Have always wanted to can my sauce but do I still have to add the lemon juice? Thanks!

I would like to know if you can use canned tomatoes for sauce to be bottled and would you still use lemon juice?
Thanks

Hi Skunkclan,

Yes, you can use canned tomatoes, but the quality won't be as good as if you had used the fresh ones. You should still use the lemon juice, or red wine vinegar (or any organic vinegar) can be used (double the quantity).

-- CM

My mom, my grandmother and I have always canned tomatoes, puree, whole, ketchup and whatever. We have all never used lemon juice or vinegar and we never have any problems and the canned tomatoes are always good. We use good tomatoes without bad spots and not too ripe.

How many cups of tomatoes is the 1/2 bushel of Roma. I had already prepared the tomatoes before I found this recipe. I have a combination of roma and better boys.

Excellent delicious recipe!! I have used for 4 years and never plan to change! I put the tomatoes, green peppers, and onions in my food processor & blend till smooth. Then I add with remaining ingredients and cook for several hours before I can. Delicious. I have tried blanching the tomatoes & removing skins and also not removing skins & I cannot tell a difference. So it's a easy process for me. I use for pizza sauce as well.

I have so many tomatoes and not a lot of time (2 toddlers) so I bought a fine chopper from Aldi (life saver) that I use to just slice and chop so I don't have to peel them!