Jark wrote:

During a local garden-walk I asked a local rich matron what she did with all
the tomatos that would come from the 100 or so heritage plants I saw in her
garden: did she can? did she just give them away? did she just select the
absolute best and waste the others?
She said she used to can but didn't have the time any more (we're talking
RICH, here), so she just oven-roasts them to a nice dense, pulpy mass;
freezes them, and then throws them into a blender with equal amounts of
onion, garlic, and sugar to make a thick, flavorful paste or sauce. Several
others gathered around while she was talking and began to ask particulars:
what temperature, how long, covered or uncovered, dry or damp, any special
variety, etc. At this point she wavered, claiming various process
experimentations (but all with excellent results).
I got the impression that she had secrets that she didn't want to reveal;
nevertheless, she piqued my interests, and now I want to try oven-roasting
tomatos for freezer preservation. I just want to make a really nicely
flavored sauce or paste without all the work and juices dripping from the
ceiling.
Anyone else doing oven-roasting for preservation?


I did a couple of oven-roasted tomato sauces last year that came out
nice. Ingredients were not measured which is how I make most of my
tomato sauces. The total amount of the mixture came to an inch from the
top of my huge roaster. I cut the tomatoes into slices, added fresh
basil (other batch was Italian herb mixture of fresh herbs), fresh
garlic, chopped onions, poured a small amount of EV olive oil over top,
and roasted in the oven. I roasted the mixture at 200 F with the lid
on and at 350 F for the last 1/2 hr to hr. I didn't really keep track
of the total timing. The smell was amazing! I recommend not roasting
over night as I did the first batch. You will get little sleep with
such a tantalizing smell. Once the tomatoes were roasted, I used the
billy stick beater to get a smooth sauce. Then I packaged into freezer
containers.