Homemade Tomato Puree (for the best pasta and pizza sauce)

Contributed by Zia Mary Scalora (nee Puglisi)

Homemade tomato puree is made by washing, cutting in half and squeezing some of the “water” out of fresh and very ripe tomatoes. These are then passed through a machine which removes the skin and seeds, leaving only the crushed pulp. This is the puree.

Some people boil the tomatoes before passing through the machine.
The puree is then put into bottles along with a sprig of fresh basil, sealed and then placed into a very large container (eg 44 gallon drum) under water and then boiled for up to two hours.
The Puree can last sealed in this way for several years. In our family we have reused the same large beer bottles over and over for many years, placing them lying down and packed in tightly into the old 44 gallon drums, or one cut in half for smaller amounts. It is desirable to put weights such as wood lengths on the top, before filling with water and placing some sort of cover on top. Some wrap the bottles in newspaper for padding. The trick is to make sure the bottles boil steadily, but not too hard that they break. Watching the amount of logs put on the fire under the drum(on a stand made of bricks or such like) to burn, is the key to success.
Traditionally large amounts are made yearly or even every few years, as it is such a prolonged process, and messy, and usually many members of the family are pressed into service for the day. Of course, included is a Pasta lunch, with the Pasta sauce being made from freshly-pureed sauce, reduced in a pan with just oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper and a little sugar.           Buonissimo!!!