Homemade Pasta Sauce - can it be stored in jars?

dora37

Rather than freezing homemade pasta sauce, can I jar it? Is there any disadvantage in doing so as oppposed to freezing?

Thanks

ALWAYS_POOR

I can't see any reason why not as long as it's only for a couple of days in the fridge. If you intended to keep it any longer than that it would need to be frozen. Sauces that you buy generally have preservatives added and once the jar is opened the label tells you to consume it quite quickly.

dora37

I meant for more long term rather than a couple of days. Hmmm good point about the preservatives as it would contained any vinegar etc.

pelirocco

i would have thought you could bottle it and preserve it , using heat treatment / canning?

dora37

pelirocco wrote: »

i would have thought you could bottle it and preserve it , using heat treatment / canning?

That is what I was thinking - using the same method as I would for making jam or chutney - but wasn't sure.

valk_scot

You can bottle most pasta sauces by heat-sterilizing the full but not fully sealed jars using a pressure cooker or a proper canning sterilizer. The Americans do this sort of thing all the time. Google up "canning pasta sauce" and you should find loads of tips.

If you don't sterilize it in the jar, though, you have to treat it the same way as if you'd opened a jar of commercial sauce ie keep it in the fridge for a short time only, or freeze it. Otherwise there are all sorts of foul things that can develop inside non-sterilized jars of food. Of course if you use a preservative like sugar (jams) or vinegar (chutney and pickles) you don't necessarily need to sterilize the contents.

TBH though unless you have a 50lb glut of tomatoes to preserve, it's probably easier to freeze it in old yoghurt pots or similar.

Tish_P

Pasta sauce has a lot more water in it than jam or chutney, so you can't just boil it and stick it in a sterile jar as it won't get hot enough to kill spores. There are "home canning" techniques that some people use involving heating the sealed jars in a pressure cooker, but you have to be really careful, especially if there's meat in the sauce.

dora37

Thanks - thats what I needed to know - will stick to freezing!