God I loved this as a kid. Straight out of a stubby bottle, and onto my pie or chips, there was something about the flavour of this sauce that had me reaching for it over your regular shop-bought tomato sauce, and I’ve never forgotten it.
I think it’s the worcestershire sauce undertones and that little kick of proper clove that keeps me making it year after year, desperate to improve upon perfection.
I wanna go down as the reigning old-fashioned tomato sauce queen.
This makes heaps, but it’ll get you through a year of saucical needs, and then some. Get a HUGE POT. Not even kidding.
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The tomato sauce of your childhood – old fashioned, Aussie style tomato sauce, just right for your pie or chips.
Ingredients
- 1 litre white vinegar
- 1kg white sugar
- 200g sea salt (I’d recommend going your regular table salt and not putting it all in until the end, when you’ve tasted for the balance of flavours)
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 30g allspice
- 15g ground cloves
- 10g black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 5kg ripe, peeled tomatoes
- 1 kg brown onions, peeled and chopped
- 1 kg green apples, peeled and chopped.
Instructions
- Bring to a boil vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, allspice, clove, peppercorns and cayenne in a large stock pot.
- Add tomatoes, onion, and apple, reduce heat to low.
- Simmer, uncovered, 2 hours or until thick, stirring frequently.
- Puree until smooth
- Bring back to the boil, and pour into hot sterilised jars. Put the lids on immediately and leave to cool (preferably overnight, without moving)
Keywords: tomato sauce, homemade ketchup, tomato ketchup, ketchup recipe, canning ketchup, canning tomato sauce,
Put on everything.
Gday v m just made a pot of old fashioned aussie sauce. You are right it’s extra good. Will be putting some in the local show, i’ll let you know if i make the podium.
Did you ever get a win with the sauce, Martin? I hope so!
Hi guys, with the tomatoe sauce recipe do you have to skin the tomatoes
Yes, you do! Well, I do, I don’t like the bits of skin that come off if you don’t but it won’t make a difference to the flavour. You could also blend it if you want to, to remove those bits.
HI THERE .JUST A SMALL CONCERN ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MIXED SPICES 30 GR SEEMS A LOT TO ME.YOUR ADVICE WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THANK YOU.
Hi Barry! so sorry for the delay in my reply. The amount of ingredients makes 6 litres of sauce, so 30 grams is correct. By all means, use less if you feel your sauce would be better that way. I hope you enjoy it!
Oh my the clove taste is so over powering how can I fix this? And I didn’t even put the whole lot in?
How long does this keep? We don’t use much sauce/ketchup. Does it freeze well if we make a large batch?
Hi hi, the sauce smells and tastes wonderful. wondering if your Aussie homemade tomato sauce can be stored in pantry or does it have to be refrigerated?
Hi Debbie this sauce will keep for years just in the pantry cheers
OMG this seriously has the most amazing flavour. I have just finished making my 4th batch this year. I’ve given away a few bottles and my friends all love it. I have saved the recipe so that I don’t inadvertently lose it for next year and years to come.
★★★★★
I’m planning on making this but a few questions first.
Do I need to core the apples?
Do I need to water bath the bottles at the end?
If not, can I put in glass bottles with plastic lids or are metal lids better?
Thanks. 🙂
I have made two batches of this using volunteer cherry tomatoes whose vines should be Bond villains, so megalomaniacal are their expansionist agendas. second batch 9kg. Thank goodness for my mum’s huge cast off preserving pan that looks like it’s from an industrial kitchen.
Both times i mistook the salt for sugar and added it too early and had to do radical rescue actions. I’d suggest halving the salt as well as following the suggestion of adding gradually and last.
This recipe is wonderful. The balance of spices is exquisite. The flavour of the sauce is really superb.
Keeping this recipe forever and sharing with friends.
Cannot believe I’m only just seeing this – gave me a good laugh, thank you!
I have made two batches of this using volunteer cherry tomatoes whose vines should be Bond villains, so megalomaniacal are their expansionist agendas. second batch adapted recipe for 9kg of tomatoes. Thank goodness for my mum’s huge cast off preserving pan that looks like it’s from an industrial kitchen.
Both times i mistook the salt for sugar and added it too early and had to do radical rescue actions. I’d suggest halving the salt as well as following the suggestion of adding gradually and last.
This recipe is wonderful. The balance of spices is exquisite. The flavour of the sauce is really superb.
Keeping this recipe forever and sharing with friends.
Do you have nutrition facts information for this (sorry if it’s already there and I’ve missed it!)? Due to certain health conditions I need to track my salt intake and hence I’m keen to find out how many mg of sodium it has per 100g.
Thanks,
Jen
Hi Stacey
Do you have to use so much sugar and can you substitute raw sugar instead. I have heaps of Roma tomatoes on my bushes and am looking for a good recipe preferably without sugar.
Regards
Michelle
Hi Michelle – did you end up trying it with the raw sugar? I am sure it would be fine, just adjusting to suit the sweetness levels and raw isn’t quite as strong as white.
Great recipe full of wonderful flavors. I also as an experiment tried adding a tablespoon of yellow curry powder to about 400ml of this recipe and the resulted in a flavor explosion very delicious.
★★★★★
Oh yes I love that – I put curry powder in my relish, so tend to keep it out of this sauce. But it would be delicious.
Hi, How long does it keep in the sterilised jars and can one freeze it (in freezer friendly containers, not jars)?
Hi Andrea, health rules would have me tell you it lasts for 12 months if canned correctly in sterilised jars. But I’ve had mine last unopened a lot longer. Definitely freezable!
Hi I tried your tomato sauce recipe It was fantastic the best I have ever tried We used a veitie of tomatoes all small so we didnt peel them blended it all up with a stick blender woprked great
Brilliant sauce recipe, tastes just like tomato sauce should! None of the flavours are too strong, it is beautifully balanced. I gave some away to friends also, and everyone loves it. I made this with 5kg of yellow pear cherry tomatoes as we had quite a good crop this year, and it is a beautiful shade of brown (lol). Still tastes absolutely amazing! Thank you! Saving this recipe forever 🙂
★★★★★
Old Fashioned Tomato Sauce
I absolutely loved this recipe. Reminded me of when I was a child. It made 7 x 700 ml bottles.
★★★★★