Italian Female Tomato Guilt

The guilt that consumes a first generation Italian American woman who is gifted a giant bag of home grown tomatoes cannot be overstated. The first thing she thinks is, “Oh God, what will my parents think if I don’t can these?” Never-mind that her parents passed away anywhere from a year to decades ago, the disgrace over not utilizing every fruit, or vegetable down to its nub will be with her until death.

That’s why my cousin Nancy and I decided to try our hand at canning tomatoes without the expert guidance of Uncle Richard, who passed away last November. That’s him in the photo to the left salting his tomatoes. Today would have been his 95th birthday and we miss him terribly, so I thought it would be nice to commemorate him with this blog post.

I confess, I’ve never canned tomatoes (sorry Ma, it’s true) because I saw how much work it was for my mother. I also think the Cento brand San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes with basil leaf, (pomodori pelati) are really good and do not require donning an apron or sweating bullets over a stove top in late summer. All you have to do is plunk down cold, hard cash. (If, in the future, I’m killed by a lightning bolt sent by my mom, this paragraph will be why.)

An online grandmother named Nonna Pia, who may or may not still be with us cans dozens of jars in this TikTok video and is adorable: Nonna Pia making sauce.

Nancy and I had differing opinions on our method because I was all for the easiest, least sweaty method and Uncle Richard’s method required washing and cutting up the tomatoes, then cooking them with some salt, then straining them, then cooking them again and then putting them in sterilized jars with a sprig of parsley, some basil and a clove of garlic.

Plus, my sweet uncle was loathe to throw anything away, so we used his old food strainer that was falling apart, repaired a couple of times, and didn’t work incredibly well. When it was new, it looked like the photo to the left. (Notice in the pic that the man is smiling. The woman behind him is probably about to run screaming.)

Going for the easy route, I thought, we’d just wash, cut and strain the tomatoes in the food strainer to separate out the seeds and skin. Then we’d cook the sauce, pour it into sterilized jars with Uncle Richard’s favorite herbs and a garlic clove, cover them with sterilized lids then process them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes and take them out. I figured cooking and sweating once sure beats doing it twice. Nancy agreed. But I know the skin slips off easier when the tomatoes are cooked first.

My brother Bob cans using our mom’s old passatutto a device like the one in this photo to the right. (It’s an old-fashioned food mill...passatutto means everything passes.) He rinses, cuts and cooks the tomatoes first, then puts them in the passatutto, then spins a wooden-dowel like instrument inside that crushes them, separating the skin and seeds from the tomato sauce. The sauce comes out of those tiny holes. Then he cooks the sauce again to get rid of some of the water, then cans it with a few leaves of basil like my mom used to do.

My brother, Bernie, who doesn’t can tomatoes much, uses a different method. He washes and cuts his tomatoes. He puts them in a blender to chop them, then strains them to remove the skin and seeds, then cooks them with some salt. Then he puts them in sterile jars with a few fresh basil leaves and a clove of garlic. As for my sister, she has never suffered from Italian Female Tomato Guilt and thinks we’re all nuts to go to this trouble.

Everyone does it a slightly different way but they all seem to work. So, Nancy and I used the easier method and the tomatoes turned out fine. Honestly, we were just happy to carry on the tradition in Uncle Richard’s basement kitchen where I am certain his and Aunt Blanche’s spirits still linger.

And even though we only got six and a half jars of sauce we have absolutely no Italian Female Tomato Guilt. I think Uncle Richard and my mom are content knowing their daughters did their best to keep a tradition going. Rest well you two, we’ve got this!

I was so happy to hear from several of you who tried the veggie soup recipe. I just had some today and sprinkled it with bits of fresh avocado, way too much cheese, and homemade croutons. It was scrumptious!

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