Quote:
Originally Posted by kenny_j
I am always looking for the best sauce tomato. I researched CG and some sites say it is juicy? with a strong traditional tomato flavor, with tartness. Could you tell us in detail the characteristics. How juicy, how tart? I made sauce a couple years ago with Celebrity tomatoes, and it was way to tangy, not enough sweet. I did not remove the gel or seeds, ran it all thru a blender. This yr I used san marzano and opalka together and made a really nice sauce, not tangy, and just sweet enough. Doing taste tests this yr, I realized the tart in most tomatoes is in the gel, so no more gel for me. My method now is cut tomatoes inhalf or quarters, lenth wise. Remove gel and seeds, cook to reduce, then mil. If you reduce before milling, the water and pulp separates, and the water keeps it from burning. Last yr I blenderized to a smoth sauce, and it stuck and burnt easily. Plus, cooked first, they run thru the mill efortlessly.
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CG is not sweet raw but gets very sweet when cooked. I do not find it overly juicy...the area with seeds and gel is semi-hollow. I have said many times here that it comes through the mill practically as finished sauce. Very little water and it takes much less "simmering down" than any other variety I have tried. It has a little tang to it but not what I would consider a tang like one would want in a salsa tomato. I was able to cook down 3 gallons in my crock pot thingy in 6 hours at about 350. I like Opalka but prefer it as a drying tomato. I put my tomatoes in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes and they mill easily.
I do cut CG in half. They also are not a tomato that has a ton of seeds. I am sending a bunch of seed home with my kid and he will offer it for a SASE in November.
My sauce "test" is that a toothpick should stand upright in it when it is thick enough. I only make marinara and I add peppers, onions etc so they do add a little moisture to the mix so I find it imperative to have the sauce as thick as I can get it before adding the other stuff.
And this sauce I make, this is a really heavy, rich sauce and is fine for spaghetti but would not be a good sauce for ravioli or lasagna, etc. It would be too overbearing and would mask the flavors in those dishes.
This is a "big jug of Chianti, big plate of spaghetti and some great crusty bread" kind of a sauce! I am headed to Rome the day before Thanksgiving and will be having some of that Chianti and bread!