Tomato sauce is, arguably, one of the best reasons to grow your own tomatoes. When it comes to making tomato sauce, not all tomatoes are alike. In fact, there is a very specific set of traits you want in your tomatoes if you’re growing them with sauce-making in mind.
Jump to:
- Characteristics of an Excellent Saucing Tomato
- Plant and Growth Traits to Consider When Choosing Sauce Tomatoes
- 20 Top Tomato Choices for Making Tomato Sauce
- 1. San Marzano
- 2. Roma/Roma VF
- 3. Amish Paste
- 4. Pozzano
- 5. Rutgers
- 6. Celebrity
- 7. Better Boy
- 8. Heatmaster
- 9. Plum Regal
- 10. Saucey
- 11. SuperSauce
- 12. Hungarian Heart
- 13. Costoluto Genovese
- 14. Supremo Hybrid
- 15. Zenzei
- 16. Cuore Di Bue
- 17. Pomodoro Squisito
- 18. Paisano
- 19. Martino’s Roma
- 20. Bonny Best
- Add Some Acid for the Safest Sauce
Characteristics of an Excellent Saucing Tomato
There are a few things you want to look for when choosing a variety (or varieties) of tomato for making homemade tomato sauce. Chief among them are:
- Tomatoes with meaty flesh and plenty of pulp
- Few seeds
- Easy peeling
- Low moisture content (which helps the texture of the sauce and reduces time in cooking the sauce—also reduces the likelihood of scorching and increases the sauce yield)
- Deep flavor
- Flavor that improves with cooking and heating
Plant and Growth Traits to Consider When Choosing Sauce Tomatoes
The best tomatoes for sauce will have these characteristics, but there may be other traits that you’ll want or need to consider, too.
For example, if you have limited space, you may need a saucing tomato that grows well in containers, raised beds, or in small spaces. Or you may need a dual- or multi-purpose tomato so that the variety you choose will fill all your needs for fresh tomatoes and for saucing.
The area and climate in which you are growing may be a factor. If you live in a place with hot summers, for example, you may need a heat-tolerant sauce tomato.
Disease resistance and resiliency are important to consider in many locations.
Finally, you’ll want to decide if a determinate or indeterminate type of tomato is right for you, based on your use and how and when you’ll do your saucing.
- Indeterminate tomatoes produce for a long time over the course of a season
- Determinate tomatoes set all their fruit at once, within a few weeks
- You may need to save and store tomatoes from indeterminate plants to get enough for large batches of sauce
- On the other hand, if you prefer to make many smaller batches, indeterminate tomatoes are more manageable
- Many prefer determinate tomato varieties for saucing because it allows for large cooking and preserving sessions, getting the job done in a relatively short window of time
20 Top Tomato Choices for Making Tomato Sauce
Italian tomatoes top the list for saucing and for many types of tomato canning and preserving, but there are other proven favorites and multi-use tomatoes that earn a solid place on the list of top sauce tomatoes, too.
Whatever your needs and goals are, there are excellent options in saucing tomatoes to choose from. We’ve included 20 of the best varieties of tomatoes for making sauce here. The list includes a bit of everything mentioned above to help you choose the best saucing tomato for you.
1. San Marzano
| Flavor: | Very good; classic Italian flavor |
| Type: | Italian canner |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 4 to 5 ounces |
| Uses: | Cooking, saucing, stewing, canning, dehydrating, sun drying, paste, salsa |
| Climate Notes: | Suitable for all climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Good; not specifically bred for resistance, but displays resistant tendencies |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages, trellises) |
| Days to Harvest: | 80 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy San Marzano Tomato Seeds:
A couple of names always rise to the top of lists for any type of canning or saucing, and San Marzano is one of them. It is a variety so well-known in Italian cooking that it is often thought of as a class by itself.
San Marzano is the go-to for Italian chefs. It’s a classic Italian paste tomato that produces large, meaty fruits with very small seed cavities. It’s a low-moisture tomato, which means it cooks down quickly and makes a thick, meaty sauce.
2. Roma/Roma VF
| Flavor: | Good; classic Italian tomato flavor |
| Type: | Canner, Roma, Plum |
| Color: | Pink-Red |
| Size: | 2 to 4 ounces |
| Uses: | Most well known for all types of saucing, canning, cooking, and juicing; good for fresh eating |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to growing in all climates; water deeply during dry weather |
| Disease Resistance: | Good: Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 76 to 78 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Roma VF Tomato Seeds:
Roma tomatoes are another of the most popular varieties for canning and saucing. The Roma VF variety is particularly high-yielding. It’s known as a reliable tomato with excellent resistance to wilt diseases. Romas are determinate plants, meaning you’ll get large flushes of tomatoes at mostly the same time (within a couple of weeks). The tomatoes are meaty and have very few seeds.
3. Amish Paste
| Flavor: | Very good: sweet, meaty, juicy, classic tomato flavor |
| Type: | Multi-purpose paste/canning tomato |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 8 to 12 ounces (largest canning type) |
| Uses: | Multi-purpose: canning, paste, sauces, soup, fresh eating, slicing, salads |
| Climate Notes: | Suitable for all regions, developed in the northern U.S.Midwest |
| Disease Resistance: | Good, not well documented, resilient from blight with treatment |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages, trellising) |
| Days to Harvest: | 75 to 85 days |
| Yield: | High; continuous production through frost |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Amish Paste Tomato Seeds:
Amish Paste tomatoes top a lot of tomato lists. They are versatile heirlooms that have stood the test of time and proven themselves over and over again. Amish Paste tomatoes are large and meaty, with few seeds. They are coreless, and there is very little waste with these tomatoes. They are multi-purpose and make very good tomatoes for fresh eating.
The plants vine and can grow to over 6 feet tall, but because they are multi-purpose, they make good use of the space. Indeterminate plants provide large flushes, so you can still make a lot of sauce in a few sessions. Being an heirloom, the seeds can be saved, too.
4. Pozzano
| Flavor: | Old-world Italian |
| Type: | Italian, canning |
| Color: | Orange-red |
| Size: | 4 to 6 ounces |
| Uses: | Saucing, cooking, paste |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all climates; does well in greenhouses |
| Disease Resistance: | Very good: Blossom end rot, Tomato mosaic virus, Fusarium wilt |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages), good greenhouse variety |
| Days to Harvest: | 72 days |
| Yield: | High -- long season |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Pozzano Tomato Seeds:
Pozzano is a San Marzano hybrid tomato that does well as a field or garden tomato but is particularly well suited for growing in a greenhouse, hoop house, or covered environment. It is known as an early maturing, early-producing paste tomato for sauce, soups, ketchup, and cooking.
It is resistant to wilt diseases and especially Blossom End Rot. The tomatoes are meaty and moist but not watery, and they cook down quickly. The flavor improves with cooking, which is what it is truly intended for.
5. Rutgers
| Flavor: | Sweet, full flavor, meaty |
| Type: | Slicing, canning |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 6 to 12 ounces |
| Uses: | Multi-purpose, good for salads and slicing, soups, saucing, canning, freezing |
| Climate Notes: | Suitable for all climates, developed in mid-coast eastern U.S., performs in northern regions |
| Disease Resistance: | Very good: Anthracnose, Fusarium wilt, Gray leaf spot, Verticillium wilt, Crack resistant |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 73 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate, but some show semi- and indeterminate characteristics |
Where to Buy Rutgers Tomato Seeds:
Rutgers is the variety developed by the Campbell Soup Company. It has always been intended for cooking, saucing, and soup-making, but it is also a multi-purpose tomato with excellent fresh eating qualities. These juicy, meaty tomatoes bring great flavor to all types of sauce with excellent yield. The plants are determinate but can sometimes be semi-determinate, so you’ll often get extended harvests while still yielding large flushes for saucing sessions.
6. Celebrity
| Flavor: | Very good: meaty, flavorful |
| Type: | Canner, slicer, multi-purpose |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 7 to 8 ounces |
| Uses: | Slicing, fresh eating, juicing, sauces, freezing |
| Climate Notes: | Does well in all climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Excellent: Anthracnose, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, Root-knot nematodes, Gray leaf spot, Tobacco mosaic virus, Crack resistant |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, yields best with support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 70 to 72 |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Celebrity Tomato Seeds:
Celebrity is known as a reliable, all-around, fresh-eating, canning, and saucing tomato that is chosen for its excellent disease resistance. It is ready to harvest in about 70 days after transplanting, produces large yields, and grows lots of 7-ounce, meaty fruits. As a determinate plant, this is one that will give you lots to work with for large saucing sessions. It is also one that helps maximize your space since it is multi-purpose.
7. Better Boy
| Flavor: | Excellent: meaty, juicy, well-balanced sweet and acid |
| Type: | Round slicer, multi-purpose |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | Large, 10 to 16 ounces |
| Uses: | Slicing, salads, canning, sauces, freezing |
| Climate Notes: | Thrives in all climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Excellent: Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, Anthracnose, Root-knot nematodes, Gray leaf spot, Late blight |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 72 to 75 |
| Yield: | Very high |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Better Boy Tomato Seed:
Better Boy is another multi-purpose selection that helps you get the most out of a limited garden space because it can be used for all fresh eating as well as canning. It is indeterminate, so you’ll get high yields all season long, maturing after just 72 days. It’s a good choice if you have issues with disease or late blight. Fruits are large at up to a pound each and have a nicely balanced flavor.
8. Heatmaster
| Flavor: | Very good, classic tomato |
| Type: | Slicer and multi-purpose |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 7 ounces |
| Uses: | Slicer, but multi-purpose: salads, sandwiches, canning, saucing, freezing, good storage |
| Climate Notes: | Specifically bred for hot climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Excellent: Anthracnose, Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, Root-knot nematode, Gray leaf spot, Tomato mosaic virus, Alternaria stem canker |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, benefits from support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 65 to 75 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Heatmaster Tomato Seed:
Though Heatmaster is considered first as a fresh-eating and slicing tomato, it is also a good multi-purpose tomato that works very well for saucing, canning, and preserving. It makes the list here because of its ability to work well as a saucing tomato, but specifically because it is one of the best producers for people who live in hot climates. It was specially bred for its ability to continue setting fruit and producing even in high heat. It also has excellent disease resistance, and it produces early.
9. Plum Regal
| Flavor: | Very good, well balanced, not bitter or overly sweet |
| Type: | Plum, canner |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 4 ounces |
| Uses: | Saucing, canning |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all climates; not for short-season growers |
| Disease Resistance: | Excellent: Late blight resistant, moderate Early blight resistance, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, Tomato Spotted wilt virus |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 75 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Plum Regal Tomato Seeds:
Plum Regal is beginning to stand out as an excellent home saucing tomato. The tomatoes are described as blocky and meaty. It is a hybrid variety, but Fedco Seeds reports that it beat out most other hybrid paste tomatoes for flavor when they tested over 20 canning tomatoes, and it competed with some well-loved heirlooms, too.
Perhaps Plum Regal’s biggest claim to fame is its high disease resistance as compared to other plum tomatoes. It shows excellent resistance to late blight, among other diseases, and produces large crops reliably on a determinate plant. It matures in 75 days, but some companies note it as a late-season producer in need of a long season. Green tomatoes will slowly ripen off the plant and store well into winter.
10. Saucey
| Flavor: | Very good; rich |
| Type: | Plum |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 3 ounces |
| Uses: | Sauces, canning, salsa |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Good: Blossom End Rot |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 85 Days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Saucey Tomato Seeds:
Saucey grows nice clusters of richly flavored small plum tomatoes. It is meaty, and the tomatoes are easy to pick in clusters and easy to peel. There are few seeds in these smaller but productive tomatoes. The fruits resist blossom end rot.
11. SuperSauce
| Flavor: | Excellent (fresh and cooked) |
| Type: | Giant plum |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | Large 1½ to 3 pounds each |
| Uses: | Sauce, canning, salsa, fresh eating |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Excellent: Blight resistant (and early maturing, often beats blight), Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 70 days |
| Yield: | Very high |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy SuperSauce Tomato Seeds:
SuperSauce is an exclusive of Burpee Seed company. It is the largest saucing tomato – each tomato can weigh between 1.5 and 3 pounds! Not only is it large, which means large sauce yields, but it is also easy to peel and flavorful (good enough for fresh eating, too). It is also highly disease-resistant and high-yielding. As an indeterminate, it will produce all season long.
12. Hungarian Heart
| Flavor: | Excellent; traditional sweet heirloom tomato flavor |
| Type: | Oxheart |
| Color: | Reddish-pink |
| Size: | Large, 16+ ounces |
| Uses: | Sauces, salsa, fresh eating, canning (multi-purpose) |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all climates. Originated in Hungary |
| Disease Resistance: | Good; Crack resistant |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 80 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Hungarian Heart Tomato Seeds:
The Hungarian Heart tomato originated in Hungary, near Budapest. Each tomato is large, around one pound, and they are very meaty and firm. There are few seeds, and the tomatoes are nearly coreless—low waste and high-yielding when cooked and sauced. They call this tomato a “cook’s dream” because it is so versatile. It shines as a fresh eating tomato but is excellent cooked and roasted. Ideal for sauce and all types of cooking and canning.
13. Costoluto Genovese
| Flavor: | Excellent; Old-world Italian |
| Type: | Round, Slicer, Canner, Multi-purpose |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 8 ounces |
| Uses: | Fresh eating, preserving, cooking, canning, saucing, juicing |
| Climate Notes: | Excellent in hot climates but also does very well in cool weather |
| Disease Resistance: | Very good: Botrytis, Bacterial Leaf Spot |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 70 to 80 days |
| Yield: | Very high |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Tomato Seeds:
Park Seed says these tomatoes have absolutely no plate appeal, and they’re not about to win any beauty prizes, but when it comes to Costoluto Genovese tomatoes, the beauty is all on the inside! The tomatoes are large, round, and knobby, a fluted old-world Italian tomato. The tomatoes are high in acid and make a hearty, delicious sauce. They produce early on indeterminate vines that go all season long and are noted for their performance in hot weather and high temperatures, too.
14. Supremo Hybrid
| Flavor: | Very good |
| Type: | Plum |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 5 to 6 ounces |
| Uses: | Sauces, canning, salsa, salads, fresh eating |
| Climate Notes: | Does well in all types of climates, heat tolerant, handles cold and temperate climates well, too |
| Disease Resistance: | Excellent: Bacterial Speck, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, Root-knot nematode, Tomato spotted wilt virus, Leafspot |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, compact, and ideal for containers and patio planting/raised beds |
| Days to Harvest: | 68 days |
| Yield: | Very high |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Supremo Hybrid Tomato Seeds:
Supremo is a determinate plum tomato that is a great choice for container growing and growing in raised beds and small spaces. It is bushy and compact, producing large to extra-large plum tomatoes that are meaty and blocky. The tomatoes hold on the vine quite well, so you can extend your harvest by staggering picking. Good enough to eat fresh, these make a good, space-saving dual-purpose tomato, too. One big benefit of Supremo is its disease resistance.
15. Zenzei
| Flavor: | Very good |
| Type: | Plum |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 4 to 5 inches, 3 to 8 ounces |
| Uses: | Shines when cooked or canned, canning, saucing, salsa |
| Climate Notes: | Well suited to hot, humid climates, the American Great Lakes region and the Midwest |
| Disease Resistance: | Excellent: Blossom end rot, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, Tobacco mosaic virus, Tomato spot wilt virus, Tomato leaf curl virus; flesh resists spotting and cracking |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 70 to 80 |
| Yield: | Very high |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Zenzei Tomato Seeds:
Zenzei was developed for the hot, humid summers of the American Midwest and will do well in any similar climates. It is early maturing and indeterminate, meaning you start getting tomatoes early on and for a long time. Unlike many other indeterminate plants, Zenzei is a low-maintenance, tidy, bushy plant that does well in tight spaces and raised beds. Even though they are indeterminate, you don’t need to prune these plants!
16. Cuore Di Bue
| Flavor: | Excellent; Old-world Italian |
| Type: | Oxheart |
| Color: | Pink/red, orange/red |
| Size: | 8 ounces |
| Uses: | Saucing, canning, preserving, fresh eating |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all regions |
| Disease Resistance: | Good; not well-documented |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 75 to 85 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Tomato Seeds:
Territorial Seeds calls Cuore Di Bue “one of the tastiest saucing” tomatoes. They are a classic Italian oxheart tomato, large, meaty, and flavorful with a balance of sweet and acidic tanginess. The flesh is meaty and dense, making excellent yields of delicious sauce. The nearly 4” by 4” tomatoes weigh in around half a pound each.
17. Pomodoro Squisito
| Flavor: | Very good |
| Type: | San Marzano, plum |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 4 ounces |
| Uses: | Canning, saucing, cooking |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all climates, does well in humid/moist areas |
| Disease Resistance: | Very good: Fusarium wilt, Tomato Mosaic virus, Verticillium wilt, Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus, Good Blossom End Rot resistance (compared to other San Marzano) |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 80 to 85 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Pomodoro Squisito Tomato Seeds:
Pomodoro Squisito is a San Marzano hybrid. Indeterminate plants produce vigorously with excellent disease resistance. Tomatoes grow in clusters of 6 to 8 fruits, and the flavor is delicious. They’re an ideal saucing tomato, thick and meaty and with a small seed cavity.
18. Paisano
| Flavor: | Good |
| Type: | Canning, Plum |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 4 ounces |
| Uses: | Canning, saucing |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all regions |
| Disease Resistance: | Good, often producing before late blight |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, bush plant tops at about 3 feet tall, benefits from light staking; good for raised beds, containers, small spaces |
| Days to Harvest: | 68 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Paisano Tomato Seeds:
Paisano is a bushing San Marzano-type tomato, so it does well in compact spaces and with limited support. The fruits are 4 to 5 ounces each and are meaty, with high solids that yield well for saucing. Paisano is a determinate plant that flushes “concentrated” harvests in the mid-season, maturing about 68 days after transplanting. Because it matures on the early side, it will frequently beat high heat to production and beat out many late-season diseases, too.
19. Martino’s Roma
| Flavor: | Good |
| Type: | Plum |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 2 to 3 ounces |
| Uses: | Canning, cooking, saucing, dehydrating |
| Climate Notes: | Suited to all climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Good: Early Blight resistant |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs only light support, if any |
| Days to Harvest: | 75 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Determinate |
Where to Buy Martino's Roma Tomato Seeds:
Martino’s Roma is a small plum tomato that works very well for containers, raised beds, and confined spaces. The plants are determinate bushes and top out at around 3 to 4 feet. They require only minimal support (and some people grow them without any support at all).
Martino’s Roma tomatoes are small, about 3 ounces, and grow in clusters, but there are plenty of them, and they are an excellent choice for small-space sauce and canning tomatoes. The flesh is meaty with few seeds and on the drier side, making them faster and easier to cook down into thick, meaty sauces.
Growers note that these tomatoes tend to fall from the vine if left on too long.
20. Bonny Best
| Flavor: | Excellent, heirloom tomato flavor |
| Type: | Round, canner, slicer |
| Color: | Red |
| Size: | 6 to 8 ounces |
| Uses: | Canning, sauce, salsa, fresh eating |
| Climate Notes: | Particularly well suited to cool growing and northern climates |
| Disease Resistance: | Very good: Fusarium wilt, Root-knot nematodes, Verticillium wilt |
| Growing Conditions: | Full sun, fertile soil, slightly acidic, needs support (stakes or cages) |
| Days to Harvest: | 72 days |
| Yield: | High |
| Determinate or Indeterminate? | Indeterminate |
Where to Buy Bonny Best Tomato Seeds:
Bonny Best is an old heirloom tomato that was among the most popular canning varieties in the early 1900s. It fell victim to the explosion of hybrids, but it is still around and well worth growing and preserving.
Bonny Best is a flattened round tomato, often considered a slicer but its history lies in sauce-making and canning. It is meaty and has all the best heirloom flavor that the hybrids lack. This tomato does extremely well in cooler growing areas and is recommended for northern growers. It is also quite disease-resistant. It will do well in greenhouses and hoop houses, gardens, or raised beds. Early ripening.
Add Some Acid for the Safest Sauce
Experts recommend that a small amount of acid is added to all tomato sauces that are being canned (whether pressure canned or canned via the water bath method). The reason for this is that so many of today’s tomatoes are hybrids with lower acidity, and also because even in heirloom varieties, growing conditions and stage of ripeness can affect acid levels.
It’s cheap insurance and an easy thing to do—just add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice to each quart of canned tomato sauce. This also helps brighten the flavor.
Read more about this recommendation here: Adding Acid to Homemade Tomato Sauce
