canning tomatoes Archives - attheitaliantable.com

It’s late August and that means my friends Sabato and Concetta are busy canning their amazing tomatoes, Il Miracolo di San Gennaro, down in the valley between Mt Vesuvius and the Lattari Mountains, just east of Naples. I can’t help but think of them and the fun times I’ve had helping to can tomatoes in their backyard, which in August is turned into a production facility.

In southern Italy in the summer, everything is done outdoors. And a tomato canning operation is no exception! Sabato’s equipment has gotten bigger and better over the years and the boiler for sterilizing the jars has been moved to the cantina downstairs. But the main operation of picking through the tomatoes, boiling them and milling them into rivers of sauce and then putting it in jars is still done outside.

Friends and family get together to help, which is great because it’s a 6 a.m. to midnight operation.Of course, we’re in Italy so there are healthy stops for lunch and a rest around 1 pm and then again around 7:30. Coffee is brought from the bar next door, crates of tomatoes are ever arriving from the fields.

It’s a joyous time and I wish I was there with them helping this year!

Sabato Abagnale is a passionate man. Like so many people I know here in Italy who are passionate about the food and artisan products they make, he is open, full of information and bubbling over with enthusiasm for the products of his region, especially the San Marzano and Piennello tomatoes.

I spend a few days with Sabatino and his family every August during tomato canning time and every year I come away with a tranquil sense that if these people and this food exists, all is right with the world.

Concetta, Sabato’s wife, washing the tomatoes

He sells his tomatoes under two name brands, “Il Miracolo di San Gennaro” and “Terra, Sapore e Fantasia”; the first you can get through Gustiamo at gustiamo.com, the second is sold at Eataly stores, not only in New York City, but also throughout Italy. (Yes, Eataly existed in Italy before the Batali partnership brought it to NY. It’s owned by Oscar Farenetti.)

ladies at work — Concetta & Michaela, Sabato’s mom

The tomato harvest and canning is an intensive process and takes place during 3-4 weeks in August. At Sabatino’s it’s all done by hand with industrial equipment, on a small scale in what is basically his backyard, with friends, family and neighbors gathering to help get the work done.

Michaele cooks the tomatoes for 15 minutes

michaele — then they’re put through the machine…

…which separates the skins & seeds from the pulp & juice

perfect, raw tomatoes are added to the jars

stacked into the cage to lower into the sterilizer

They’ll work 18 hour days, breaking for lunch and dinner, of course, until all the tomatoes are canned, processed and loaded to age for a month in the storage facility he’s built below the house.

One of the reasons Sabatino’s sauce is so great is the amount of time he allows it to age before releasing it. Look at the layer in the bottom of the jar, it looks like water but it’s actually the life blood of the sauce. That is allowed to concentrate and separate out, and then every jar is turned by hand to allow the lifeblood to be reabsorbed into the tomato puree. This year he estimates they’ll do 33,000 jars of San Marzano DOP, and I am proud to say I helped bring it in!

Making Tomato Sauce in Campania

San Marzano Tomatoes and Sabato’s Miracolo