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!