We've had an interesting time checking out tomato sauce recipes in a mix of Italian and American cookbooks. It is remarkable how much faith the Italians have in their tomatoes - the recipes for basic tomato sauces are simple and pure. The American books tend to throw in a certain amount of oil and spices to dress up the sauces. Which do you like best? We'll provide a couple of choices and let you decide.

Either of these sauces can be frozen for several months. Canning requires a little different approach. Tomatoes are right on the border between the high-acid fruits that can be preserved in a boiling-water bath and the low-acid fruits & vegetables that need pressure canning. If you have a pressure canner, use it and process the sauce for 30 minutes for pint jars and 35 minutes for quarts, at a pressure of 10 to 11 pounds.

If you don't have a pressure canner, you must boost the acid level of the sauce, by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of sauce. Then process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts.