I discovered this quite by accident last year.  I was in the middle of canning tomatoes when my husband needed me.  

I put my tomato sauce in the fridge and later discovered to my delight that the thick stuff settles!  

Another reader of mine shared that she does this too.  In fact it is more common that I realized.  I just didn't know about it!

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Place your tomato sauce from the food mill into your large stock pot. Let it cool on the counter.

When it is somewhat cool,  place in the fridge overnight.  

The depth of this clear layer will depend on the type of tomato and how juicy it is.  These pictures are from a Roma tomato which is meatier than many other types.

My son calls this clear liquid tomato broth. My reader called it tomato whey.  

What ever you call it, if you skim or siphon it off, the thicker tomato sauce is at the bottom. This step will shorten your cook down time.  

You will probably still need to cook down for a couple of hours but not nearly as long as if you were not able to skim off the liquid first.

I also go ahead and process this tomato broth just like tomato sauce.  It can then be used for soup bases or other things. 


Large drink pitchers work really well for a settling container. Then you can pour the tomato broth off the top.  

Tomatoes and Tomato Products

Tomatoes Whole or Halved
Spaghetti Sauce
Spaghetti Sauce(meatless)
Stewed Tomatoes
Unseasoned Tomato Sauce