6/26/2026
The upscaled recipe below is by ChatGPT and made too much soffrito for 5 lbs of cleaned tomatoes. We did not use all the veggies, and the amount not used was 1.43 lbs. Given the values in the “Scaled for 1 Gallon” column below adds up to 5.8 lbs, what looked ok was 5.8 minus 1.4 = 4.4 lbs and we still got something akin to a stew.
Using data from another ChatGPT analysis of the original Florentine Pot Roast recipe, the veggies-to-tomato ratio can be calculated as: Onions + carrots + celery = 8.5 oz in 2.5 lb (37 oz) tomatoes, =~ 4.5:1. Next try will be a 4:1 ratio of tomatoes to veggies.
With our veggies of 1.43 lbs left from yesterday, we should use 4×1.43 = 5.72 lbs of tomatoes.
To correct the cook from yestersay that used 4.4 lbs of veggies the amount of tomatoes that should have been added would have been 4×4.4 = 17.6 lbs. We added 5 lbs so to correct it we would now add the difference of 12.6 lbs.
6/25/2026
From ChatGPT on 6/25/2026. – Prompt: Upscale this recipe to make one gallon of finished sauce. The base recipe is the sauce part of our Florentine Pot Roast here.
Assuming the original recipe yields about 1 quart (4 cups) of finished sauce after cooking and reduction, you would multiply all ingredients by approximately 4 to obtain about 1 gallon (16 cups) of finished sauce.
1-Gallon Tomato Soffritto Sauce (by weight)
| Ingredient | Original | Scaled for 1 gallon |
|---|---|---|
| Red onions | 2 medium | 2.6 lb |
| Celery ribs | 3 ribs | 1.1 lb |
| Carrots | 4 medium | 2.1 lb |
| Garlic | 0 | ~ 5 lg and 5 small cloves |
| Olive oil | 5 Tbsp | 1¼ cups |
| Dry red wine | ¼ cup | 1 cup |
| Fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded | 1¼ lb | 5 lb |
If Using Canned Tomatoes – from the original recipe.
Replace the fresh tomatoes with approximately 4 cans (20 oz each) of tomatoes: 5 lb / 2.27 kg.
End Chat
What we did
- Rough chopped onions, celery, and carrots. [several videos making soffrito, diced the veggies so they carmelized nicely]
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot.
- Cook onions until wilted, celery, carrots, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. over medium-low heat until very soft and sweet, about 20–30 minutes.
- The 2.6 lbs of onion in the big blue stock pot was 3″ deep so they stewed and did not carmelize.
- Add the hand-mashed tomatoes.
- Simmer gently uncovered until thick and smooth but very lumpy, about 2-3 hours.
- Blend the immersion blender, leaving some chunks.
Conclusion – Still way to chunky and thick.
