June 2026
From The Fine Art of Italian Cooking, pages 70-71 to make one meal for 6 people.
- 2.5 lbs fresh tomatoes
- 1 medium-sized red onion
- 1 large carrot
- 1 celery rib
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 2-3 leaves of basil
Upscale this recipe to make 1 gallon of sauce. From The Fine Art of Italian Cooking, pages 70-71 to make one meal for 6 people. Provide the weights of each ingredient.
2.5 lbs fresh tomatoes
1 medium-sized red onion
1 large carrot
1 celery rib
1 small clove of garlic
2-3 leaves of basil
Assuming the goal is approximately 1 gallon (3.8 L) of finished sauce, a practical scaling method is to scale the original recipe by total ingredient weight.
Original Recipe (estimated weights)
| Ingredient | Original Weight |
|---|---|
| Fresh tomatoes | 2.5 lb (1,134 g) |
| Medium red onion | 3.9 oz (110 g) |
| Large carrot | 3.2 oz (90 g) |
| Celery rib | 1.4 oz (40 g) |
| Small garlic clove | 0.1 oz (3 g) |
| Basil leaves (2–3) | 0.07 oz (2 g) |
Total ? 1,379 g (3.04 lb)
A gallon of tomato sauce weighs roughly 3,875–3,900 g (8.5–8.6 lb), requiring a scale factor of about 2.8×.
Ingredients for 1 Gallon of Sauce
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Fresh tomatoes | 3,190 g (7.03 lb) |
| Red onion | 310 g (10.9 oz) |
| Carrot | 255 g (9.0 oz) |
| Celery | 115 g (4.1 oz) |
| Garlic | 8 g (0.28 oz) |
| Fresh basil | 6 g (0.21 oz) |
Rounded Kitchen Quantities
- 7.0 lb (3.2 kg) fresh tomatoes
- 11 oz (310 g) red onion
- 9 oz (255 g) carrot
- 4 oz (115 g) celery
- 8 g garlic
- 6 g basil leaves
Because tomatoes vary considerably in water content and the amount of reduction during cooking, you may need to simmer slightly longer or shorter to finish at exactly one gallon. The ingredient ratios above preserve the proportions of the original recipe.
