Meet Chef Sharon Cline
If you attended our canning and pickling class on August 15, 2026, you already know that Chef Sharon Cline has a gift for making the kitchen feel approachable, interesting and fun. The class was packed—and judging by the questions, conversation and enthusiasm in the room, we think Sharon may have created a few new home canners along the way!
Sharon brings a particularly interesting perspective to food. Before becoming a chef, she spent 16 years practicing as a cardiologist in Chicago’s western suburbs. She later earned a Certificate in Culinary Arts and, in 2024, launched Chef at Heart, where she works with people who want to become more comfortable in the kitchen and incorporate more plants into their diets.
Her philosophy is simple: cooking alongside someone can build confidence, encourage experimentation and help make healthier eating habits feel much more achievable.
We’re grateful Sharon shared some of her knowledge with the Food Shed community—and even more grateful that she has allowed us to share some of her canning and pickling recipes with you here.
You can reach out directly to Sharon at Chef at Heart as follows:
Phone: 630-849-8257
Email: [email protected]
Web: ChefAtHeart.net
How to Make Marinara Sauce for Canning
What You Will Need for the Marinara Sauce
- 25 pounds of tomatoes. Yes, this is a lot. I’m telling you, this is for a big bunch! This pretty much equals a half bushel basket. If you don’t have a scale that reads this big of an amount, just fill your half bushel basket full, and that will be fine.
- 1 pound onion. I weigh out a pound of our garden onions. They are small, so I use several of them. (This equals to about 2 store bought onions.)
- 6-8 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp of bottled lemon juice per quart jar
Instructions for Cooking the Marinara Sauce
Blanch all of the tomatoes by adding five or six tomatoes at a time to boiling water. Boil them for only 30 seconds to a minute. When the skins start to peel back, scoop the tomatoes out then plunge them into the ice water.
When all the tomatoes are blanched, you can begin peeling and coring them. As I work, I place the peeled and cored tomatoes into my stockpot.
Next, use your immersion blender to blend all the tomatoes up into a smooth sauce. Place the stockpot on the stove to boil.
Keep an eye on the pot, because it may start to foam. Just scrape the foam off the top and continue to watch it until the sauce starts condensing.
Boil for 3-4 hours or until nearly reduced by half.After the sauce is reduced…
Add in the onions and garlic. I chop the onions in big chunks, and keep the garlic whole.
Blend again with the immersion blender. Everything should be smooth. (Unless you like a chunky sauce, you could leave the onions in bigger pieces, it’s up to you.)
Then add the rest of the spices. (Don’t add the lemon juice though.)
Let it simmer for a few more minutes, just so the flavors meld, and taste it so see if it’s to your liking. If you would like more salt, you should add it now!
How to Can the Sauce
Boil jars and lids for 10 minutes to sterilze.
Taking one jar out at a time, use your canning funnel you will first add 3 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice to EACH jar. (If you want to can in pints, just use 1 1/2 tablespoons in each pint jar.)
Then, fill the jars full of sauce. Leave a good inch of headspace from the top of the jar.
Wipe rims clean, and screw on the lid.
Place the jar back in the hot canner.
When all the jars are filled (you should have 4 quarts, or nearly 8-9 pints, if you choose pints) turn the heat up so the water is boiling in the water bath canner.
Finally, process the marinara sauce for 40 minutes.
After the time is up, turn off the heat, let them sit in the canner for about five minutes, then carefully remove the jars with the canning tongs.