Re: [CH] OT -- Cherry/Pear Tomatoes
Tony Flynn (flynnaj@xtra.co.nz)
Thu, 10 Aug 2006 10:57:51 +1200
Hi all,
The talk around excess tomatoes, reminded me of a mail from some years ago.
Not even sure if CH list. Sounds good to me.!
Italians are surely the experts on tomatoes eh ?
Tony Flynn
Granddad Retired at the beach.
Bay of Plenty New Zealand
Subject: Re: [CH] OT -- Cherry/Pear Tomatoes
> Hey Matt,
> > Last year I was overwhelmed with cherry tomatoes.....well what did I
> expect planting two dozen varieties.? DUH!
>
>
For the lucky people who can grow their own tomatoes, or buy fresh at a good
price.
Too bad I now have to use canned tomatoes (and be happy enough)
Ciao tutti,
BASIC TOMATO SAUCE (from fresh tomatoes)
Cut tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt and place the tomatoes face down
in a colander for half an hour or more1.
Now gently squeeze out of the tomatoes as many seeds as you can. And then
Place the tomatoes in a large pan. Cover and simmer gently for a few minutes
(5 to 10)
DON"T STIR! Drain away the yellow "juice" because it is very sour. At this
point we use a special utensil to separate the pulp from the skin.
Bring the pulp to the boil and pour into glass jars while boiling.
Proceed carefully to prevent jars from cracking, (NB I WOULD PRE HEAT JARS
TONY)
Fill up one jar at a time(the pan should stay on the stove simmer gently all
the time)
As a optional extra, you can a few leaves of basil in each jar before
filling the jar with sauce.
Cover each jar with its lid as soon as it is full (you'll have to act
quickly, as in less than a minute the jar can get to a too high a
temperature for you to touch it!)
Place jars in a large cardboard box, wrapping each jar in rags (preferably
woollen). Store the jars close together in the box and let them stand
overnight (24 hours at least) Don't be surprised if you find the jars, when
you open the box after 24 hours, are still hot. This is the best sterilizing
method I know.
This is the way we make tomato sauce for "Winter storage". It keeps for at
least one year. You can use this basic sauce as a base for any kind of
spaghetti sauce, as it has a very natural tomato flavour. It is also perfect
for stews, soups, pizza, and all sorts of other tomato based preparations.
Pace e bene a tutti J)
Lucretia in Sydney> AUS