Towards the end of the Tomato growing season, I always make large bottles of preserved Tomato pulp; these are specifically for making soup. It uses up all those late-arrival Tomatoes, and goes to creating one of life's culinary marvels.
I take the biggest pot I have, fill it with chopped, and salted Toms, and cook it until it's mush.
I use litre bottles for these, and do 5 at a time (that's the maximum my tallest sterilising pot will take). An hour bubbling away at around 100 C, and Bob's-yer-uncle; job done.
When it comes to making the soup, I heat the contents of a jar, pass it through a sieve with the back of a soup ladle to take out all the skins bits etc, re-heat, add a dollop of cream and maybe some S & P, and that's it. Wonderful Tomato Soup that actually tastes of both Tomatoes and Summer.
How wonderful that must be in the winter--like sunshine in a jar!
ReplyDeleteIt really is. So unlike those ghastly tomatoes one buys at the supermarket.
DeleteThis sounds so wonderful !
ReplyDeleteLike Jennifer said, in Winter this must be lovely.
cheers, parsnip
All my Tomato preserves are so important to get me through the Winter months; they give me something to look forward to again.
DeleteI stopped at a farm gate and bought a two tubs of tomatoes for a £1 last night when I was dodging the maize trailers. I really wanted eggs but they didnt have any so I bought the tomatoes instead. I fried them with bacon for tea. We didn't miss not having an egg.
ReplyDeleteMine are all so late this year. I have loads now; I don't know what I'll do with them all. I love fried Toms.
DeleteThat is exactly what I do - and delicious it is too. I still have loads of green plum tomatoes still to ripen.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know what happened this year. I try to grow my Toms for when we have Summer visitors (July August), but this year, having been planted quite early, they'll mostly be ripening in October. Bizarre!
DeleteA few more mouths to feed with your garden produce. How long are they with you this time?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure yet, but probably until the end of November. I'm hoping longer.
DeleteI'd do that (if I could grow tomatoes) but it would all go in my Italian sugos.
ReplyDeleteIt's really not that different, but I'd have to add the Basil leaves, onion, etc. By having just plain Tom sauce I can make anything with it; even Sugo.
DeleteWonderful.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are.
DeleteVery sad news about Shimon Perez; he will go down as one of the world's great statesmen.
I meant 'Peres', of course.
DeleteI used to preserve tomatoes that way but now I just pulp and freeze. Either way they are certainly great tasting in mid winter when hot house toms are soapy and tasteless. Wonderful garden you have, better late than never. My mini tomatoes are still giving me a handful now and again.
ReplyDeleteI did plenty for the freezer at the beginning of the season. I think I now have more than enough, but no doubt I'll do more now that the family are here.
DeleteYour tomatoes looked delicious Cro .... far better than the ones that I get from the supermarket .... I love them when they are misshapen and are often red, orange and green .... do you think that we will now be allowed these misshapen ones now we have Brexitted { is Brexitted a word ? .... I think that I just made it up !! } XXXX
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand what commercial growers do to their Tomatoes. They usually have absolutely no taste whatsoever. The ones in the pictures are 'Supersteak', and are red outside, and pink inside. They tase wonderful.
DeleteYou should copyright 'Brexitted'.
I make it in a similar way Cro but just pop the pan into the simmering over of the Aga. Sometimes I add chopped pancetta too. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't lit our wood-burning cooker yet (poor man's Aga), but it would be ideal for such things. I suppose I'd better give it a good interior clean before winter arrives.
DeleteI am still picking tomatoes even though I consider my veg garden a loss this year. I did not have as many and they were smaller than usual but I still have some on the vine that will be worth picking for awhile longer.
ReplyDeleteTomato soup is the best, but I like it with basil.
I've done some smaller jars with basil and Olive oil which I'll use for pasta sauces.
DeleteWot no chutney?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid no-one eats chutney here. If I want some for Christmas I buy myself a jar of Branston.
DeleteI am very impressed by your gardening and your harvesting. It's obvious that there is joy in both of them.
ReplyDeleteIt gives me huge pleasure, and fills in my free time.
DeleteGreat idea for winter soups. All the large tomatoes from our harvest went into jars of chopped tomatoes, but there was a large box of cherry tomatoes left which was destined for tomato soup mix similar to how you made yours. But alack and alas, Lester gave them to the pigs, thinking I had no use for them!
ReplyDeleteWe have so many that if we had Pigs, I think they'd be having a few too.
DeleteNothing prettier in the pantry than home canned food. I hope you have some out in the kitchen for decoration.
ReplyDeleteAlas, they're all tucked away in the Pantry.
DeleteYour tommies are magnificent!
ReplyDeleteSome of them weighed around 650 gms!
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