Monday 11 August 2014

Glut time.



All gardeners are the same. One minute we're complaining that everything is very late, the next we have a glut.

My Tomato glut has just arrived, so having already done a good stock of Tomato based conserves, now is the time for just plain Tomato sauce (Passata).

I always use litre bottles for this purpose, as the end product is invariably used for soup (and I need at least a litre).


The chopped Tomatoes are cooked with salt, pepper, garlic, dried herbs, and olive oil, packed into these tall jars, then sterilised for one hour. When later used for soup it is passed through a colander, to remove the skins, then mixed with a spoonful of cream, salt, and a little sugar.  

If you like Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, you'd love this. If you don't like Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, you'd love this even more.

I'll do another batch today.


20 comments:

  1. Right now some of those lovely tomatoes just with a little salt and pepper would be a real treat.

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  2. You can never really have a glut of tomatoes they are just so darn useful in so many ways - a welcome glut I would say.

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    1. Always a few find their way to the compost I'm afraid. My 'foundling' plants are just about to ripen too; a report to follow.

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  3. Thanks for the recipe Cro. Our glut at the moment is wild mushrooms (eight pounds in two days and the farmer has not been to collect them today yet). This morning it is broad beans - at present he is podding them - after lunch I shall be blanching and freezing them. Nature's bounty.

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    1. Yes, I've been reading about your mushroom bonanza. Other than eating them by the plateful, what do you do with them?

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  4. How do you sterilize them for that hour Cro, I take it that it involves water but at what temperature?

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    1. Just at a 'rolling boil', with the water covering the bottles by about 2 cms. The resulting Tomato juice lasts for about 2 years.

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  5. Scrummy. Our neighbour when I was young turned her entire suburban section into a tomato and pepper farm, and my father used to buy huge quantities of pink, fleshy, ovoid acid free tomatoes from her and bottle them just like yours. I miss the home made tomato base for my cooking. My neighbour was Hungarian, so these veges were essential to her cooking too, as well as the huge pot of rendered and cleaned pork fat she made each year. Its flavour was the key to success in so many delicious dishes.

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    Replies
    1. In this part of the world we tend to use duck fat... lovely flavour too.

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  6. A beautiful harvest Cro....mmm toasted tomato sandwiches.

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    1. I have fried tomatoes on toast for breakfast (occasionally).

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    2. Mine are usually on fried bread too (but I'm supposed to be on a diet).

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  7. The tomato crop in the midwest is poorly this year. Too cold, too much rain. Puny little maters, tough skin. So, think of us when you savor your soup.

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  8. love it. I will swap you cucumbers, sweet corn and courgettes for your tomatoes. mine are disgusting. don't know what has happened

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  9. Our tomatoes are just starting to turn colour. the recipe sounds good.

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  10. Well, this post has helped me in two ways Cro. It's given me a tip on sterilising jars of sauce (going to be very useful!0, and reminded me of the exquisite pleasure of fried tomatoes on fried bread (a pleasure too long forgotten). Have a good week.

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  11. I have so many tomatoes right now ( many of them two pounders) and I am thankful that I have so many friends.

    Have fun cooking down your glut.

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