Tomatoes in ripening from the summer heat and sunlight are the sweetest and best. Enjoy your summer harvest longer using these 3 ways to preserve tomatoes. We had a really good harvest of tomatoes from our Organic vegetable harvest this year because of the green house and a really warm summer so far.
We cannot use them all up so quickly at once due to the sheer volume of our produce. Even as I am writing about the star of our produce this year they are growing and ripening on the plants. They taste the best in summer and when you grow them yourself you have a better control on when best to harvest them. Its good to let them ripen a little on the plants itself before harvesting them. This way they taste the best and sweet too. I had to find different ways of preserving summer tomatoes to make it last longer till the next season.
There are other ways to do it too. I am writing about the 3 easy ways to preserve summer tomatoes at home easily. You can look up in this site for more information. https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8116.pdf
Top 3 ways on How to Preserve Tomatoes
Click below for the video
1. Freeze
This was a trick my aunt used to do. Pick good tomatoes which are ripe yet firm. Wash and dry them and pack it into Ziploc bags.
These tomatoes are good for soups but cannot be used for salads. I still have a couple of frozen tomatoes from last year in my freezer. I used them up for small soups till now.
This is probably not effective if you have constant power cuts and not enough freezer space. Hence the 2nd method is probably for you.
2. Canning
This is an age old way of preserving any fresh produce to make it last longer. There are many advantages to canning your fresh produce.
By canning you can make your produce last throughout the year till the next season. Before the advent of globalization and refrigeration this was the way most people ate a variety of foods especially in colder climates. For a one time investment you can reuse the jars and avoid wastes and thereby save costs.
https://www.ehow.com/list_7286825_advantages-canning-food_.html
Method for canning summer tomatoes
Boil a big pot of water and drop the tomatoes gently into it. This process is called Blanching which helps to peel the skin of the tomatoes easily.
While the tomatoes are cooking sterilize the glass jars. I used up cycled glass jars from previous sauces and condiments. These jars had already undergone a dishwasher cycle and I heated them in the oven at 100 deg. centigrade hot air.
Sterilize the lids separately in hot water in a separate pot. Dry the lids thoroughly without any trace of moisture.
Cook the tomatoes till it softens and the skin starts peeling off. Transfer them into a food mill and puree them. The food mill is useful for de -seeding and peeling the tomatoes and can used for other fruits and vegetables.
Boil and thicken the tomato puree for about 30 minutes before transferring them into sterilized jars.
Fill the jars to the brim. Add about half a teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoon or lemon juice before closing the jars. Wipe off any traces of the sauce around the rims with a kitchen paper towel.
Open the jars slightly to release the pressure and close it back tightly again.
Place all the jars into boiling water for about 10-15 minutes. You will hear and see the lids popping up which is a sign that the jars have sealed well.
3. Making Sauces -another way to preserve summer tomatoes
I made pizza sauces to use in case of emergency. Moreover tomatoes taste best during the summer months. Since last year I make some extra pizza sauces ready to use. Just a few jars not more. Scroll down for the printable recipe.
Tips for making the sauce
The proportion of salt to be added is around 2%, so its best to add it at the end of cooking process.
Since tomatoes are acidic adding a pinch of baking powder will neutralize the acidity. This also sweetens the tomato sauce.
To conclude I must say I still have a few more kilos of tomatoes which has to be preserved after my holiday.
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