Tomatoes

Flatland

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Just thouvht I would tell you what I do with my excess tomatoes.
Dry them. cut in half put in dehydrator & dry until crisp. When I want to use them I place them in a container with a lid add small amount of water shake & leave to absorb water then they are like the semi dried tomatoes you buy. And oil & keep in fridge. Love it on bread with cheese.
Lazy woman's tomato paste. Whizz up in food processor. Spread on trays & dry in dehydrator until paste consistency. freeze. If I could be bothered I could strain out the seeds & skin but I don't mind tomato paste that has seeds
Freezing. roughly chop & mush a bit. spoon into ice cube trays. use this for any sauce stew soup. Second way of freezing I chop & then throw them in a saucepan & boil it down a bit to thicken. Then freeze in ice cube trays. Takes up less room in the freezer & isn't so runny when I am using it in a sauce.
 

ClissAT

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Great ideas, I'll have to try some when I next have a glut.

I usually bottle the cleaned fruit (ie cherry toms), top up with some boiled water & bring to pressure in the pressure cooker for a few minutes. Those bottles last for years.

But the thing I like most about bottled tomatoes is the juice which starts out being the boiled water I added to the bottle. It turns into the strongest, most pure tasting tomato juice you could hope for & clear into the bargain!
 

Letsgokate

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Some great ideas. I made tomato and capscuim pasta sauce all from my home grown produce last week, was very yum.

My tomatoes are going really well. Just bought a whole heap more in a d put them in the freezer. After Christmas I'll make some sauce with them.
 

Flatland

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My roma tomatoes has got little green tomatoes but will be awhile before they are ripe. I've had one cucumber and there are a couple more on the way
 

Mikielives

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Just thouvht I would tell you what I do with my excess tomatoes.
Dry them. cut in half put in dehydrator & dry until crisp. When I want to use them I place them in a container with a lid add small amount of water shake & leave to absorb water then they are like the semi dried tomatoes you buy. And oil & keep in fridge. Love it on bread with cheese.
Lazy woman's tomato paste. Whizz up in food processor. Spread on trays & dry in dehydrator until paste consistency. freeze. If I could be bothered I could strain out the seeds & skin but I don't mind tomato paste that has seeds
Freezing. roughly chop & mush a bit. spoon into ice cube trays. use this for any sauce stew soup. Second way of freezing I chop & then throw them in a saucepan & boil it down a bit to thicken. Then freeze in ice cube trays. Takes up less room in the freezer & isn't so runny when I am using it in a sauce.
I found the best alternative to making paste is to dehydrate home made tomato sauce until it is crisp (leather). I take the leather and grind it into a powder and very small flakes in a food processor. Then if I want to amp up a quart of home canned tomatoes I add 2 to 3 tablespoons and the flavor becomes very rich! I keep the "powdered" tomato in a jar in my spice cupboard and it keeps very well. I dehydrate at 135°F for 10 to 12 hours. 1 pint will fit on each of my Nesco Gardenmaster leather trays.
2016-12-26 10.15.50.jpg 2016-12-26 10.28.12.jpg
 

Letsgokate

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Mine aren't! :(

What type are your growing?

Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you Mark, Christmas and all that. The ones I have growing are Apollo and some Cherry Sweetbite. It's the Apollo I've been thrilled with as I've not successfully grown big tomatoes before. They taste yum and I've got kgs and kgs of them. I'm washing most of them and freezing them once I have fully ripened them as we can't eat that many fresh tomatoes. I'll make a sauce out of them later. My freezer is getting full of tomatoes.

At first I was bringing them inside to ripen once they started getting a bit of colour as I didn't have enough bags to bag them all. Then I bought some more bags and left them to ripen on the vine. Took a bit to learn how to tie them the best.

Bagged-Tomatoes.jpg


Apollo-Tomatoes.jpg


Think they are nearly done now, I bought in several kgs yesterday. Mainly smaller ones left on there now. Getting very hot out there for them. I did plant some bush tomatoes under the fruit fly mesh I set up, they are going so so, I think it's just too hot now.
 

carrie

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canning would be a good choice. if short of time boil them, put them in an ice bath briefly, peel them, and freeze them in freezer bags which can later be used for sauces, stews and soups. For now try pasta, arugula and cheese
 

ClissAT

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For now try pasta, arugula and cheese

Carrie, you mention 'arugula'.

Is that what we call 'Rocket' (green peppery salad leaf)?


Letsgo, those little baggies on your tomatoes.
Are they those lovely little chiffon bags with the satin ribbon draw strings on ebay for $2 for 20?
 

carrie

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Carrie, you mention 'arugula'.

Is that what we call 'Rocket' (green peppery salad leaf)?
Letsgo, those little baggies on your tomatoes.
Are they those lovely little chiffon bags with the satin ribbon draw strings on ebay for $2 for 20?

Tomato and Arugula Salad
yes it is that leaf.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
4 cups arugula
Preparation
Combine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and halved grape tomatoes in a medium bowl. Add arugula, and toss.
crab-cakes-spicy-mustard-ck-x.jpg

 
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