Man oh man, I'm having fun. starting so many seeds back in jan & feb is paying off SO nicely now. So, I am busily gathering tomatoes daily and cooking them into conserva.
so, worked on things in a different way the last two days. at last report, I had made Conserva from whole tomatoes and candy from juiced ones. This time, instead of cooking down the tomatoes and straining them when they had fallen apart, or juicing them to to get tomato water, I crushed and strained the raw tomatoes before cooking them. the difference was significant. not bad or good, just significant, depending on your goals.
the whole cooked or whole juiced tomatoes were FAR sweeter in the final product. I can only attribute that to the seeds and perhaps some breakdown of the skins.the precook strain removes the skin and the seeds and, likely, a good bit of the jelly surrounding the seeds. looks like there is a good bit of potential sugar in that jelly.
That, in itself, gives me incentive to put Jelly Melons back in the garden. they are a lot like prickly cucumbers with nothing but seeds and LOTS of the gelatinous seed coating you see in cucumbers and even tomatoes surrounding the seeds. Jelly Melons are an African treat. to me, the flavor isn't much to write home about but, I can see why they are appreciated in Africa (PS, watermelons were smuggled to the US by slaves from Africa, the seeds concealed in their scant clothing). things like watermelons & jelly melons would be greatly appreciated in places where water is either scarce or unclean. when Mother Nature puts it inside a fruit, she cleans it up, first.
SO, nect year, I'll grow some and cook them off for possible use in gelatin cooking and BBQ sauces.
meanwhile, back to tomatoes.
the batches cooked without the seeds or skins cooked in are far more acidic. tart and sharp. they aren't bad, just do not have the incredible sweet, deep taste the Conserva or gelatin candy does. so, there is that, take that info for what you will and carry it, if you like, to your BBQ recipes.
Was playing with carrots & carrot juice, yesterday. I should finish them up in the next couple of days and have something to tell you guys then!
so, worked on things in a different way the last two days. at last report, I had made Conserva from whole tomatoes and candy from juiced ones. This time, instead of cooking down the tomatoes and straining them when they had fallen apart, or juicing them to to get tomato water, I crushed and strained the raw tomatoes before cooking them. the difference was significant. not bad or good, just significant, depending on your goals.
the whole cooked or whole juiced tomatoes were FAR sweeter in the final product. I can only attribute that to the seeds and perhaps some breakdown of the skins.the precook strain removes the skin and the seeds and, likely, a good bit of the jelly surrounding the seeds. looks like there is a good bit of potential sugar in that jelly.
That, in itself, gives me incentive to put Jelly Melons back in the garden. they are a lot like prickly cucumbers with nothing but seeds and LOTS of the gelatinous seed coating you see in cucumbers and even tomatoes surrounding the seeds. Jelly Melons are an African treat. to me, the flavor isn't much to write home about but, I can see why they are appreciated in Africa (PS, watermelons were smuggled to the US by slaves from Africa, the seeds concealed in their scant clothing). things like watermelons & jelly melons would be greatly appreciated in places where water is either scarce or unclean. when Mother Nature puts it inside a fruit, she cleans it up, first.
SO, nect year, I'll grow some and cook them off for possible use in gelatin cooking and BBQ sauces.
meanwhile, back to tomatoes.
the batches cooked without the seeds or skins cooked in are far more acidic. tart and sharp. they aren't bad, just do not have the incredible sweet, deep taste the Conserva or gelatin candy does. so, there is that, take that info for what you will and carry it, if you like, to your BBQ recipes.
Was playing with carrots & carrot juice, yesterday. I should finish them up in the next couple of days and have something to tell you guys then!
Thank you!
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