Well, the tomatoes are coming in, as always FAR faster than i can eat them! so, what's a girl (term used loosely) to do? well, make Conserva, of course!.
Problem the first, I have no food mill. well, a nice metal sieve and a metal spoon do the job well.
Problem the second, it doesn't get over 100 degrees here, certainly not for several days at a time (thank the Good Lord) Solution: I have a car in my driveway, sitting in the sun. the inside temp exceeds 150 on most days.
So, using the old ways as guideline, I have cut my tomatoes, removed the seed and jelly around them, lightly salted with kosher salt, and heated on the stove until they give up their juices. once they are all juicy and falling apart, I put my metal colander into a large metal bowl and pour the tomatoes through. then, I put the colander back into the pot and start stirring and pressing the tomato pulp through the colander. keep stirring and scraping until nothing is left except the skins and a few stray seeds.
next, I take the bowl of seeds and seed jelly and pout that into the colander. any juice lost in the seeding process is added back. stir & scrape again. lastly, there is some hot, thin liquid in the first bowl that was the first to drain when the pot was emptied into the colander, before being transferred back to the pot. this hot, thin liquid is last to go through the colander and it thins and rinses any clinging good tomato sauce from the contents of the colander and helps to loosen anything clinging to the outside.
next, simmer to sauce until thick and splattery. stir in a tablespoon of olive oil and pour the paste into a parchment lined pan. put the pan on the dashboard of the car in the sunshine and leave it for several days, stirring daily, until it reaches the desired consistency. crack a window if your car is really tight to allow moisture to escape.
Once the Conserva is done, it is stored in a crock, traditionally, with a layer of olive oil on top to seal out the air. I'm really looking forward to my results. if it works, I won't be giving away as many tomatoes as i once did, nor will i be supporting the Heinz company and john kerry so much!!
Problem the first, I have no food mill. well, a nice metal sieve and a metal spoon do the job well.
Problem the second, it doesn't get over 100 degrees here, certainly not for several days at a time (thank the Good Lord) Solution: I have a car in my driveway, sitting in the sun. the inside temp exceeds 150 on most days.
So, using the old ways as guideline, I have cut my tomatoes, removed the seed and jelly around them, lightly salted with kosher salt, and heated on the stove until they give up their juices. once they are all juicy and falling apart, I put my metal colander into a large metal bowl and pour the tomatoes through. then, I put the colander back into the pot and start stirring and pressing the tomato pulp through the colander. keep stirring and scraping until nothing is left except the skins and a few stray seeds.
next, I take the bowl of seeds and seed jelly and pout that into the colander. any juice lost in the seeding process is added back. stir & scrape again. lastly, there is some hot, thin liquid in the first bowl that was the first to drain when the pot was emptied into the colander, before being transferred back to the pot. this hot, thin liquid is last to go through the colander and it thins and rinses any clinging good tomato sauce from the contents of the colander and helps to loosen anything clinging to the outside.
next, simmer to sauce until thick and splattery. stir in a tablespoon of olive oil and pour the paste into a parchment lined pan. put the pan on the dashboard of the car in the sunshine and leave it for several days, stirring daily, until it reaches the desired consistency. crack a window if your car is really tight to allow moisture to escape.
Once the Conserva is done, it is stored in a crock, traditionally, with a layer of olive oil on top to seal out the air. I'm really looking forward to my results. if it works, I won't be giving away as many tomatoes as i once did, nor will i be supporting the Heinz company and john kerry so much!!
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