You Say Tomato

I say sauce, puree, salsa, chutney, tarts, shakshuka and sandwiches. And those bite-sized beauties, I eat ‘em like candy. Yes, August is here in all its flaming glory of color and flavor. Last week in Dishing the Dirt the elegant aubergine (aka: eggplant) was featured, but this week a fellow member of the Solanaceae family is busting on to the scene with an array of shapes, sizes, colors and flavors—tomaaaahto season is here.While eggplants aren’t exactly one of those things that gets “put up”, tomatoes are a different story.Canning was a way of life for my family when I was growing up. Grandma Miller’s basement walls were lined from floor to ceiling with shelves stacked full of anything and everything to come out of summer gardens. Living in the same small town, those jars often found their way to my dinner plate.Walk through the markets and you’re going to see an abundance of tomatoes since the height of field-grown fruit is upon us. Yes, we’ve been spoiled by year-round tomatoes from the farms with greenhouses, but there are only so many varieties they can grow. This is the time of year when the interesting heirlooms of farmers’ choice begin to arrive. With names like Ox Heart, Striped Tiger and of course, every canning aficionado’s favorite, San Marzanos, the plump meaty plum tomato synonymous with Italian cooking, there’s an endless array from which to choose.It is this time of year that my kitchen is spattered with tomato juice, skins, seeds and pulp as I cook down, mill, create and can as much as possible to enjoy during the coming winter. There’s nothing like opening a jar of rich red sauce when the landscape outside can barely manage sepia tones.When customers see me loading up at the end of market with a huge box of tomatoes, I’m given their lament of “I wish I could….”And I tell them, “You CAN!”True, putting up tomatoes is a labor of love. It requires time and equipment, however, on both fronts the payoff is well worth the investment.I’m going to debunk all the excuses I’ve heard.I would never eat that much. Really? Between now and next year, you’re not going to go through 8 quarts (16 pints) of tomatoes? That’s roughly what a twenty-pound box of tomatoes will yield. Many of the tomato vendors offer special deals on bulk purchases or seconds. Please note though, don’t show up early in the day without prior arrangements expecting either deal on demand. Talk to your farmers and order in advance.I don’t know how. There are over 36,400,000 results when googling “canning tomatoes”. You can buy a book, take a class or better yet, get together with a friend who knows how and has all the equipment. Share the work, share the bounty.There too much special equipment to buy. To put up whole tomatoes you only need canning jars, a pot deep enough to cover the jars with water and a paring knife. Add in some salt and lemon juice to you shopping list. If you want to get fancy, pick up some fresh basil and garlic. While I put up several jars of whole tomatoes every summer, mostly I use a Victori-O food strainer. Fair warning—you get one of these and soon you’ll also be making other goodies like salsa, apple sauce, berry puree, etc. There are several styles of this type of equipment—sieves, strainers, mills—some with motors, others that crank by hand or the classic chinois with a wooden pestle to mash the fruit pressing the pulp and juice through the holes.Due to their low acidity, tomatoes are borderline when it comes to canning without a pressure canner. (NOTE: a pressure cooker is not the same as a pressure canner so don’t try this with your InstaPot) By adding citric acid or lemon juice, you’ll be fine using a hot water bath. For what it’s worth, I’ve never used a pressure canner for my tomatoes. A simple stock pot will work fine for 4-5-quart jars.I don’t have the time. You think I’ve got extra time? When you want tomato sauce in the winter that doesn’t taste watered down you make the time. The last two days I’ve been up until midnight filling my hutch with jars of tomato puree, BBQ sauce and ketchup. Still on my to-do list are sauce and whole tomatoes. I queue up a good audio book, listen to music, and catch up with conversations on the phone. Tomato season is not the time to be a couch potato.It’s too hot. On this one, I must agree, but sacrifices folks…sacrifices. In the past I have frozen tomatoes whole and then canned them in the colder months, but somehow the sun-kissed flavor failed to translate using this method.Speaking of freezing, if you’re not up for canning, sauces and purees can be frozen in freezer-proof containers and bags. But before you begin, make sure you have enough space in your freezer. For me, that’s the biggest advantage of processing in glass jars—no refrigeration or freezer needed—and the jars are beautiful.