Forgive the interference, but this is bigger than 'how to eat beans'??
moonbells - great report. As to bottling, should you not add citric acid or lemon juice to get pH4.6?? Too late I remembered the 'second squeeze' - I think I could have achieved another 1/2 cup, at least.
snail - maybe moonbells can add to that point, but my machine (repeat photo) has to have a different mesh for each fruit. The tomato one is 1mm.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/pulper.jpg
Tim forgive my ignorance of preserving tomatoes but why is it necessary to remove the seeds? Is it something to do with that seeds effect the storage capability or is it purely aesthetics?
They get stuck in your teeth?
Wardy - in many cases I don't bother. but sieving purées has been around since Pontius was a Pilot. And it does make a luxury offering. But I only do it when I have enough toms to make it worth getting the machine out.
Tim - yes, I totally forgot to add citric acid, dozy crow that I am.
I am tempted to crack open the bottles, reheat the passata with some citric acid put it back and then resterilise them.
Got some more cherry toms today so might have another jar by the time I'm done ;)
Tim - your pulper doesn't look terribly different to the one I bought. I hadn't realised you already had one like that. My mesh is exactly 2mm (just measured it) so I suspect yours is better!!!!
I shall shut up now - and wish I'd got one like you...
moonbells
Fired by your enthusiasm for preserving toms I picked loads of little cherry toms yesterday to turn into sauce
Tim - where did you get your machine from? I'd love to get one like that.
wardy - sacrilege! Sweet little cherry toms mushed into a sauce? Roast 20 min with a drizzle of olive oil - a bit of torn basil half way through - till starting to caramelise. Freeze if you have to. Much more fitting an end for such delicacies?? Or in a kebab?
jenny - I was afraid someone would ask that. Bought many years ago &, a week or so ago, thought I wouldn't need the box again, so used it to post something in!!
Mail order, but can't find anything like it on the net.
PERSEVERANCE!!
'Deseeder' - not 'juicer' or 'pulper' -
http://www.kitchenemporium.com/cgi-bin/kitchen/prod/vw200.html
Expensive? It cost me dollars=pounds I think. But great!
Thank you very much for that Tim, very helpful.
Hi Tim....I've been looking for a fruit pulper, and your picture suggests those old meat grinders with seperate mesh blocks and a winding handle.Always see them in auctions and bric- a -brac shops.
Tim
Sorry about that! I have been doiing as you suggest and serving them to breakfast guests (leaving the stalk on) and they do look very nice on the plate :)
Even better for dinner leaving a whole load on the vine and then roasting them drizzled in oil and thyme etc
Lovely
Great looking tool that Tim
ken -Â I know what you mean - we have one - but no - this has a worm gear that progressively squeezes the pulp through the cylindrical mesh 'sleeve'.
Lucky guests, wardy! Your supper dish is right out of River Café!
Where did this thread start?
I'd like to know how to bottle tomatoes. I'm trying to save room in the freezer for other things!
And Wardy - if you have any left, don't forget Delia's roast ratatouille?? She uses cherries.
Aqui - if you can trust me with your address, I'll mail you the HMSO guide?
5 pages!
Or, meanwhile, start at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_intro.html
We always pressure cook.
Tim Thanks for that. The ratatouille looks fantastic - just where I'm coming from food wise. All in the one dish too which makes it even better :) I shall certainly be doing that with my one and only aubergine ;D
Aubs? Who cares? Potato, celeriac, fennel, carrots, artichokes, parsnips, swedes ...............& call it roast veg??
Exactly! A man after my own heart Tim. Whatever is available goes in. In my case there'll be some squash in it too
Cooked this dish tonight Tim and can't believe I forgot to include my one and only aub and courgettes. My husband said "oh look, no courgette" Cheeky so and so ;D
Oh. yes!!
Quote from: aquilegia on September 29, 2005, 13:35:48
Where did this thread start?
I'd like to know how to bottle tomatoes. I'm trying to save room in the freezer for other things!
Pulp your tomatoes, add 1/4tsp citric acid per pound of tomato, add seasonings to taste and bring to a simmer to reduce the juice a bit. Meanwhile, boil water in a pan large enough to take all your bottles with an inch of water covering the lids and standing on a rack. (I use a stockpot.) Take sterilised jars (put to dry in oven on lowest heat for 15-20 mins after washing thoroughly; boil the lids) and pour in your pulp/passata, put on the lids until they stop turning but do not tighten (don't forget to use oven gloves or you'll burn!) and gently lower (I use a ladle!) into the water bath. Beware of sticking fingertips into the water - I gave myself a blister the other week thanks to that! Boil/simmer for 15-20 minutes, fish out with the ladle, tighten lids and leave on one side to go cold.
The caveat with canning: occasionally a jar will explode. This is usually due to the air inside the jar expanding and not being able to get out. Ensuring lids are only on enough to stop water getting in before you put into the bath will help prevent that. But it's as well to have the bath's lid tied on just in case!
You can do passata, ratatouille, fruit... I bottle gooseberries and rhubarb each year, as you can do it in syrup and then when you want a pie or crumble all you do is reach for a jarful... they bottle really well as they're very acidic - that helps the preserving as well as the sugar syrup.
moonbells
Succinct - & it works!
My offerings were to show the safety factors in timing etc & to give options of processing methods - including pressure cooking, which is our norm.
Explosions? Only if you don't follow the guide lines?
Quote from: tim on October 02, 2005, 10:18:38
Succinct - & it works!
My offerings were to show the safety factors in timing etc & to give options of processing methods - including pressure cooking, which is our norm.
Explosions? Only if you don't follow the guide lines?
I haven't ever had one explode - thank goodness. Though I have been known to use gauntlets and eye protection goggles when fishing out jars in case! From observation, if you leave half an inch of air gap at the top of your jars, and when you put them in the water, air starts bubbling out from under the lid, then you'll be fine as there's obviously a way out to prevent pressure building up.
Just don't leave them in the water to cool off as that can suck water back in, which may be contaminated. Fish out as soon as they are done!
Never tried the pressure cooker as it's not deep enough for the jars I've been using unless I put them on their sides. Not sure if you're allowed to do that?
Guidelines say tomato puree takes 10 minutes. I did it for more; after all, it's simmered beforehand so extra minutes won't hurt and may just get rid of any persistent nasties. Better safe than sorry, but that's just my take. Ratatouille I did for a long time too; l couldn't find official instructions and assumed it had the heat transfer of a bottle of gooseberries as it's similarly lumpy and so did it for 20-25m.
moonbells
Thanks Moonbells - very useful and quite simple. I'll give it a go.
Tim - I'd better have those safety instructions, just in case! Will PM you. Thanks.