Enjoy your own homemade tomato preserve all year round

When tomatoes arrive suddenly with the hot season and you get tired of so many gazpachos and tomato salads, You can keep them in different ways: drying them in the sun or with an electric dehydrator, preparing jams (the tomato paste is original and highly prized) or canned under vacuum, both raw and cooked, alone or with vegetables.

It is not necessary to have land in the town to enjoy these homemade preserves because you can also grow tomato plants on balconies and terraces in cities or simply take advantage of the local tomatoes that the market offers.

Tomato preserves allow take advantage of surpluses from the garden, extend the enjoyment of the “real tomato” ripened in the sun and achieve culinary self-sufficiency by having a good pantry fund to consume the sauces or preserves in numerous recipes throughout the year.

In addition, you ensure the naturalness of your products because no need to add sugar or any preservatives. Home preserves are 100% tomato.

Materials needed to prepare tomato preserves

Good seasonal tomatoes. Some people prefer the pear variety, but it may be anotherA wide and large casserole or frying panA funnelGlass jars sterilized in the dishwasher or previously boiledPreferably new or boiled lids if they are reusedA casserole or pressure cooker for the final bain-marie

How to prepare the raw tomato preserve

We can preserve the raw tomato whole, sliced ​​or crushed. Many people prefer it that way, without cooking, as a base for their stews. In this case we have to peel the tomatoes because that way they will release their own juice and they will keep better and, in addition, it will be more convenient to use later.

How to peel tomatoes

The key is to peel the tomatoes quickly and easily, and this will depend on the amount we want to prepare. For few kilos, the tomato peelers (like potato ones, but with a serrated edge) are ideal because they cling perfectly to its slippery skin, even when it is very ripe, and it peels it easily.

But when we face a “tomato”, we can tackle it by blanching all the tomatoes at a time in a large pot of boiling water or in several batches.

The process is as follows: a superficial cut is made with the knife in the shape of a cross on the base of the tomatoes, they are submerged for a minute maximum in a saucepan with boiling water, remove them with a slotted spoon and carefully remove the skin that has not come off on its own.

One trick is to pass the blanched tomatoes to a container with cold water and ice and, due to the temperature contrast, the skin separates easily.

fill the jars

For the whole raw tomato preserve, we simply fill the glass jars with the peeled tomatoes squeezing with a wooden spoon or a mortar so that they can fit more and release their own water, which is where they will be preserved.

It doesn’t matter if any tomato breaks or cracks because when we open the pot, we’re going to cook them anyway.

When we fill the pot with tomatoes to the top and are covered by the liquid we close with the lid.

For the preservation of chopped raw tomato, Once the tomatoes are peeled, we cut them the size we want and fill the jars, also squeezing so that they release their own juice.

And in the case of crushed raw tomato, once peeled, we can pass them with a homemade potato mill or, if we make large quantities, we can use an appliance specially designed for tomato canning, called the “tomato press” or “tomato juicer”, which can crush more quantity and at the same time separate pulp skin. It also works for other types of cooked vegetables or fruit.

Then, with a funnel, fill the jars with the crushed tomato, and close well.

Sterilization

All that remains is to boil the tomato boats (whether whole, chopped or crushed) in boiling water for more than 20 minutes, in a conventional casserole or in a pressure cooker, to achieve sterilization and a long conservation without risks.

After 20 minutes, we took the boats out of the pot and Let them cool upside down.

How to prepare a fried tomato preserve

If the most cooks bet on the raw tomato as the base of their recipes, the most practical choose to have it already fried and simply heat it up and that’s it.

There are as many versions of fried tomato sauce as there are homes. Some prefer it only with tomato and oil and others with a variety of accompaniments such as garlic, onion, carrots, peppers, other vegetables, basil, oregano…

For the sauce recipe Fried tomato “minimalist” we need ripe raw tomatoes, little extra virgin olive oil and fine sea salt.

Preparation:

Wash the tomatoes and remove the stem with a knife, but do not peel them because we will pass them through the potato mill after cooking and all the little skins and seeds will be easily removed. In this way, we will save time and the recipe is simpler.Cut the tomatoes into wedges or medium-sized pieces and place them in a large casserole or frying pan with the bottom lightly covered in olive oil.Salt and let fry over low heat for long time, from one hour to two hours, depending on the type of kitchen (flame, ceramic hob or induction) and the amount we make. Stir from time to time with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking, especially at the end when There is little water left from the tomatoes. We cook until we see that a lot of water has evaporated and the content of the casserole has been reduced. We will notice the mark of the reduced tomato on the walls, at least three fingers of mark. Some people like a more liquid texture and others like a thicker one because it looks very natural. The less cooking time, the more liquid it will be. Using a saucepan, transfer the fried tomato to the potato mill or tomato press on another clean and wide container. You have to “squeeze” the fried tomato well so that we only remove the skins and make the most of it.

The homemade fried tomato can be kept for several weeks in the fridge, but it must be bottled to enjoy the preserves for more than a year.

To make the preserve, fill the jars with the fried tomato, close them well and boil them in a water bath for a minimum of 20 minutes to eliminate all microorganisms. The express pot is a better option because it reaches more degrees and offers greater security.

After that time we will remove them from the pot and let them cool upside down. When the preserve cools the vacuum is made inside the boats and this hermetic seal prevents the entry of air that could contaminate the product.

Thanks to these preserves we can enjoy our favorite tomato sauces all year round with the maximum naturalness and minimum ingredients and without any unpronounceable additive. The good customs and flavors of yesteryear can continue to pass from generation to generation…