Tomatoes

When tomatoes are plentiful, and you just have too many to eat fresh, here are some basic ways to put up and store your bounty. A really important thing to remember is that you should NEVER refridgerate your fresh garden tomatoes! Refridgeration causes the interior to break down, and the tomato will be mushy inside and lose it's texture. Only refridgerate if you absolutely have to, and once refridgerated I prefer to use those for cooking only.

Make sure you always use the most up to date canning information, which can be found in books published at least within the past 15 years or so. There are old canning books that say tomatoes can be canned without using a boiling water bath canner (not true) or canning with other ingrediants added without using a pressure canner (not true). Steam canners are NOT recommended by the USDA.

As long as you are only canning red, ripe tomatoes and just a few herbs, you can use a boiling water bath canner for processing. You must use red, ripe tomatoes, as the acid content is what allows you to can these safely. All utensils and jars must be sterilized. A great book with very detailed instructions is called "Putting Food By".

A boiling water canner must be large enough to cover canning jars with water by at least 2" at a rolling boil.

This is the type of pressure canner I use. It has served me well for over 20 years.

Make sure a boiling water bath canner is large enough to cover your jars with at least 2" of water at a rolling boil.

Drying tomatoes is really easy with an electric dryer, and although you will still have to store the end product in your freezer, you can fit a lot of tomatoes into a 1 quart bagged once dried, and the intense tomato flavor of dried tomatoes can't be beat!

Cooked tomatoes freeze very well. I make a vegetable stew when I have tons of tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant and toss them all into a big pot and simmer with onion, garlic and fresh basil. Another quick trick is to freeze tomatoes whole. You just wash and cut out the core, pop them into a freezer bag, and when you need some for a recipe thaw them under warm water and the skins pull right off.

When tomatoes and basil are at their prime, this simpl easy summer pasta dish is just perfect.

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		WHAT TO DO WITH TOO MANY TOMATOES.
		When tomatoes are plentiful, and you just have too many to eat fresh, here are some basic ways to put up and store your bounty. A really important thing to remember is that you should NEVER refridgerate your fresh garden tomatoes! Refridgeration causes the interior to break down, and the tomato will be mushy inside and lose it's texture. Only refridgerate if you absolutely have to, and once refridgerated I prefer to use those for cooking only. Make sure you always use the most up to date canning information, which can be found in books published at least within the past 15 years or so. There are old canning books that say tomatoes can be canned without using a boiling water bath canner (not true) or canning with other ingrediants added without using a pressure canner (not true). Steam canners are NOT recommended by the USDA. CANNING As long as you are only canning red, ripe tomatoes and just a few herbs, you can use a boiling water bath canner for processing. You must use red, ripe tomatoes, as the acid content is what allows you to can these safely. All utensils and jars must be sterilized. A great book with very detailed instructions is called "Putting Food By". A boiling water canner must be large enough to cover canning jars with water by at least 2" at a rolling boil. This is the type of pressure canner I use. It has served me well for over 20 years. Make sure a boiling water bath canner is large enough to cover your jars with at least 2" of water at a rolling boil. DRYING Drying tomatoes is really easy with an electric dryer, and although you will still have to store the end product in your freezer, you can fit a lot of tomatoes into a 1 quart bagged once dried, and the intense tomato flavor of dried tomatoes can't be beat! FREEZING Cooked tomatoes freeze very well. I make a vegetable stew when I have tons of tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant and toss them all into a big pot and simmer with onion, garlic and fresh basil. Another quick trick is to freeze tomatoes whole. You just wash and cut out the core, pop them into a freezer bag, and when you need some for a recipe thaw them under warm water and the skins pull right off. MY FAVORITE RECIPE When tomatoes and basil are at their prime, this simpl easy summer pasta dish is just perfect. TOMATO, BASIL AND GARLIC PASTA WITH MOZZERELLA 2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta spirals 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 perfect tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 4 ounces diced mozzerella cheese Fresh ground black pepper Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute garlic in olive oil until just barely brown. Pour into a large serving bowl, making sure you get the garlic flavored oil, too. Add diced tomatoes, basil and cheese. Toss in cooked pasta. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste. Serves 3-4.