HARDY PLANTS

Preparing tomato sauce for winter.

Towards the end of August, the tomato season will slowly come to an end.
Every 3 or 4 days since mid-July, we’ve been processing a few kilos into tomato sauce for the winter.

The typical one-day harvest is often between 2 and 4 kilos.
At the end of August, the plants have already given a lot and are starting to tire.
Especially in the greenhouse, the long heatwave has burnt most of the leaves. But the last tomatoes are still ripening.
And there are still some spectacular examples, 700 grams for this Coeur de Boeuf variety tomato.
The other side of the garden is still very green, with peppers and zucchinis.
If necessary, let the tomatoes ripen in the dry shade, sometimes for a few days.
To prepare the sauce, we select around 4 kilos of ripe tomatoes. Any damaged or green parts are removed.
Soak them in boiling water before bringing to the boil.
In just a few minutes, the skin peels off.
After letting them drain well and cool, they are put in the press.
A simple plastic hand-cranked device.
It separates the pulp from the skin and seeds very efficiently.
Everything is passed through, once or several times, to extract all the pulp.
Depending on the tomato variety, you can obtain 2 to 3 liters. Add a little olive oil and a handful of salt.
Mix, then bake for 30 minutes.
Vials and instruments were sterilized in advance.
Make sure you have all the containers and caps you need before you start.
Fill with the hot sauce and seal the jars immediately.
Final pasteurization with full jars.
Boil for at least an hour, checking that the water still covers the corks.
Here are a few more jars in the storeroom.
And the next tomatoes await their turn.

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