I made a double batch of ketchup (12 lbs. of tomatoes), and the rest of the tomatoes went into tomato soup.
I am afraid that neither ketchup nor soup is as thick as Rebecca's, so my idea is to open up a jar in winter as I need it and let it cook down on the stove as I putter around the kitchen. I do really love a warm kitchen full of good smells. I look forward to that aspect of my winter kitchen.
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| the ketchup |
The tomatoes that I bought were definitely what is called "canning tomatoes" around here, or "seconds" elsewhere. They had some rotten spots. I cut away anything obviously black or seeping, and then I sniffed the tomato to see if I'd gotten all the smelly, bad flesh. I've found that tomatoes can be very tricky to see where the good leaves off from the bad, so I depend on my nose to sniff out the difference. My mom taught me to do this.
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| the bad spots (ewwww) |
I've been slowed down this week by a bad cold and fever, but I'm on my feet again and tomorrow is pimento-canning day!
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| left to right: tile saw with box, kids' paper detritus, cooling jars of tomato soup, a few jars of pickled peppers, canning notebook, and pressure canner; busy place around here |
5 comments:
All your busyness is making me feel like a loafer. ;)
Homemade ketchup - interesting! It will smell so good in the winter.
Curious about the pimento canning now! Going to have a look at the link.
beth, I hope you're joking with all the quilts you turn out :)
We've been talking about making our own ketchup. I shall have to try that recipe myself. Ah, canning season...so much to do!
I've recently canned tomatoes for the first time myself, and after watching numerous videos, another woman mentioned sniffing her tomatoes and that was what her mother had taught her about finding a good one. I will have to be sure to remember this for next year.
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