Drstratton - My Backyard Journey Journal

[drstratton]

Just make sure you slip the skins while they're still frozen.

Thanks, I can see where that could be a problem. Do you also let them completely thaw before canning them?

 

[thistlebloom]

Yes.

 

[drstratton]

Yes.

Thank you!

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, as they thaw, you will get water runoff from them, the cell walls burst when they freeze, and this water means that there is less water to "cook off" as you cook down for sauce or paste. Haven't heard that there is any nutrient loss in the water that you drain off.

 

[drstratton]

Yeah, as they thaw, you will get water runoff from them, the cell walls burst when they freeze, and this water means that there is less water to "cook off" as you cook down for sauce or paste. Haven't heard that there is any nutrient loss in the water that you drain off.

I was thinking about that & I think that you would probably lose some nutrients, because when you boil it down, the water evaporates & would leave more nutrients behind as apposed to just draining it off. I just don't know if it would be enough to worry about, but I don't think it would be.

 

[Baymule]

I quarter and core the tomatoes, then put in a bag and freeze. I don't thaw them out to cook. I put them in a big pot on low heat. I poured off the water one year and canned it. I used it for cooking beans, soup, and stew. It did make cooking the tomatoes thicker, but I noticed a lack of tomato taste-it went out in the tomato water.

when the tomatoes are cooked, I mash them through a strainer

Old Tomato/Berry Strainer

I hauled out my old tomato/berry strainer yesterday to remove seeds from some roma tomatoes I was given. I cooked them on low heat for a bit, along with some cherry tomatoes I grew, then poured them in the strainer. I froze the juice for now, until I get the 2nd round of squash to go in soup...

www.sufficientself.com

I return the juice to a pot and cook it down. I generally reduce it by half. Then I can it or I can start adding stuff to make salsa, spaghetti sauce, soup or whatever.

 

[Bruce]

23 very happy Chickens!!!

Very happy indeed!!

Finally enough tomatoes to can! We've had a lot of cucumbers, but this is the biggest so far! 1

Wow you are way ahead of us. I have a few green tomatoes on the vine and a couple of cuke flowers.
Are you anywhere near Pasco? I have relatives there, getting a bit distant now I guess since originally it was my Dad's cousin, his wife and their boys. Cousin and wife have passed and come to think of it the boys must be getting pretty ancient as well since I was only there once as a teen about 50 years ago and the boys were a couple of years older than me.

 

[drstratton]

I quarter and core the tomatoes, then put in a bag and freeze. I don't thaw them out to cook. I put them in a big pot on low heat. I poured off the water one year and canned it. I used it for cooking beans, soup, and stew. It did make cooking the tomatoes thicker, but I noticed a lack of tomato taste-it went out in the tomato water.

when the tomatoes are cooked, I mash them through a strainer

Old Tomato/Berry Strainer

I hauled out my old tomato/berry strainer yesterday to remove seeds from some roma tomatoes I was given. I cooked them on low heat for a bit, along with some cherry tomatoes I grew, then poured them in the strainer. I froze the juice for now, until I get the 2nd round of squash to go in soup...

www.sufficientself.com

I return the juice to a pot and cook it down. I generally reduce it by half. Then I can it or I can start adding stuff to make salsa, spaghetti sauce, soup or whatever.

Thank you Bay! Good to know about pouring off the water. I have a strainer similar to yours...they do an amazing job!

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

and I can can when the season slows down.

Will you post a video here when you do that?

 

[drstratton]

Very happy indeed!!


Wow you are way ahead of us. I have a few green tomatoes on the vine and a couple of cuke flowers.
Are you anywhere near Pasco? I have relatives there, getting a bit distant now I guess since originally it was my Dad's cousin, his wife and their boys. Cousin and wife have passed and come to think of it the boys must be getting pretty ancient as well since I was only there once as a teen about 50 years ago and the boys were a couple of years older than me.

We live about an hour from Pasco, in fact we lived in Kennewick before we moved to where we are now. That's where I still do the majority of my shopping!