CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — 2020 is the first year in ages that we have grown more than a few tomato plants in our garden, and the hot weather has been good to them. Suddenly, the vines are heavy with ripening fruit, in quantities large enough to process for use when this summer’s heat is but a memory.
What to make with them? Stewed tomatoes can be used in so many ways; I definitely want to have some of those on hand. Tomato sauce is perfect for the pasta dishes that we love, as well as dishes like eggplant or chicken parmigiana. You need salsa to accompany Mexican-style tacos or quesadillas, and sweet and tangy chili sauce is a delicious accent for meatloaf, or cold meat and fried potatoes. How about fresh tomato soup for the freezer for a taste of summer on a cool day? Do I have to decide? Maybe we have enough ripe tomatoes to make some of each.
It’s easy to grab a bottle of stewed tomatoes from the pantry shelf, and there’s no waiting for them to defrost. When preparing to can them, it is important to know that the acidity of tomatoes varies considerably. The recipe you use should contain a bit of bottled lemon juice to supplement the natural acidity of the tomatoes and ensure that they can be safely processed in a boiling water canner.
You can adjust the heat in this salsa by varying the number of jalapenos.
Southwest Salsa
Adapted from Topp, Ellie and Margaret Howard: More Put a Lid on it! Small-Batch Preserving Year Round. Macmillan Canada, Toronto, 1999.
1 L (4 cups) chopped peeled tomatoes (about 1 kg/2 lb)
250 mL (1 cup) chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
125 mL (½ cup) chopped sweet red pepper
2-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
125 mL (½ cup) red wine vinegar
50 mL (¼ cup) chopped fresh cilantro
25 mL (2 tbsp) orange juice
15 mL (1 tbsp) lime juice
5 mL (1 tsp) each of granulated sugar and pickling salt
50 mL (¼ cup) tomato paste
Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers, vinegar, cilantro, orange and lime juice, sugar and salt in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste and cook for two minutes.
Ladle salsa into hot, clean canning jars, to within 1 cm (1/2 inch) of rim. Cover with new snap lids, and process in boiling water canner for 20 minutes for 250 mL (half-pint) jars or 500 mL (pint) jars.
Makes 1 L (4 cups).
I’ll be using this recipe for chili sauce. It’s a modern-tested recipe, using a traditional ingredient list.
Classic Chili Sauce
Adapted from Canadian Living: The Complete Preserving Book. Transcontinental Books, Montreal, 2012.
2 L (8 cups) chopped peeled tomatoes (about 2.025 kg/4½ lb)
375 mL (1½ cups) chopped onions
375 mL (1½ cups) chopped sweet red pepper
375 mL (1½ cups) white vinegar
250 mL (1 cup) chopped sweet green pepper
250 mL (1 cup) chopped celery
175 mL (¾ cup) granulated sugar (approx.)
15 mL (1 tbsp) finely chopped hot pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
5 mL (1 tsp) salt
5 mL (1 tsp) mustard seeds
2 mL (½ tsp) EACH celery seeds, ground cloves and cinnamon
1 mL (¼ tsp) EACH ground ginger and pepper
pinch cayenne pepper (approx.)
In large heavy saucepan, combine tomatoes, onions, red pepper, vinegar, green pepper, celery, sugar, hot pepper, garlic, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cayenne pepper.
Bring to a boil, stirring often; reduce heat and simmer briskly, stirring often, until thickened, about one hour. Taste and add up to 60 mL (¼ cup) more sugar and a little more cayenne, if desired.
Pack into hot 250 mL (1 cup) canning jars, leaving 1 cm (½ inch) headspace. Remove any air bubbles.
Cover with prepared disks. Screw on bands until resistance is met; increase to fingertip tight. Boil in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
Turn off heat. Uncover and let jars stand in canner for five minutes. Lift up rack. With canning tongs, transfer jars to cooling rack; let cool for 24 hours.
Makes about 1.5 L (6 cups).
Margaret Prouse, a home economist, writes this column for The Guardian every Friday.