Preserved Tomato PurÉe Recipes

PRESERVED ROASTED TOMATO PURéE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Core and halve tomatoes and scoop out seeds and gel. Pile tomatoes into a large roasting pan, or on 2 sheet pans, cut side up. Do not add oil.
• Roast tomatoes for 2 hours. Thoroughly purée tomatoes using a blender or immersion blender. It should be smooth and velvety, with no pieces.
• Put a rack in a large stockpot or line pot with a folded kitchen towel, then fill pot with water and bring to a boil. Add pint jars and boil for 10 minutes. Jars may be left in warm water until ready to fill. Alternatively, sterilize jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle, keeping them warm in the machine.
• Place canning rings in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and add flat lids to soften their rubber gaskets. Rings and lids may be left in water until jars are filled.
• In a nonreactive pan, bring purée to a brisk boil for 5 minutes. Ladle hot tomato purée into warm jars leaving 1/2 inch head space, plus room to accommodate lemon juice. If using citric acid, fill to 1/2 inch head space.
• Into every pint jar, add one tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. If using salt, add 1/2 teaspoon to each pint jar.
• Wipe jar rims clean with a damp towel. Place lids on jars, screw on rings and lower jars upright into boiling water. Return to a full boil and process for 35 minutes. Transfer jars to a folded towel and let cool for 12 hours. Jars will ping as they seal. Once cool, test seals by removing rings and lifting jars by flat lids. If a lid releases, the seal has not formed. Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within three days or reprocessed. Rings and jars may be reused, but a new flat lid must be used each time.

PRESERVED TOMATO PURéE

Steps:

• Peel, core and roughly chop tomatoes. Put in a large nonreactive pot, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Purée through medium disc of a food mill to remove skins and most seeds.
• Put a rack in a large stockpot or line pot with a folded kitchen towel, then fill with water and bring to a boil. Add quart or pint jars and boil 10 minutes. Jars may be left in warm water until ready to fill. Alternatively, sterilize jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle, keeping them warm in the machine.
• Place canning rings in small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and add flat lids to soften rubber gaskets. Rings and lids may be left in water until jars are filled.
• Bring purée to a boil, then down to a sturdy simmer and cook to reduce by one third, about 30 minutes. Ladle hot purée into warm jars, leaving a little more than 1/2 inch head space to accommodate lemon juice. If using citric acid, fill to 1/2 inch head space.
• Into every quart jar, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid. For pints, use one tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. If using salt, add 1 teaspoon to each quart or 1/2 teaspoon to each pint jar.
• Wipe jar rims clean with a damp towel. Place lids on jars, screw on rings and lower jars upright into pot of boiling water. Return to a full boil and process for 45 minutes for quarts or 35 minutes for pints. If there are mixed sizes, process for the longer time. Transfer jars to a folded towel and let cool for 12 hours. Jars will ping as they seal.
• Once cool, test the seals by removing rings and lifting jars by their flat lids. If a lid releases, the seal has not formed. Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within one week or reprocessed. Rings and jars may be reused, but a new flat lid must be used each time.

TOMATO PRESERVES

Steps:

• Slice an x in the top of each tomato. Place in a pot of boiling water until skin begins to peel off. Immediately place in a bowl of ice water. Slough off skin and remove stem button.
• Weigh tomatoes and place in a non reactive bowl (plastic or glass). Gently squeeze tomatoes by hand or with a wooden spoon to release juice. Add an equal weight of sugar. Let stand for 12 hours.
• When ready to cook, place two metal teaspoons in the freezer.
• Drain juice into a large sauce pan. Boil until the syrup thickens and falls of a spoon in heavy drops. Approximately 20 minutes.
• Rough chop the tomatoes and add to the thickened syrup. Grate the lemon zest and add to the syrup. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into the syrup. Add the ginger or cinnamon.
• Boil mixture until thick for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To test for doneness, remove one spoon from the freezer. With the spoon you used to stir the preserves remove a small amount of jam and pour into the frozen spoon. Tilt the frozen spoon over the pot, if the preserves pour off in large thick drops it is done. If it pours off quickly, boil for another few minutes and retest with the other frozen spoon.
• Remove ginger or cinnamon. Put preserves in sterilized jars and boil in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.

TOMATO PURéE, OR, AS WE CALL IT, THE PRESERVE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to the boil on high heath.
• Throw into the pot the San Marzano tomatoes previously washed (you can do this in more batches, according to the quantity of the tomatoes and to the size of the pot you chose).
• Let the water resume the boil and after 2 - 3 minutes remove the tomatoes and put them in a clean large cotton cloth.
• Prick the tomatoes with a fork and then close the cloth to form a bag, as pictured above.
• Hang the bag so that it can drain all the water, squeezing it often with your hands.
• After about 2 to 3 hours, when the tomatoes have lost all the water, pass them through a vegetable mill using the finest sieve.
• Collect the tomato purée in a bowl, then pour it into sterilized bottles or jars, adding a few leaves of basil.

HOW TO MAKE TOMATO PUREE

Steps:

• Gather fresh tomatoes. Any variety will work. Plum tomatoes are commonly used for tomato purees.
• Remove any leaves and stems from the tomatoes and rinse off dirt. Cut the stem area off the top of the tomato, then cross-cut a slit into the bottom of the tomato. This promotes even cooking and makes it easier to peel the tomato skins off later.
• Boil a large pot of water.
• Add the tomatoes and cook for 5-15 minutes.
• Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and put them into a pot of cold water. Leave them in the cold water for 5 minutes or until the skins begin to split. This is called blanching and loosens the skin for easy peeling.
• Peel the skins off the tomatoes if you do not want them in your puree and discard. Some people leave the skins on and allow them to be pureed.
• Cut the tomatoes in half. Remove the seeds and juice if you do not want those parts. This is optional.
• Puree the tomatoes in a food processor. If you have removed the juice and seeds, you will have a thicker puree and it will be a darker red color.
• Boil the pureed tomatoes with 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of sugar (optional) and 1 tablespoon of salt per 2 lbs. (1 Kg) of fresh tomatoes. This entire step is optional, but will allow the tomato puree to keep longer. Some cooks prefer to use the pure tomato puree and not add the other ingredients. You can also add sauteed onions and/or green peppers to cook with the tomato puree. Simmer the puree until you have the desired consistency. This time can vary depending on the type of tomato you are using. The time frame can range from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the lid after the first 20 minutes to allow the puree to cool down.
• Store your homemade tomato puree in small-to- medium-sized containers. If you are planning on storing the puree for a long period, be sure to follow proper preserving guidelines, such as creating a proper acidic balance, reheating to a boil before storage and using clean storage jars to avoid bacteria growth. Another way to store the puree is to freeze it in an ice cube tray and store the frozen puree cubes in a bag in your freezer. This takes up less space and allows you to access varying amounts of puree as needed.

TOMATO PUREE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Starting with clean, dry tomatoes, halve smaller tomatoes and roughly chop larger tomatoes. The tomatoes are going to be pureed, so they don't need to be chopped evenly; cutting allows the tomatoes to release their liquid and cook down faster.
• Put all the tomatoes in a pot.
• Over medium-high heat, bring them to a boil. As the temperature in the pot increases, the tomatoes will release some of their liquid, providing their own liquid in which to cook. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady and active simmer (gentle small bubbles should pop up here and there). Cook, stirring frequently until the tomatoes start to break down, for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Let the mixture cool for at least 5 minutes. Run the tomato mixture through a food mill or whirl quickly in a blender or food processor.
• Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds and bits of skin; this also makes for a smooth puree.
• If the tomato puree is thin and looks watery, you can return the puree to the pot, bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until it reduces to the texture you want, stirring often. Taste it along the way-you want a nice, bright tomato flavor along with a smooth and slightly thick texture.
• Transfer the puree to sealable container(s), leaving an inch of headroom, and chill or freeze until ready to use.
• Bring a large canning kettle full of water to a boil.
• Sterilize the pint jars by boiling them for 10 minutes.
• Allow the jars to air dry.
• Soften the lids by simmering them for a few minutes.
• Put 1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon lemon juice in each pint jar.
• Return the puree to the stove and bring back to a simmer.
• Fill each jar with the hot tomato puree, leaving about 1/2-inch headspace at the top of each jar.
• Set the lids on the jars and secure them with the rings.
• Lower the jars into the canning kettle and boil for 40 minutes. The jars should be covered by at least 1-inch of water.
• Remove the jars and let cool.