It’s mid-August, and despite visits from both daughters, each of whom left with a huge bag of veggies (their very own Waccabuc CSA), we’re still overwhelmed. All the tomatoes apparently decided to ripen simultaneously, the zucchini withstood the voracious squash bugs and are still producing, the new stand of cukes is almost ready, the old stand still yields 6 or 8 daily, and the beans are about to explode.
... And a ridiculous amount of tomatoes!!
Only one thing to do: can.
Last weekend I did another round of pickles – both cucumber and zucchini. Today was tomato sauce day. And time for a bit of experimentation. We tried a new variety of sauce tomatoes this year called Cuore de Bue (on the left in the photo above). That's Italian for "oxheart" which they must resemble, though I've never seen one, so I can't confirm. They also look somewhat like a pouch, with a bulbous bottom and gathered top, and are supposed to be a particularly tasty sauce tomato. On the right above is a variety called "Green Zebra," no translation necessary. They're great eating tomatoes and make a really pretty plate next to our other hybrids -- both red and yellow. I've never made sauce out of them, but we have so many I decided to give it a try.
Canning tomatoes is quite the process, taking the better part of the day. Once they're picked and scrubbed, they need to be peeled and seeded, which can take forever unless you take a shortcut I discovered after too many seasons standing too many hours peeling and seeding. Instead, of deconstructing each individual tomato, I simply quarter them -- skin, seeds and all. Then I cook them til they're soft, and put them through an amazingly low-tech kitchen gadget called a Foley Food Mill, which forces the pulp through small holes while leaving the skin and seeds behind.
Once it's been through the mill (so to speak), the sauce needs to cook down and thicken for about an hour, and I generally taste it a few times to make sure it's the right consistency before putting it into the jars. I was delighted to discover that the Oxheart was as rich and thick as promised. More surprisingly, I also discovered that the Green Zebra sauce could cause severe cognitive dissonance. It looks green, but tastes red. And because it looks green, you instinctively brace for a flavor somewhere between avocado and celery -- until your tongue goes "WTF?! -- that's tomato!!" It's a very tasty one, of course, but it's really weird. We're going to try it on some gnocchi tonight -- and brace for pesto expectations followed by tomato reality.
Until then, I continue the process, putting the sauce into sterilized Ball jars, applying lids and screw tops. From there, they go into a roiling hot water bath for a full 30 minutes, which does a pretty good job of steaming up the kitchen. And of course, this only happens during August.
Half an hour later and the jars are ready. One of the most satisfying things about canning is hearing the "pop" of the lids sealing as the jars cool down, announcing that the vacuum is complete and I don't have to worry about botulism or killing anyone when I use the sauce. Happily, they all popped immediately and loudly. All 11 1/2 pints safe and sound!
Not quite enough to get us through the winter, but it's a good start. I'll let you know how the Green Zebra sauce works out!