Can I freeze tomatoes until I have enough to can a batch?

[Omelet]

Have you ever grown Romas? I have. The home garden ones are much richer and sweeter. ;-d

My favorite are plum tomatoes.

Even sweet 100's can be peeled and stored. They are so small, blanch them and pop them out of the entire skin with a gentle pinch. Not as much work as you'd imagine.

See above. :-)

There never is, and probably never will be, a good comparison in flavor between store bought and vine ripe tomatoes. The only ones that come close are the cluster "on the vine" tomatoes that our local store sells. They are worth the premium price, but I'd still rather hit the local farmers market if I've none of my own on hand.

If I over-produce (which is common for tomatoes in season sometimes), I'll just use the smaller pressure cooker and can a few in a couple of 1 pint jars.

[Billy]

Good mustard is like horse radish. It should make your eyes water and you should feel the heat in your nose.

Pesto pasta rocks, no argument here:o)

But what about store bought cooked vs. homegrown cooked. I can't remember a difference like I can fresh. Can You?

[Omelet]

I'm not a horseradish fan either. Mom was. I avoid Wasabi too. ;-)

Ever made pesto using fresh basil etc.? ;-d

[George.com]

you lot must either have really excellent supermarket tomato sauce or really crap recipes for making it yourself at home. I got a recipe from the guy across the road this year & made some great tomato suace. Beats the store bought crap hands down.

rob

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[George.com]

I simpy froze a mass load of summer glut tomatos & turned them in to tomato sauce 6 months later. The tomatos kept ok in bags in the freezer & the tomato sauce was great. Freeze excess tomatos or turn them in to sauce. frozen tomatos go squishy when thawed so ideal for use in a sauce, pasta or pizza.

rob

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[Omelet]

No argument from me other than flavor can benefit from minimal advance processing...

[rossr35253]

I was referring to making ketchup, not tomato sauce. There's a big difference. We make tomato sauce every year and it most certainly is better than store bought. For the amount of ketchup we use, making it is worth neither the time nor the effort.

Ross

[Billy]

Shirley, you're kidding. It's best if you can make it with just the flowers. Just as good is pesto made the same way but with cilantro. Hmmmmmmm, hmm, hmm.

[Steve Young]

"Billy" wrote

oh my, the basic start for my world famous sketti sauce :)

I was wondering if I could use the flowers for anything. (was remiss and they got away from me, turns out my lucky day? :)

I planted cilantro, doesn't mean I can claim success of growing it :( but "next year" the gardener says

[Billy]

You may still be in luck if you haven't already dug up the bed or dumped the pot. Parsley and cilantro usually go to seed in late spring. Took me a couple of years to figure tat out. I'd buy a starter plant of cilantro, take it home. Inside of three weeks it would bolt and three weeks later, I'd have an empty pot. It would have been easier to just give the nursery the money and avoid the hassle;o) Here in California, they will produce all winter long. Reminds me that I should get some seeds into the ground. If you grow them in pots, tuck the seed heads back in the pot and they will reseed themselves. That's what I do with my chervil. I used to grow it free range but in a pot it goes away for a couple of months and then comes back, like it is doing now.

And TOTALLY off topic, this has been a very pleasant gardening year for me due to iron phosphate and the havoc that it wreaks on gastropods. Every couple of weeks I toss a hand full into a bed and I don't need to worry about it for a couple of more weeks. The lettuce patch looks particularly nice.

[Omelet]

Oh gag! Sorry, but I detest Cilantro! I have the genetics that make it taste like soap chips.

That comes up a lot on the cooking lists. :-)

And don't call me shirley!

[Omelet]

Since, when I have grown it, I try to extend the life of my Basil plants, I DO snip the flowers and use them. They are quite tasty!

Same goes for dittany blossoms. (Dittany of Crete blooms profusely but is a perennial).

[Omelet]

I only grow parsley when I plant dill weed. :-) Gives me something to move the Swallowtail larvae to.

They can also live on Fennel leaves.

[George.com]

Tomato ketchup - tomato sauce. Never thought there was a difference between the two. Have a hamburger, a pie or some chips, put the tomato sauce/ketchup on them. What do you categorise the difference as?

rob

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[AZ Nomad]

Ketchup is saturated with sugar and has some vinegar too.

[Omelet]

Unless you are making home made low carb Ketchup/Catsup!

[zxcvbob]

That might be good, but it's not Ketchup. (Oddly enough, if you use honey for the sweetener, it doesn't even meet the USDA definition of ketchup and you have to call it something like "imitation ketchup".)

Bob

[rossr35253]

Tomato sauce is just tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded, acidified and reduced.

Tomato sauce rom NCHFP:

Prepare and press as for making tomato juice. Simmer in large-diameter saucepan until sauce reaches desired consistency Boil until volume is reduced by about one-third for thin sauce, or by one-half for thick sauce. Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to jars.

For lots more work, Tomato ketchup from NCHFP

• 24 lbs ripe tomatoes * 3 cups chopped onions * 3/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne) * 3 cups cider vinegar (5 percent) * 4 tsp whole cloves * 3 sticks cinnamon, crushed * 1-1/2 tsp whole allspice * 3 tbsp celery seeds * 1-1/2 cups sugar * 1/4 cup salt Wash tomatoes. Dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split. Dip in cold water. Slip off skins and remove cores. Quarter tomatoes into 4-gallon stock pot or a large kettle. Add onions and red pepper. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes, uncovered. Combine spices in a spice bag and add to vinegar in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to boil. Cover, turn off heat and hold tomato mixture for 20 minutes. Then, remove spice bag and combine vinegar and tomato mixture. Boil about 30 minutes. Put boiled mixture through a food mill or sieve. Return to pot. Add sugar and salt, boil gently, and stir frequently until volume is reduced by one-half or until mixture rounds up on spoon without separation.

Ross.

[Omelet]

If I'm making it for my own use, I can call it whatever I want.

[zxcvbob]

I call mine "Alfredo". I called everything I cook "Alfredo". (I learned that from watching Olive Garden commercials.)

Think I'll go make myself a Bourbon Martini with an orange twist...

;-P

Bob