Conserving and Preserving your Harvest

[andy]

Mango and pineapple chutney

300ml distilled malt vinegar
375g granulated sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5cm ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
4 dried chillies, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon peppercorns, roughly crushed
1 large pineapple, peeled, cored and finely chopped in a processor
2 large, firm, unripe mangoes, peeled, stoned and sliced

Add vinegar sugar, garlic and ginger to a preserving pan then add chillies, allspice salt and pepper.
Heat gently, stirring from time to time until sugar is dissolved then simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavours to "mingle"

Stir in the pineapple and mango and cook over a medium heat for 10 mins, until the mango is translucent and the liquid is syrupy.

Ladle into warm, dry jars, filling to the very top and cover. Label and leave to mature in a cool dark place for at least 3 weeks

makes 3 jars

[Ladygardener]

Sept 9, 2011 16:26:31 GMT Jilly said:

Wow aren't we all doing well with our chutney, if the weather stays like this I think I'm going to have to be making some more.

LG I'm glad you enjoyed my Mums recipe, your's seems to have come out a lot darker & more chutney looking than mine does, did you use dark brown sugar?

I'll take a pic of mine if I get a chance, mine always ends up a yellowish green colour.

Have you sneaked a taste yet? I know it says leave for 6 weeks but I always have to lick the spoon

Jillyx

I was hoking out the recipie for your Mums Chutney this morning Jilly. Hope to get some made soon.

[Jilly]

I don't know about hoping to make some Ladygardener, I think I might be making rather more than I want to as all my tomatoes are still green as grass 

[Ladygardener]

Oops sorry Jilly, this is the best year I've had for ages and I want to make it with green toms. Mine are ripening so quickly I'm afraid I won't have enough green ones but I'll mix the red ones with them as I've used red in chutney before.

[Jilly]

Ripening so fast, you can go off people you know 

[Barbara]

I don't like vinegar, so chutney isn't any good to me so, I used an ice cream container and filled it with cherry toms. and added some basil, and I'll use a handful every time I make a casserole, and try baking some when I make pies, and quiches.

[Ladygardener]

Aug 27, 2013 11:54:09 GMT Jilly said:

Ripening so fast, you can go off people you know 

Oops sorry Jilly. If it's any consolation, mine at the allotment have'nt done well at all. I'm not sure why, different kind of tomatoes but they would'nt have had as much tlc up there.

[Jilly]

I did notice this morning that I've got one (just the one) in the growhouse that's looking more orange than green, hopefully that'll encourage the others 

I do something similar Barbara, sometimes if I'm feeling efficient I cook them with onions & garlic so that I've got a base for pasta sauce, curries etc, of course you do need to have too many red ones first 

[isabella]

The other day I picked this lot and made them into sauces etc. for the freezer - we will enjoy a taste of summer when the weather is cold

[Ladygardener]

This has to have from me, what a smashing haul. Well done isabella.

[Jilly]

 What a beautiful harvest time pic isabella

[Ladygardener]

I collected green tomatoes from the plum tom plants at the allotment and some from the garden as well as a few my friend brought with her yesterday and we made Chutney yesterday afternoon. I'm delighted with the result and so was she. She's gone home with 3 Jars of it while I have about 8. Here is a little pic I took last night.

[isabella]

Your chutney looks yummy LG  Every year I say I will make some but never get round to it

Thankyou for the noms LG and Jilly

[Ladygardener]

Here are a couple of recipies I thought would be usefull for anyone wanting to do something different with their ripe tomatoes. I've done it and they're delicous.

I start with plum tomatoes, cut into thirds. We all adore a big ugly heirloom or petite cherry tomato, but both have a bit too much water to make them practical for drying. In fact, I extract some moisture from the plum tomatoes before I even put them in the oven, using the same method as for sliced eggplant about to be roasted: salting, resting, and blotting.


If you like slightly plumper sun-dried tomatoes, remove them from the oven sooner; chewier, go longer. If you’re always cursing the copious amounts of olive oil in your sun-dried tomato jar, you can skip the oil all together and store the cooled tomatoes dry, in a container in the fridge.



**Recipe**

Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Makes an 8-ounce jar, easily doubled, tripled, etc., so long as you have oven space.



Ingredients
1 pound plum tomatoes (5-6)
a few pinches coarse salt
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup olive oil (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
I found this Sue. Now they say not to add oil if you want to store them for weeks. Not to use garlic as
Preheat oven to 200°F. Place a metal rack on a baking sheet.

Cut each tomato in thirds lengthwise. Each slice should be about 1/3-inch thick.

Sprinkle salt on the cut sides of the tomatoes–not more than you’d want to eat though! Line a cutting board with a dish towel or paper towels and place the tomatoes on top. Top with another dish towel and another cutting board. Weight with a heavy cookbook or two. Leave for 20 minutes. This helps get some of the tomato’s juices out early, before they go in the oven.

Remove the tomatoes from the cutting board sandwich, dusting off any salt that hasn’t dissolved, and place them on the rack, with at least 1 inch in between. Sprinkle with the fresh thyme.

Bake for about 5 hours, until the tomatoes are dry to the touch and have wrinkled around the edges. You can really decide how dry you want them–as dry as raisins? or do you want to leave a little plumpness? Watch them (and try them) as they cook, and decide for yourself. When done, remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

If you’re going to be storing your tomatoes in olive oil, place the olive oil and garlic in a small jar while the tomatoes are cooking, and let the garlic steep to flavor the oil.

When the tomatoes are cool, add them to the oil. Store in the fridge for 4 days. If not using oil, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few weeks or longer.


An important trick is drying the tomatoes on a rack, instead of right on the baking sheet. This way, hot air surrounds the fruit from all sides, preventing it from basking in its own juices, which could risk a loss of sweetness or a burn from the oven.


By slowly cooking sliced tomatoes at a low temperature, you zap them of their moisture, leaving raisin-like remains a third the size of the slice you started out with, and containing all of the original flavors. You don’t add any olive oil, as you would when you’re simply roasting tomatoes until they burst, but you do add herbs and my one true love, coarse salt.

Found this,
Sun-dried tomato storage
Homemade dried tomatoes should be placed in an airtight bag or container and stored in the refrigerator or freezer for six to nine months for optimum shelf life.


Take those extra tomatoes from your garden and dry them in the oven. It is easy to do but will take some time, so plan ahead.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:

5 pounds (2.5 kg) Roma (oval) tomatoes
Fine sea salt

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. (100 degrees C.; gas mark 1), or the lowest setting possible. Remove the oven racks.

Trim and discard the stem ends of the tomatoes. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, side by side and crosswise on cake racks set on the oven racks. Do not allow the tomatoes to touch one another. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Place in the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and feel dry, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain rather flexible, not at all brittle. Once dried, remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to thoroughly cool on cake racks. (Smaller tomatoes will dry more quickly than larger ones. Remove each tomato from the oven as it is dried.)

Transfer the tomatoes to zipper-lock bags. The tomatoes will last indefinitely.

[Rosefriend]

Certainly on my list now and I can look back to check the recipe instead of losing it under a pile of papers on my desk!!

Thanks Ladygardener..

RF

[Ladygardener]

No problem Rosefriend, hope andy checks in too.

[andy]

Thanks LG....sounds fab

[Cheerypeabrain]

Anybody else made jam etc this year? I used strawberries from my sister's garden (mine were rubbish) to make jam, apples from my brother's apple tree to make apple jelly jam, and raspberries from our garden to make raspberry jelly jam and raspberry brandy. I also cooked down some of the tomato glut to make a tomato concentrate which I froze in batches and am still using!

I also harvested some sloes from local common land to make sloe gin....



apple jelly




sloe gin (the raspberry brandy is still steeping and will be strained and bottled in April)





tomato concentrate




raspberry jelly



strawberry jam


then we all went on a diet.....*sigh*

[Jilly]

 Oh Sloe gin Cheerypeabrain, lovely, I didn't make any last year, but luckily I've still got one bottle on the go from the year before. My BIL made Blackberry Brandy last year.... very, very nice 

I made 4 jars of Raspberry jam which I was really pleased with as I've only got 3 Autumn Bliss canes in a trough, but they did really well last year, had some for breakfast this morning as a matter of fact.

The tomato concentrate looks a good idea, I just made a couple of batches of green tomato chutney.

[Cheerypeabrain]

It was a fabulous year for berries wasn't it?

The tomato concentrate was a good way of preserving....I added a little water (altho I didn't really need to) and black pepper. simmered the tomatoes into a slushy pulp....pushed it through a sieve then boiled it down genty until it was thick, luscious and velvety....frozen in ice cube trays and bagged up. Better than pasata or tomatoe pureé

[Barbara]

I made strawberry jam and plum jam too, I froze toms in boxes with basil in as well. then used those in casseroles and stews.

Brandy Jilly how do you make that then ?, as plum brandy is supposed to be delicious.

[Ladygardener]

Well done Cheerypeabrain you've made the most of everything I see.

[Jilly]

I think they do it the same as Sloe Gin Barbara, just steep the blackberries in Brandy and sugar, this is the Sloe Gin recipe I gave them and it mentions it on there if you click on top tip. They've got really into doing it though and also made Sloe & Damson Vodka as my SIL doesn't like gin.

Sloe Gin Recipe

[Barbara]

Thanks Jilly

[Rosefriend]

My apologies to Cheerypeabrain Jilly Barbara Ladygardener for moving posts.

We ended up with two very similar threads which I have joined together to form one and placed this in "Recipes" which seems more logical now.

I am afraid you will have to bookmark again.

RF

[Jilly]

Thanks Rosefriend, everything together in one place again   

[Ladygardener]

Much better to have things in one place Rosefriend, less confusion.

[Cheerypeabrain]

Yes. Apologies for starting a new post that wasn't needed....I am still finding my way around

[Rosefriend]

Jan 29, 2014 19:22:57 GMT Cheerypeabrain said:

Yes. Apologies for starting a new post that wasn't needed....I am still finding my way around

Oh blimey Cheery - no apologies necessary - it is easy enough to move posts these days, and even I don't know all the threads we have!!

RF

[Ladygardener]

Sept 5, 2011 17:57:50 GMT Jilly said:

Here we go i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/smiley.gif

I've only got imperial measurements I'm afraid, it was an old book & the use of cornflour sort of makes me think it might originate in America.

My Mum uses an old fashioned mincing machine & skins her toms, the preparation takes her ages. I use my food processor & don't skin the toms & my preparation takes a few minutes. I can't tell the difference i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/undecided.gif

In a processor you just need a few pulses, so it looks coarsely grated.

Green Tomato Chutney

1 ½ lb Green Tomatoes minced

1lb apples minced

1lb onions minced

1 pint vinegar

1 ½ lb soft light brown sugar

Spice Mix

1 oz Ground Ginger

½ teaspoon Turmaric

1 tablespoon Salt

3 tablespoons Cornflour

½ teaspoon pepper

½ pint vinegar



Put tomatoes, apples, & onions in a large pan, add sugar and vinegar & bring to the boil, stirring well to make sure all sugar is dissolved. Boil for five minutes.

Meanwhile make spice mixture. After five minutes add spice mixture, bring back to boil and boil for another 2 minutes.

Leave to stand for a couple of minutes and then put in warmed jars, seal and leave for 6 weeks before using.

I find this strangely addictive, in fact it's the reason I've always grown my own toms, even when I didn't grow any other veg.

A couple of tablespoons when making home made curry is gorgeous i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/tongue.gif

Jillyx

Just to bump it up but I did'nt realise it, almost to the day I was making this last year and have spent this afternoon doing the same. A few tweaks to the recipe but it's absolutely delicious. I've had a little hot taste. I'll be bottling it now shortly. Thanks again to you and your Mum Jilly.

Has anyone else started their bottling or chutneys yet?