|
Post by lilolpeapicker on Jul 4, 2015 11:43:08 GMT -5
Last year I made sauce out of any tomato I had. The end product was very watery and it took a long time to boil it down to a saucy consistency. And when I thought it was thick enough and I used the sauce there was still a lot of liquid in my bowl at the end. So I am wondering what you folks do when you are making sauce, soup, juices or whatever you do. Do you choose specific tomatoes for different purposes? Do you consider the seed content vs liquid content at all?
I had used Black Krim,a few Brandywine and lots of cherry tomatoes.
|
|
|
Post by lisaann on Jul 4, 2015 11:52:11 GMT -5
This is where the tomato slice thread would come in handy.
Great question Pea!
When you share your favorite tomatos for sauce, juice, or whatever,
Offer up a pic of a sliced tomato for comparison on this thread.
Then we can SEE!
Hugging you Pea!
You are making US think and SHARE!
|
|
|
Post by lilolpeapicker on Jul 4, 2015 11:57:11 GMT -5
Oh. I forgot....I also had a fair amount of paste tomatoes too.
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Jul 4, 2015 13:02:36 GMT -5
I make a very rustic Italian sauce, with chopped tomatoes (with the skins) added to a cast iron skillet where I suited onions and garlic.. AT the end I throw in some slivered fresh basil, long enough for it to wilt. That's it. It doesn't seem too watery to me, but like I said, it's more rustic and I am not aiming for a thick smooth sauce.. I do cook it down for 30-40 minutes.
I use what ever I have. Last year was cherokee purple and homestead. This year will be cherokee purple and rutger.
|
|
|
Post by Mumsey on Jul 4, 2015 16:07:12 GMT -5
When the pot simmers a while, all the water comes to top. I skim all that off and freeze it. It can be used in chili or added to tomato juice. I do the skim thing 2-3 times as it is cooking. Seems to make a thicker sauce. I also add a can or two of paste.
|
|
|
Post by kimmsr🕊 on Jul 5, 2015 5:58:40 GMT -5
As a general rule of thumb the tomatoes grown for making sauces should be paste or Roma cultivars. While any tomato can be used those meatier cultivars will need less processing.
|
|
|
Post by tbird on Jul 5, 2015 9:42:10 GMT -5
I make a very rustic Italian sauce, with chopped tomatoes (with the skins) added to a cast iron skillet where I suited onions and garlic.. AT the end I throw in some slivered fresh basil, long enough for it to wilt. That's it. It doesn't seem too watery to me, but like I said, it's more rustic and I am not aiming for a thick smooth sauce.. I do cook it down for 30-40 minutes. I try to avoid tomatoes in the cast iron because it strips the seasoning off the pan, and then rust can start. If I do add in tomatoes to something in the cast iron, I transfer it quickly after cooking. because the food starts to taste like the iron!
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Jul 5, 2015 9:48:33 GMT -5
I have one skillet I don't worry about the finish on it. It gets treated rough.The finish is still very black, just not seasoned to a non stick finish But I've never noticed rust or an iron taste.My skillets are so old and well used, with decades of build up. Could that be why?
|
|
|
Post by tbird on Jul 5, 2015 9:49:56 GMT -5
I dislike too much juice in fresh salsa - all the other flavors run off the tom chunks. I did want to use paste tomatoes for that this year, but I don't have a good one for fresh - thought I bought and amish paste and turned out to be principe boughese which is recommended for drying, but not any fresh eating.
One thing I do is chopping up tomatoes and putting them into a colander to drain. I've done this with the chopped onions mixed in too sometimes. I always drink up the drained juices, and it is delicious plain of with the hint of onion and hot peppers (sometimes, I don't realize the toms are too watery till into the process).
To get even more water out - you could sprinkle your estimated amount of salt onto the toms and toss them around in the colander to distribute evenly. The salt will draw even more water out of the toms. You could even press down right before transferring to a pan for cooking. Reserve some of the juice, and add if needed.
but of course - paste tomatoes were bred for this purpose! I like san marzano which did dried toms very nicely for me a few years back, but still experimenting with different ones (although - not this year).
|
|
|
Post by tbird on Jul 5, 2015 9:50:59 GMT -5
that is likely. I am always losing the coating and getting rust that I need to scrub out and start anew. Also - I don't use animal fat - which is recommended for the seasoning - so that may be a factor too.
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Jul 5, 2015 11:57:09 GMT -5
I use organic olive and canola oils, primarily- sometimes coconut oil. And always have. And on some rare occasions, ghee. Been a vegetarian and mostly vegan for decades.
I got to thinking, after I posted that last comment, that maybe our lack of humidity factors in ,as well.
|
|
|
Post by lisaann on Jul 5, 2015 12:13:34 GMT -5
No humidity................Yep, that must make your cast iron happy!
|
|
|
Post by OregonRed on Jul 5, 2015 12:22:53 GMT -5
I don't make tomato sauce, if I want something tomato based, I start with fresh peeled seeded tomatos, simmer with lid off... I only grow tomatos for fresh eating, if I have lots , I make cooked stuff with what's left - or freeze them whole (vacuum sealed)
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Jul 5, 2015 18:28:41 GMT -5
I put a note in the Spaghetti sauce thread in cooking but I peel and chop and cook my tomatoes and then allow them to drain for an hour. This keeps my sauce from being watery. I don't grow any paste tomatoes so all of mine contain a significant amount of liquid. I like the mix of flavors that comes from using different varieties.
|
|
|
Post by lilolpeapicker on Jul 5, 2015 18:32:35 GMT -5
What varieties do you grow? or you did last year?
|
|