Guilty gardeners.
Those are gardeners who exuberantly plant a big garden in the spring, wait in eager anticipation as the little plants grow...
And then have way too much harvest to preserve.
Tomatoes are a big culprit for that. When a tomato plant really gets going, it doesn't like to stop. Even after you've made all the tomato sauce, ketchup, and salsa you can stand and you still have tomatoes coming out your ears.
Enter fermented tomatoes.
When you ferment tomatoes, there is no simmering tomatoes or boiling a water bath for canning. It's really easy and low input. It works best for large volumes of tomatoes, like 10 or more pounds.
One of the beauties of this paste is that it's ok if you start a batch with a small amount of tomatoes, and then add a little more week by week as more tomatoes ripen. It's very forgiving that way.
Fermented tomato paste is similar to other tomato paste in its thick consistency. It's a bit more tangy and complex than store bought paste. It is a perfect ingredient if you are making tomato based soup or stew.
Fermented Tomato Paste
You will need:
ripe tomatoes
non-iodized salt
a 5 gallon bucket
a nylon paint strainer bag, such as you can buy in the paint section of a hardware store
a blender
a food mill
jars and lids (they do not have to be canning lids)
olive oil
1. Cut tomatoes in half and toss in a 5 gallon food grade bucket. Discard any bad spots.
2. Add NON-iodized salt. For every gallon of tomatoes / 8 pounds, add 1/4 cup salt.
If you weighed the tomatoes ahead of time, then you know exactly how much salt to add.
If you have no idea how much they weigh, you can guess. With your fist or a potato masher, mash down the tomatoes in the bucket as best you can to get rid of all air space. If you have a 5 gallon bucket, estimate how many fifths-full it is. Every fifth is a gallon and weighs 8 pounds.
For instance, if it's about two fifths full, add 1/2 cup salt.
Do your best to mix the salt in. If you are unable to mix it all the way down to the bottom, don't worry, the salt will dissolve and spread throughout the tomatoes on its own.
3. Put the paint strainer bag over the bucket to keep bugs out.
4. Every couple of days, stir the tomatoes. Over the course of a week, they will go from large chunky pieces to more of a mash or slurry. During that time, they will bubble as fermentation takes place.
You will notice white stuff on the surface after a few days. That is not mold! It is perfectly harmless kahm yeast. Do not discard it thinking that something went wrong. Just stir it in and keep going.
If you have more and more tomatoes coming in from the garden, it is ok to keep adding more tomatoes before proceeding to the next step. Just add the right amount of salt and stir it every few days.
5. Once the tomatoes have become a slurry and the bubbling has subsided, it's time to strain them.
Scoop tomato mash into a blender and lightly blend it. Then put your food mill over a large bowl, pour the blended tomato mash into it, and crank the handle around and around to strain the seed and peels out.
Repeat this step until all of your tomatoes have been blended and strained.
Warning: there was a batch of tomato paste where I skipped the straining step, thinking that I didn't mind if the paste had bits of seeds and peels. I regretted it. That whole batch really bothered my tummy. The only reason I can think that it bothered me is that I left in the peels and seeds. I never skip that step any more.
6. Drain the tomatoes. Put the paint strainer bag in the bucket with its mouth around the mouth of the bucket. You will want to get a helper to hold it tight around the top of the bucket as you begin filling the bag, or utilize a bunch of clothespins. Once all the strained tomatoes are in the bag, lift it, and find a way to keep it elevated above the bucket so it can drain the liquid and retain only the thick paste.
You can come up with your own way to do this, but here is what I do:
I have a section of 2x4 and a piece of nylon rope that I use for this every year. With the rope I tie the bag shut, and then tie the bag to the 2x4. I put two chairs on either side of the bucket and slide the 2x4 between the spokes of the backs of the chairs. As the volume in the bag decreases over time, I wrap the neck of the bag around the 2x4 to lift it higher above the liquid that has drained out.
It generally takes about 24 hours to drain, maybe a little more.
7. Jar the paste and top with oil. Scoop the paste out of the bag and into jars. 8 oz or 16 oz jars are best.
Leave about an inch of head room. Smooth the paste at the top as flat as you can. Pour olive oil over the top so that the paste is not exposed to air.
Cap with lids, and put them in the basement to keep cool. This tomato paste will last up to a year.
Fermented tomato paste topped with olive oil.
If you wonder about the dangers of botulism, don't worry. Fermentation creates acidity. Botulism can only grow in low acid environments. Anything that is properly fermented is unable to grow botulism.
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