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Old April 15, 2016   #1
gryffin
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Default Making my own tomato paste and crushed tomatoes

Inspired by the thread here on how everyone uses all their tomatoes, I have decided that I clearly need to learn more ways to use mine.

I have tried to make sauce with varying degrees of success, but that is about it.

One thing we enjoy making in the winter is homemade lasagna. We have a great recipe which requires tomato paste and canned crushed tomatoes. We buy the canned tomato paste and canned crushed tomatoes. This seems silly if I can use my own tomatoes to make it.

Does anyone here have instructions on how to make and store these ingredients from my own tomatoes?
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Old April 15, 2016   #2
Al@NC
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Gryffin, by chance did you check out the recipe section of the forum? I haven't looked there that much, I did find a paste recipe thread:

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=133
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Old April 15, 2016   #3
oakley
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So many recipes. And many right here in the cooking section.
It is really a mater of your taste and what you like. I don't care much for the canned ketchupy sauce and salsas like the bottled ones. Usually because of the heat involved in processing. My tomato sauce for lasagne is more of a pico style.

If i halve or quarter them, toss in a blerb of olive oil, and roast in the oven on a sheet pan i can get a bit more concentration of flavor by removing some moisture. Then chop or puree.
Sounds like you already have your recipe so you just need the method to get crushed for fresh toms.
When we make that style we start with about 15-20 lbs, just dip 5 toms at a time in simmering water for 20-30 seconds...the skins slide off, then they go in a pot for hour.
To make a more concentrated sauce i prefer to take some of that an slow roast in the over on a low heat like 225 in a big roasting pan.

Here is a good read about making a fresh tasting sauce...http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/how-to-make-the-best-fresh-tomato-sauce-summer-spaghetti-sauce-which-tomatoes-to-use.html
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Old April 15, 2016   #4
Father'sDaughter
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I'd say skip the recipes and just look for instructions on canning tomatoes. That way you will have plain crushed tomatoes that you can turn into any sauce you want.
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Old April 16, 2016   #5
User 636
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I learned to make sauce last year with good results.

The main part was going slowly. Everything I read said I could have sauce in an hour or two. Nope. It would easily take half a day to cook the tomatoes down to a true sauce. Once I did, the results were amazing.

I make a sauce from only yellow tomatoes. It is sweet and fruity. I normally serve it with chicken over pasta. I tried a batch with ground beef and it was awful. The beef overwhelmed it.

I drop the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or two. Pull them before they crack so that I don't lose sugar. Then I cook it all down for hours until it gets thick. A trip through the Ninja blender to make sure there are not any bug chunks. I pour it into freezer bags and freeze it. I season to taste with a ton of basil and oregano.
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Old April 17, 2016   #6
Lindalana
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I don't boil my tomatoes. I cut them some, smash them down so they release some juice and slowly heat it only till they hot enough to release skin easily. Then I put it into strainer and let all juice drain. Remove skin and you have nice chunky substance. Lots of things can be done with it. I suggest trying few jars of varied recipes that you like and seeing which one goes better for your needs. I save juice separately for a veggie base for soups.
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Old April 17, 2016   #7
Worth1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter View Post
I'd say skip the recipes and just look for instructions on canning tomatoes. That way you will have plain crushed tomatoes that you can turn into any sauce you want.
I couldn't agree more.
The other thing I would do is make paste.
Regardless of what people think it is a great way to reduce tomatoes and then you can do anything you want with it.
When you start adding spices you are now tied into a certain flavor.
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Old April 18, 2016   #8
BigVanVader
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Another tip I learned from a thread here somewhere is that if you don't have time to can when your tomatoes are ripe you can freeze them whole, then when you thaw them the extra water drains easily and the skins come right off. I just put them in the jar afterwards and can them like that. Makes it easy to do a lot at one time without spending hours blanching/peeling and I haven't noticed any taste difference.
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Old April 18, 2016   #9
rnewste
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BVV,

That is an excellent tip! I am planning on putting up jars of my San Marzano this year, and not having to peel the skins off will be a big help.

Thanks,

Raybo
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Old April 18, 2016   #10
SummerSky
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I learned how to can a few years ago because it seemed silly to me to grow so many tomatoes for my dad, and then watch many of them get tossed because we couldn't keep up with them. We eat so much sauce in my family, it was just odd to me to throw out tomatoes that could have easily been used for sauce.

So now I grow like five times the tomato plants and can a lot of sauce. Since I already had a Kitchenaid mixer, I got the food mill attachment and it has been a life saver. No more spending all that time peeling, coring, and pureeing tomatoes only to have my super knit-picking husband balk that there's a chunk. I just cut the tomatoes into chunks small enough to fit into mill and send them through. I probably should spare my poor mixer and start cooking them a little first...

I do cheat, though. I'm not patient enough to reduce the sauce all day, so I add a couple small cans of store bought paste to each batch. It really helps take the time down. This year I want to try to make my own paste and maybe cheat a little less
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Old April 18, 2016   #11
zeuspaul
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SummerSky View Post
I learned how to can a few years ago because it seemed silly to me to grow so many tomatoes for my dad, and then watch many of them get tossed because we couldn't keep up with them. We eat so much sauce in my family, it was just odd to me to throw out tomatoes that could have easily been used for sauce.

So now I grow like five times the tomato plants and can a lot of sauce. Since I already had a Kitchenaid mixer, I got the food mill attachment and it has been a life saver. No more spending all that time peeling, coring, and pureeing tomatoes only to have my super knit-picking husband balk that there's a chunk. I just cut the tomatoes into chunks small enough to fit into mill and send them through. I probably should spare my poor mixer and start cooking them a little first...

I do cheat, though. I'm not patient enough to reduce the sauce all day, so I add a couple small cans of store bought paste to each batch. It really helps take the time down. This year I want to try to make my own paste and maybe cheat a little less
If I use my Kitchenaid for extend periods of time the oil heats up and gets thin and then starts dripping into the sauce. Precooking the tomatoes softens them and takes some of the load off the mixer so it runs cooler.

You may want to try reducing the sauce overnight to save time. I use a large stainless chaffing dish pan and place it in the oven at about 185F. The sauce reduces overnight with no stirring necessary.
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Old April 19, 2016   #12
b54red
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When the wife quit canning it was left up to me to freeze them. I ended up getting a Spreemy Tomato Machine and it really takes the work out of putting up tomatoes. First we cut the whole tomatoes up cutting out any bad spots and the stem and then stew them down for a while til they are good and soft. Then we strain off most of the water to cut down on the space required to put them up and also it gives a much more concentrated sauce. I know, I know; I'm losing some good tasting juice and sometimes I use it in soup or something like that but it is just too time consuming to cook them down enough and too easy to burn and ruin them if you get in a hurry. Then just run the resulting mush of tomatoes through the Spreemy and it takes care of almost all the skin and stems leaving us with a nice puree to put up. I guess if you wanted paste you could slowly cook the puree down some more but that takes a lot of time and we like the fresher taste of the tomatoes that haven't been cooked so long.

Bill
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Old April 19, 2016   #13
Antares
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deskin, deseed, blend, overnight (or longer depending on how thick you want) in a crockpot on low with the lid off. Viola.
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Old April 20, 2016   #14
Gardeneer
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I have an old world way to make tomato past, with least amount of heat energy.

Chop the maters up and bring to boil.
Put in a blender or better yet use a stick blender. ( you may even skip heating. but is can facilitate loosening up)
Sieve trough a colander (tight enough to leave seeds behind), and get rid of seeds, skin, hard parts. Now you have something like what is called "must" in wine making.

The next step you will need a bag (big enough to hole a gallon or more). You can sow your own from a cotton/nylon blend fabric. Some store like Bed and Bath sell them.
Pour the must in the bag , tighten it up and hang it, leaving a container under it to collect the juice.
You will end up with something to paste consistency, depending on the duration.
Next take it out of the bag and process for canning. Voila !

PS: it will be like GREEK yogurt consistency.

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