The Tomato Glut Preserving Post

Wow, we sure did have a bumper tomato year. Just before we went on hols we picked everything that was ripe (and some that wasn't) and we had a bumper preserving Sunday. We wanted to preserve them in a number of different ways and decided to do some bottling and then to make a couple of chutneys.

So here goes...

We ended up picking about four kilos, a mixture of yellows and red with a few greens thrown in for tang. First on the list was the traditional bottling. I was following the instructions from Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2, great little book.

http://www.rivercottage.net/ShopProduct334/PreservesRiverCottageHandbookNo2.aspx

It's a pretty simple process really. All you need is some airtight jars, I used Le Parfait, some sugar, a roasting tray and a tea towel.

Firstly you'll need to make up a batch of syrup which is simply some sugar dissolved in water. I made a light syrup which is 100g sugar in 600ml of water. You can add honey, alcohol, spices, herbs etc to your syrup to give it some added interest. I made a batch of plain syrup and then added my spices to the various jars so I could have a good mixture of flavours. Below is the basil pot but I also did thyme and chilli options.

Preheat your oven to 150c and stand your jars in your roasting tray which is filled with water at a depth of about 3cm. You'll need to put either a tea towel or a wad of newspapers in the bottom to stop the jars touching the bottom of the tray otherwise they'll crack in the heat. Cover with the jar top and rubber ring but don't fasten them just yet.

60-70mins for jars up to a litre and 70-80mins for 1-2 litres jars. Once out of the oven clip the lids on and leave to cool.

Don't they look delicious! Kept in a cool dark cupboard they should last up to a year. So that was bottling, think all in all we've got about 8 jars of varying sizes. Next – chutney! I love making chutney and jams but this is the first time I've been lucky enough to make it with homegrown ingredients! Two types, a yellow/green combo and a red spicy paprika.

OK, starting with the red spiced chutney. Ingredients are:

• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 red peppers, halved, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and diced
• 1kg (2lb 31⁄2oz) ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 450ml (3⁄4 pint) malt or white wine vinegar
• 350g (12oz) soft light brown sugar
• 100g (31⁄2oz) raisins
• 1 level tsp black mustard seeds
• 2 level tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1⁄4 level tsp ground cloves

Easy peasy to make. Whack everything in a large pan, stir togther and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for 1.5-2hrs until it becomes chutney consistency. Job done! This is really nice and smokey, will be brilliant with a strong cheddar or if you're a meaty eater maybe some gammon (although I'm guessing at that as I don't think I've ever eaten gammon!)

Next up was the yellow/green combo. It was really just a recipe for green tomato chutney as I couldn't find one I liked for a yellow variety. The yellows are quite tart anyway so I just reduced the amount of sugar a little to compensate.

Ingredients are:

• 2lb green tomatoes chopped
• 8 oz onions chopped
• 1 lb cooking apples peeled & chopped
• 8 oz dried fruit
  
• 8oz brown sugar
• 1 pint vinegar spiced or malt
• 2 tablespoons mustard seed
• 1 inch fresh ginger peeled & finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Again, pretty simple as before. All goes into the pan and simmers uncovered until a nice sticky consistency. Probably about 3 hours. Into sterilised jars and seal.
I managed to get all the ingredients for the chutneys without gluten or wheat in so these are all ceoalic friendly. The thing that nearly caught me out was the dried fruits as some of them contained gluten, from what exactly I don't know? But I managed to get some in Waitrose that were gluten-free.

As with most chutneys they improve with age so keep in the cupboard for a few weeks before using. Managed to get five pots of each so we'll probably give some as presents for Christmas, that's if we can bear to part with them!