Condiments
Preserving tomatoes like grandma, with an update
5 kg plum tomatoes, the food mill and 40 minutes water bath - plus the two safety rules grandma's recipe needs today.
Method
- Wash the tomatoes, quarter them and cook them in a large pot for 15 minutes in their own juice.
- Put them through the food mill — the kids are allowed to turn the crank.
- Return the passata to the pot, reduce it uncovered for 20 minutes and add salt. If you like, add one basil leaf per jar.
- Put 2 tsp of lemon juice into each sterilised jar.
- Fill the jars while hot, seal them and process them in a water bath for 40 minutes. In the evening comes the concert of lids going 'plop'.
Minnelea products for this recipe
The preserves used in this recipe.
The update compared with the original recipe: modern tomato varieties have been bred to be less acidic than those of 1970, which is why food authorities today recommend 1–2 tsp lemon juice per jar before closing. You do not taste it, and it is insurance against the only serious risk of preserving.