Re: This is tomato heaven

unit649 8/6/2013, 10:03 am

I love these ideas for roasting tomatoes. I don't have much freezer space, so would like to can them, after roasting. How would I do that? I have fresh basil, when can I start harvesting the leaves? It is about 4-5 inches high.
Madge

**camprn** 8/6/2013, 10:15 am

unit649 wrote:I love these ideas for roasting tomatoes. I don't have much freezer space, so would like to can them, after roasting. How would I do that? I have fresh basil, when can I start harvesting the leaves? It is about 4-5 inches high.
Madge

So I roast mine in the oven under the broiler. After roasting there will be liquid in the pan underneath, I drained this off, poured it into ice cube trays and add the cubes to soups and sauces in the winter.

After roasting and peeling, you may freeze, dehydrate or can the tomatoes using any canning recipe. I would choose a recipe that uses tomato juice instead of water.

This is tomato heaven - Page 3 20311

As for harvesting basil, you can pinch out parts of the plant for harvest and it will make more stems and leaves. There is a tutorial in this thread.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t13650-sweet-basil?highlight=basil

unit649 8/6/2013, 10:24 am

camprn,
Thank you so much. Your tomatoes look so yummy, they are making me hungry. I will check out that link for basil.
Madge

herblover 8/6/2013, 11:10 am

CapeCoddess wrote:M mm m. I love roasted veggies, especially beets. Don't remember doing tomatoes tho. Some day I'll try it...if I ever get anything but green tomatoes.

CC

I hear ya! I had one rot on the vine it ws taking so long to ripen!

herblover 8/6/2013, 11:24 am

unit649 wrote:I love these ideas for roasting tomatoes. I don't have much freezer space, so would like to can them, after roasting. How would I do that? I have fresh basil, when can I start harvesting the leaves? It is about 4-5 inches high.
Madge

I would check directions for basic tomato/sauce canning; www.freshpreserving.com is the Ball website and the definitive source for canning instructions. You can pick individual leaves from your basil now. If you pinch them back they will get bushier and more productive.

unit649 8/6/2013, 9:47 pm

herblover, thank you for the great advice. That is a good site.

Well I tried my hand at the roasted tomatoes. Prepared 3 large pans, sprinkled with my fresh basil, and roasted at 400 for about 1 hour.
This is tomato heaven - Page 3 Imag1410

Those 3 pans, only filled 1 quart jar, of course with a few bites left to snack on. Very Happy

Really smelled good.
This is tomato heaven - Page 3 Imag1411

But I went ahead and did a water bath, canning the one lonely jar.
This is tomato heaven - Page 3 Imag1413

Some lessons learned. I cut my tomato pieces too small, I think. Also, should have followed directions to put the peel side down, since laying the slices on the side, allowed them to really stick. Also learned with my last tray, to let them cool, before trying to remove from the trays.

Thanks to all for your help.
Madge

audrey.jeanne.roberts 8/6/2013, 11:34 pm

My almost 5 lbs of tomatoes are in the oven right now. Fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes and siberian tomatoes along with some orange mini bell peppers.

I'll let you know in a little over an hour how good they are, LOL!

I'm going to vacuum seal them when they're cooled and freeze them. Has anyone done this before?

audrey.jeanne.roberts 8/7/2013, 1:03 am

Mmmmmmmm!!!! I probably ate 1/4 of my roasted toms, LOL! They're safely packed away in the freezer now.

herblover 8/7/2013, 11:28 am

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:My almost 5 lbs of tomatoes are in the oven right now. Fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes and siberian tomatoes along with some orange mini bell peppers.

I'll let you know in a little over an hour how good they are, LOL!

I'm going to vacuum seal them when they're cooled and freeze them. Has anyone done this before?

I haven't but would recommend freezing first before vacuum sealing. Two reasons: one is to maintain their shape and two is so that no liquid gets sucked up into your sealing unit.

R&R 1011 8/7/2013, 12:52 pm

I think I will try roasting my purple cherokees tonight. Anyone care to share a pasta sauce recipe?

R&R 1011 8/7/2013, 2:12 pm

R&R 1011 wrote:I think I will try roasting my purple cherokees tonight. Anyone care to share a pasta sauce recipe?

Ok guys, here we go. A mix of purple cherokees, sweet 100s, and a couple of small big boys. Im roasting at 300 deg. for 2 hrs. Cool

**llama momma** 8/7/2013, 2:26 pm

If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick. Skin side down will be easier to remove.

R&R 1011 8/7/2013, 2:55 pm

llama momma wrote:If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick. Skin side down will be easier to remove.

I read that. Most of these are cut without skin. Sad

I cut around the heavily scabbed parts. A lot of my big tomatoes like these had bad splits that scabbed over. I assume from all the rain we had?

CapeCoddess 8/7/2013, 3:05 pm

llama momma wrote:If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick. Skin side down will be easier to remove.

I use unbleached parchment paper. Nothing sticks.

CC

**llama momma** 8/7/2013, 3:07 pm

R and rOk great, didn't know if you saw the post re: sticking. Happy roasting bet the house smells great rightr about now! And yes I agree from the rain. I got some splitting going on too. I was also wondering if I watered too much when a hot day came on and things took off too fast.

**sanderson** 8/7/2013, 4:58 pm

CC Ah, parchment paper. Non-stick cookies, roasted veggies, dehydrated food, drying seeds. Wonderful stuff.

unit649 8/7/2013, 11:15 pm

I roasted 7 more trays of Tomatoes, and now have 5 quarts canned. They do not make an attractive jar of tomatoes, because of the browned areas. But they sure do taste good. On one tray, I tried the drizzle of oil, sea salt and my fresh basil. Will the oil be a problem in the canned product?
Madge
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Goosegirl 8/9/2013, 7:22 am

CapeCoddess wrote:
llama momma wrote:If the fleshy part is on the foil it will stick. Skin side down will be easier to remove.
I use unbleached parchment paper. Nothing sticks.

CC

LOVE my parchment paper! Great addition to the compost as well.

GG

landarch 8/9/2013, 8:31 am

I have heard that oil ruins the canning process...don't know if it's true or not...just heard it handed down from grandmothers that they never used oil to saute garlic or other veggies before making salsa. Check with your local extension office or google it to do some research.

Today I am loading up my smoker with veggies for another round of salsa (smoked garlic, corn, peppers, onion, black beans)...then just filling 1 gal freezer bags for the deep freeze and avoiding the canning process today.

**camprn** 8/9/2013, 9:32 am

No oil, butter, dairy, grains, etc.

http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/11/what-food-and-ingredients-cant-be.html

http://www.pickyourown.org/canningqa.htm#cantcan

For more info about canning refer to the canning sub forum.

R&R 1011 8/9/2013, 1:37 pm

camprn wrote:No oil, butter, dairy, grains, etc.

http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/11/what-food-and-ingredients-cant-be.html

http://www.pickyourown.org/canningqa.htm#cantcan

For more info about canning refer to the canning sub forum.

Glad I saw this before I tried canning roasted tomatoes.

**camprn** 8/9/2013, 2:31 pm

R&R 1011 wrote:
camprn wrote:No oil, butter, dairy, grains, etc.

http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/11/what-food-and-ingredients-cant-be.html

http://www.pickyourown.org/canningqa.htm#cantcan

For more info about canning refer to the canning sub forum.
Glad I saw this before I tried canning roasted tomatoes.

You know, you can simply roast the tomatoes in their skins, with nothing added. Roast tomatoes on grill or in broiler until skins begin to wrinkle and become lightly blackened in spots, turning to roast evenly on all sides. Remove from heat. Place roasted tomatoes in a paper bag and close tightly. Cool until tomatoes are easy to handle, about 15 minutes. Slip skins off tomatoes, cut in half, and remove seeds if desired.

**RoOsTeR** 8/9/2013, 2:35 pm

unit649 wrote:I roasted 7 more trays of Tomatoes, and now have 5 quarts canned. They do not make an attractive jar of tomatoes, because of the browned areas.
Madge

I beg to differ. I think they look fantastic!!! Very Happy

**sanderson** 8/9/2013, 2:37 pm

I think they look delicious!

**Turan** 7/1/2015, 12:03 pm

Bump for this years tomato harvesting.

I do not bother with the aluminium foil lined pans. I pile the halved/quartered tomatoes in the pan single layer and season as I wish (lots of fresh garlic usually) and roast in the oven until the volume has halved. Then bag and freeze or can.

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