# Tomatoes



## despoinaki

I took this photo when I started making tomato sauce  I am proud to say that I made sauce out of 24kg of fresh tomatoes  I am glad that is over!
In this time of year, the market is full of fresh and cheap tomatoes and people buy huge amounts in order to make sauce and store it for the winter! Their price is very low 20-30 eurocents/kilo so everyone left the market carrying 10-50kg of tomatoes!  
Are people in your countries doing that every year? 
Rick these tomatoes are Roma mutation


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## Niamhf

Wow that's a lot of chopping! I love tomato based foods. I've tried to make the sauce from search with fresh tomatoes a couple of times but there always seems to be something missing. Do you have a recipe to share at all? 
I have no doubt you're tired after all that chopping


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## despoinaki

Yes.. I can say that this procedure was tiring, my hands turned red for a bit 
The most important thing is that tomatoes have to be at their best and mature enough. The mutation is not so important. 
In my opinion, putting the sauce in the freezer is the best thing to preserve them fresh just like when you chopped them. I cut them into pieces and then put them in the food processor. Then I take small food plastic bags or small bowls (to create small portions enough for a meal) ,put the tomato puree inside them and then to the freezer.
In the meanwhile, I ran out of bags and bowls so I put sauce in jars. But first I had to sterilize the jars (by boiling them in a big pot for a bit), boil the sauce with salt and sugar, then fill the jars and wait until they cool down. Before closing the jars, you have to add some olive oil. Tiring procedure, huh?


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## Niamhf

Thanks Despina I will definitely try that the next time  
Yes I can imagine it being exhausting with 24kg of them!


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## StarlingWings

Wow, Despina, those are a _lot_ of tomatoes! Looks like you'll definitely have a sizable stockpile for the winter 

Nice job!


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## despoinaki

Thank you ladies! It was a whole adventure but I am glad it is over  now I have 9 bowls and 5 bags in the freezer and 10 jars in my cupboard  My sister in law's mum bought 50kg and put it all in the freezer! How did she do that?


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## StarlingWings

despoinaki said:


> Thank you ladies! It was a whole adventure but I am glad it is over  now I have 9 bowls and 5 bags in the freezer and 10 jars in my cupboard  My sister in law's mum bought 50kg and put it all in the freezer! How did she do that?


I think she has an industrial grade freezer devoted entirely to tomato sauce :scare:


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## despoinaki

I guess she has a storage room! I wish I had a big freezer!


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## Didoushkaya

Last batch of tomato sauce I made was about the same size. I know your pain but it's so yum, isn't it? My big freezer died a couple of years ago so I jarred it all and it was gone within 3 months.

The same thing happens every year with all the jams I make. Halfway though the winter we're also out of all chutneys and compotes. 

This year I am building a secret cabinet in our garage and storing all my preserves in there. There will be extra locks on it and maybe even a hidden cam... :spy:


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## despoinaki

Yes- I made cherry jam on June and it was gone in a week :O Hahaha hidden cam for what? to discover who's eating them? 
I am planning to make pear and plum jam now. One year our trees produced so many fruit that we wouldn't be able to eat them all fresh - I took 4kg of plums and made jams!  We used to be compot fans but now nobody eats them!
Yes, tomato sauce is delicious and so much better than these ones on the market with all the preservatives and stuff! And many of the jars have different tastes, because I added onion, garlic and mint to several of them


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## Didoushkaya

Oh yum. You're a woman after my own taste


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## FaeryBee

*Ohhhhh, I LOVE tomatoes!

When I had a garden back in Indiana I used to can tomatoes.
Homemade tomato sauce is the BEST!!*


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## despoinaki

Thank you Deb! I see that we're not so different! I am glad I am not the only crazy person who spent so many hours in the kitchen boiling the sauce  :laughing: 
We cook so many meals with tomato sauce here, almost every day! My mum was thinking to buy some kg more... Oh dear


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## Abdo

wow... that must have been a lot of work, we do the same to make pizza and pasta sauces "not me but my mother and sister"


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## Laceychica

despoinaki said:


> I took this photo when I started making tomato sauce  I am proud to say that I made sauce out of 24kg of fresh tomatoes  I am glad that is over!
> In this time of year, the market is full of fresh and cheap tomatoes and people buy huge amounts in order to make sauce and store it for the winter! Their price is very low 20-30 eurocents/kilo so everyone left the market carrying 10-50kg of tomatoes!
> Are people in your countries doing that every year?
> Rick these tomatoes are Roma mutation


This year my friend and I decided we would grow our own victory garden this year! We had a lovely turn out, it had all different kinds of tomatoes, herbs, beans, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumbers, and I know I am forgetting something! We will be making a lot of tomato sauce! and pickles! yum!!

after planting...



this is just one harvest of tomatoes and herbs!!


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## LynandIndigo

Despina lovely tomatoes did you grow all of those they are beautiful... I love tomatoes to. But why don't you try growing Black Russian Tomatoes they are yum .. Here are my tomatoes I grew... You will see the rest of my garden in the chit chat under my name..

Black Russian Tomatoes I grew..
.


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## Abdo

LynandIndigo said:


> Black Russian Tomatoes I grew..
> .[/SIZE][/COLOR]


looks interesting  , never herd of it before  what does it tastes like Lyn ?


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## LynandIndigo

Abdo said:


> looks interesting  , never herd of it before  what does it tastes like Lyn ?


Well it tastes YUM and it also tastes no different to a normal tomato..


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## despoinaki

Abdo said:


> wow... that must have been a lot of work, we do the same to make pizza and pasta sauces "not me but my mother and sister"


yes.. it is! But it's totally worth it! It's fun making it, you should try it! 



Laceychica said:


> This year my friend and I decided we would grow our own victory garden this year! We had a lovely turn out, it had all different kinds of tomatoes, herbs, beans, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumbers, and I know I am forgetting something! We will be making a lot of tomato sauce! and pickles! yum!!
> 
> after planting...
> 
> 
> 
> this is just one harvest of tomatoes and herbs!!


That's so great!! I love the pictures, the tomatoes and herbs look delicious! I have a garden so I understand all this work and the reward! 



LynandIndigo said:


> Despina lovely tomatoes did you grow all of those they are beautiful... I love tomatoes to. But why don't you try growing Black Russian Tomatoes they are yum .. Here are my tomatoes I grew... You will see the rest of my garden in the chit chat under my name..
> 
> Black Russian Tomatoes I grew..
> .


Now I've seen this mutation once, but I've never tasted them! really, do they taste different? these tomatoes in my picture are bought, not grown in my garden! They are so cheap in this season here. Yours are really good looking, maybe I'll try to find some seeds for next year, thank you!


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