Orange rings, no longer available, are soaked and then placed on the jars before filling.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Jaci Hicken, our seasoned journalist and trained chef, shares her wealth of knowledge on growing, cooking and preserving homegrown produce. In this edition, tomato season has started and Jaci is in the kitchen with the vacola.
We have already preserved plums using the Fowler’s Vacola method, so today we are going to preserve tomatoes in No. 31 vacola jars.
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For today’s tomatoes, I just happen to have a packet of orange rings, which some people swear are superior but are no longer available.
They still need to be soaked, then placed on the jars before you start filling anything.
This is how I preserve my tomatoes, and being pretty lazy, not making passata or anything like that, my tomatoes still have their skins on.
Here is my method for preserving tomatoes using the Fowler’s Vacola method:
Step one: Wash the tomatoes
Step two: Roughly chop up each tomato one at a time, placing the chopped pieces in your jar.
The tomatoes are washed, roughly chopped and placed in No. 31 jars.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Step three: Once the jar is full, use a thin rolling pin to squash the tomatoes down.
You will end up with the jar about ⅔ full.
Add more chopped tomatoes and repeat until you have tomatoes and their juice about 12mm from the top of the jar.
Squashing the tomatoes down removes the air gaps between the fruit, and the 12mm at the top allows the fruit to expand and cool during the whole process to create the seal and preserve the food.
As my Fowler’s unit can hold eight No. 31 jars, that’s how many jars of tomatoes we are doing today.
Then squashed down in the jar to remove air gaps using a thin rolling pin.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Until all eight jars are filled.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Step four: Sprinkle half a teaspoon of citric acid over the top of each jar of tomatoes.
Citric acid is added to each jar.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Step five: Seal with lids and clips, then place in your unit and follow the instructions to preserve.
Then they are sealed with lids and clips before being placed in Jaci’s Fowler’s Vacola unit on the back bench.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Step six: Once the required preserving time has elapsed, remove from the unit and leave on the bench overnight to cool before removing the clips.
Once the preserving time is reached, the jars are removed from the unit and left on the bench until the next day.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
For me, tomatoes preserved this way will last 12 months in the storeroom.
The food is not being preserved to be kept for ever, it is being preserved to be used, and the cupboard will be empty by this time next year.
We don’t preserve to hoard; we preserve so we still have homegrown tomatoes out of season.
During the year, tomatoes preserved this way end up in winter stews and pasta sauce or are turned into a quick tomato soup for lunch.
Jaci can vacola eight No. 31s of tomatoes.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Tomato soup recipe
Ingredients
A splash of olive oil
Garlic — as much or as little as you like — finely chopped
One No. 31 jar of tomatoes
Salt, pepper and sugar (or honey) to season.
Method
Step one: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil, then fry off the garlic until it is cooked through.
Step two: Add the jar of tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Step three: Season with salt, pepper and sugar (or honey) to taste. Serve with a piece of crusty bread.
See you all in the kitchen soon!
– Jaci
For the next little while, Jaci is exploring everything tomato. Do you have a favourite tomato recipe for Jaci can cook? Drop her a line and let her know at jaci.hicken@mmg.com.au
