Finally a Successful Tomato Season

I am really pleased with how the tomatoes have grown this year. I put a lot of effort into a new area for them and have grown them along a bit of ringlock fence. Everyday for the first couple of months they were in I went out and helped weave them in and out through the wire to help support them and as they grew wider I used old stocking to tie them up. The one thing I would do differently for next year is more pruning- I think you need to be a little ruthless with the pruning as they grow.

I seem to be picking about 2kg of tomatoes a day, lots of cherry ones, heaps of tigerella and black Russian and a few huge (up to 400g each) grosse lisse. I pick them just as they start to turn and bring them into the kitchen to finish off, otherwise bugs seem to get to them.



I am going to try and share a great tomato recipe each day this week starting with a classic Australian Tomato Sauce today.

Last year I stumbled across a couple of packets of Saucestta produced by Fowler's Vacola and snapped them up as I have several old Flowler's Vacola bottling books that often mention Saucesetta in old recipes. I decided to make the tomato sauce recipe which is on the back of the packet and in the lastest Vacola book Secrets of Successful Preserving. I was a bit nervous as when you open the saucesetta it is a funny smelling powdery substance with no specific ingredients on the packet- but somehow the tomato sauce actually turned out quite well. Lyssie liked it which is a bonus as she likes dipping things- maybe it will assist with vegetable eating!




Tomato Sauce

3kg tomatoes, chopped
3 large onions, chopped
1.5 kg apples, peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Saucesetta
4 1/4 cups white vinegar

Place all ingedients in a large stock pot and stir well. bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour and a half. Push through a sieve, return to the pan and simmer again until the desired consistency is reached. Bottle and process. This amount made exactly 7 size 20 bottles.