On A Mission...Tomato Road Trip

Melissa and I talked about canning tomatoes so much after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle that not following through was simply not an option. After buying quart jars when I bought jars to make fig preserves and buying the canner that Melissa found at Globe Hardware, the plans for canning tomatoes had to move forward. Unfortunately, I could not find homegrown tomatoes in bulk in Pitt County. During the past several weeks, the tomatoes offered at the Pitt County Farmer’s Market have been “few and far between.” Renston Homestead couldn’t help me (as grape tomatoes are their forte), so Stephen and I set off early Saturday morning on a “tomato road trip.”

We had several Triad locations on our itinerary, but the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh was our most important destination. We arrived shortly after 2PM and the place was bustling. We began to look for tomatoes and were overwhelmed with all of the choices. Ranging in price from $.89 a pound to $1.25 a pound, I knew that that these prices were too steep for the large quantity that I came to buy. Although Barbara Kingsolver says that she never cans tomatoes unless she has at least thirty pounds of tomatoes, Melissa thought that beginning with a smaller quantity was fine. My first “find” netted a large box of canning tomatoes for $6. The box was heavy, although HOW HEAVY I did not know...I failed to ask how many pounds of tomatoes it contained. As we put the box in the car, I continued to search booth after booth and found no one who was willing to swing a deal for a large quantity of tomatoes. Sidetracked by several very interesting vendors, Stephen purchased a brown turkey fig bush (so he could compete with the other successful fig growers in our area…including his mom!) and I bought some amazingly perfect sunflowers and beautiful cockscomb in fuschia, gold, and chartreuse colors. After buying half a loaf of LaFarm Bakery’s signature farm bread (whole wheat sourdough), we finally hit paydirt. We found a vendor offering a large basket of canning tomatoes for $6.00. We left with 17 more pounds of tomatoes and a great market basket, as well. Last, we bought several ears of fresh corn for the chickens and some gorgeous peppers in an array of colors from a farmer who lives in Climax, NC.

On the way home we bought several local cheeses (Farmer’s Cheese and Herbed Goat Cheese from the Chapel Hill Creamery) and some local milk (Maple View Farm in Hillsborough) at Whole Foods. After one more stop at the Gem and Mineral Show at the State Fairgrounds, we headed home.

This morning as we prepared to begin canning, we weighed in our tomato collection. OK…I went a little overboard! Forty-five pounds of beautiful dead ripe tomatoes waiting to be canned. I might add that at $12 for the lot, these homegrown beauties cost us $.26 per pound. (You might be saying, “But what about the trip and the gas????” We consider this a bargain and a contribution to the local economy considering that the food on the average American’s table when purchased from a supermarket has traveled between 1,500 and 2,500 miles!) After consulting Kingsolver’s directions in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and the information at http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/canning_tomatoes.htm,
we plunged tomato after tomato into boiling water, slipped the skins off, and prepared them for hot packing into quart jars.

Six quarts of beautifully canned tomatoes behind us, the remainder of the tomatoes simmered into one of the most divine tomato sauces that I have ever tasted. Adapted from the “Family Secret Tomato Sauce” in Kingsolver’s book (p. 214), the sauce is not only beautiful, but topped whole wheat pasta, sautéed shrimp, red peppers, and garlic this evening to end our day on an exceptionally delicious note. Here is the recipe that I used for this outstanding tomato sauce:

Herb Tomato Sauce

10 quarts tomato puree (about 30 pounds)
4 large onions, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 small bunch chopped Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
4 generous sprigs rosemary
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
½ cup local honey
3 tablespoons salt
½ Moroccan preserved lemon, rinsed and slivered (fresh lemon rind if you do not have Moroccan preserved lemons...I made some this past winter with the lemons that we grew on our lemon trees.)
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Soften onions in a heavy 3 gallon kettle-add a small amount of water if necessary, but no oil if you are canning (very important!). Add pureed tomatoes and all seasonings, bring to a boil, simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours or until sauce is of desired thickness. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Meanwhile, heat water in canner bath, sterilize jars in boiling water or dishwasher, and pour boiling water over jar lids. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each quart jar before filling with tomato sauce to assure safe acidity. Ladle into jars and leave ½ inch headspace. Cap jars, lower into canner and boil for 45 minutes. Remove, cool, check all seals. Can also be frozen.