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Canning Tomatoes
It's August... and that means it's time for our annual family event to preserve
and can our tomatoes!!!! We invite you to join us as we share with you this very
special experience that has been passed down through our family for so many generations.
It is HARD word, but so joyous for all of us to be together and to carry on this
important family tradition... and to preserve the tomatoes that we will enjoy ALL
winter long... and also our students coming for our special cooking classes with
Mamma Agata and Gennaro!!!! Come along and see how we preserve tomatoes... and
we hope to inspire you to have a family tomato canning festival just like us!!!!!!
In August it is HOT HOT HOT in the garden, but we create a nice outdoor work space
under the shade of the grape vines to stay cool. Here you can see all the equipement
set up for a for creating our "Conserva di pomodoro"...
Mamma Agata's tomato preserves!!!
Gennaro works SOOOOOO hard setting up all the equipment and harvesting tomatoes
and organizing everything we need... and that's just the work to be done BEFORE
we start preserving the tomatoes!!!!
Once the tomatoes have been harvested and sorted... the first step is to wash them
twice. Each member of the family helps during these busy days, but we have SOOOOO
much fun and so many laughs along the way!!! Just as I helped Mamma Agata when I
was a little girl, now I am blessed to see Mario and Paola working alongside Gennaro
and learning how to continue this very special family tradition!!!!!!
After the tomatoes have been washed twice, they are ready to be cooked in a HUGE
pot of salted and boiling water. Mario is such a hard worker!!!!!
And he is always our clown... making us ALLL laugh so much!!!!!
The clean tomatoes are ready to be boiled when the big pot is ready!!!
Gennaro has added the washed tomatoes to the large pot where the tomatoes will cook
until they are ready to be processed. It's a HOT job on a summer day... but so
worth it to have fresh homemade tomato sauce to enjoy all winter long!!!!!
Bubble... bubble... bubble... the tomatoes are cooking!!!
Gennaro knows when they are ready!!
The next step is to use large slotted spoons to transfer the cooked tomatoes to
another large pot... near where they will be processed to remove the skins, stems
and seeds.
Hot work!!!
Now the tomatoes are cooked and ready to be processed to make the tomato puree,
which removes the skins and the seeds. Our family has been growing tomatoes and
preserving them on our garden terraces for centuries... and it always moves me to
be a part of this special family tradition each summer!!!
Mario masters the machine that removes the seeds, stems and skins of the tomatoes
and dumps them into the bucket on the far left and passes the tomato puree into
the pot next to Mario. He has already been doing this for YEARS now and knows how
everything works!!!!
Gennaro adds more cooked tomatoes to the processing machine... and you can see
the beautiful red tomato puree coming out!!!!
It is so special for all of us to see father and son working side by side... knowing
we are sharing our family history and passing it to the next generation!!!!
Look at that beautiful color!!!! We don't waste anything... and we will use the
tomato skins, seeds and stems in the garden as fertilizer!!
We all feel grateful EACH and EVERY day that we can work together as a family and
share so many happy memories together!!!!
Gennaro starts another batch of tomatoes cooking on the fire!!!!
While the tomatoes cook... there is SOOOOOO much to do!!!
First the kids help Papà Salvatore to pick the fresh basil from the garden. The
leaves must be separated from the stems and then washed and dried. The hot sun helps
dry them quickly!!
Papà Salvatore works hard ALL summer long growing our tomatoes and basil... and
this is the DAY of glory for his hard work!!!!!
To capture the fresh flavours of summer on the Amalfi Coast... we add a few fresh
basil leaves to every jar before adding the tomato preserves!!!
Paola LOVES this job... carefully filling each jar with just the right amount of
basil!!!
All those tomatoes are already processed... and now it's time to fill the jars!!!
This takes someone VERY strong to transfer the tomato puree to the pot where we
will fill the jars!!!!
After ALLLLLLLL the hard work... comes the best part... TASTE TESTING!!!!!! Everyone
samples the tomato puree to test the salt and make sure it is perfect!!!
Do you think someone has been tasting the tomato sauce???????
It's time for a break during canning... fresh tomato sauce on freshly baked bread
... YUM!!!
Mario and Paola take a MUCH deserved snack break... enjoying the fruits of their
labour!!!!
Now it's time to fill the jars of with the tomato sauce!!!
Look at the vibrant RED!!!! Fresh tomato sauce is packed with so many nutrients...
making it such a healthy ingredient to eat all winter long!!!
It's a messy job... but SOOOO worth it to have the fresh flavours from the garden
to enjoy with our family and the wonderful students in our cooking classes each
day!!!!
Once the jars are filled, Papà Salvatore puts the lids on tightly. Next the jars
will be boiled to seal them properly.
What a JOY it is to have fresh flavours from our garden... ready to share with
family and friends!!!! We hope you will consider preserving tomatoes with your family...
it is an AMAZING family tradition you can share for generations to come!!!
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