Tomato Varieties

[deb4o]

oh FD almost forgot about chili sauce, thats a must.

so I guess I will step out of my box this year and plant a few new varieties and just mix and match.

farmlor I like the idea of different colors of sauce, not sure how my family will react--but hey if they are hunger---------

 

[farmerlor]

Another thing that absolutely must be had for good tomato sauce is a good steam juicer. In the old days I would cook, run through a sieve and then cook all the water out until it was a thickened sauce. Sometimes a slight scorching taste found it's way into my jars and the flavor was.....cooked. Now I throw all the tomatoes into my juicer. The juice is extracted through steam and I can use that for brining turkeys, soup stock or drinking. The tomatoes that are left are run through the sieve and it's perfect sauce without any other steps. And it tastes just like fresh tomatoes. Easier, better tasting and faster. Can't ask for better than that.

 

[deb4o]

farmlor-where would one look for one at?

would a regular ol juicer work?

 

[farmerlor]

farmlor-where would one look for one at?

would a regular ol juicer work?

This is the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Mehu-Liisa-Li...2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1264869223&sr=8-2

but there are many models that are much cheaper, especially this time of year. The "Back to Basics" model can be had for a little over 40 bucks if you go with aluminum but I chose stainless steel because of the whole aluminum vs stainless steel controversy.

 

[onmyown44]

I love a tomato with a citris bite to it for sandwiches. I grew some great ones a couple of years ago and cannot remember the variety. Does anyone have a recommendation?

 

[farmerlor]

I love a tomato with a citris bite to it for sandwiches. I grew some great ones a couple of years ago and cannot remember the variety. Does anyone have a recommendation?

The one I automatically think of whenever someone says citrus tasting tomato is Pineapple. It's a big yellow tomato with a sweet, citrus, Pineapple taste to it. Absolutely marvelous on a big ol' ham sandwich or bacon burger and it's an heirloom tomato so you can save seed and have it every year.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Like others here . . . I find that mixing different types of tomatoes makes the best sauce. However, you do have to be careful if you are water bath canning such a sauce, because some of the cherry tomatoes are technically not acidic enough to can properly. Just add a little lemon juice to the jar as you are canning, if your tomatoes are not acidic enough . . . I have never found the lemon to be an unpleasant addition. I also agree . . . some of the sauce batches I canned last year were odd colors . . . one was sort of burnt sienna (lots of yellow and orange tomatoes, plus some black ones), but since it tastes so good I don't care what it looks like so much. Ugly tomato sauce can be the tastiest. We just had some last night on homemade pizza.

 

[onmyown44]

I love a tomato with a citris bite to it for sandwiches. I grew some great ones a couple of years ago and cannot remember the variety. Does anyone have a recommendation?

The one I automatically think of whenever someone says citrus tasting tomato is Pineapple. It's a big yellow tomato with a sweet, citrus, Pineapple taste to it. Absolutely marvelous on a big ol' ham sandwich or bacon burger and it's an heirloom tomato so you can save seed and have it every year.

Thanks! I will try them.