A Drop in the Bucket

So after the three-egg fiesta that was Thursday’s breakfast I continued to do the packing for our trip away. About 10am I went outside to check on the veggie garden and returned with 2 lb of tomatoes. Bugger. Naturally these are the first tomatoes we have had ripen this year and they all ripen just as we go on holiday. So what does any sensible person who is about to go on holiday in two hours do with 2lb (that’s about a kilo for those of you in 2008) of tomatoes? I’m not sure but I thought it would be a great idea to make tomato pulp a la Edmonds.

Tomato pulp is made by cooking your tomatoes with a little salt until thoroughly mushy then sieving to get rid of the seeds and skin. The pulp is then concentrated by boiling for 15 minutes and then poured into a sterilised jar and sealed.

Now this was indeed as easy as it sounds. The staggering thing was the incredibly low yield. I had, somewhat over enthusiastically sterilised three rather large jars. After I had strained my pulp I had to go an find one modest sized jar and sterilise this. The pulp only half filled it. For my 2lb of beautiful shiny tomatoes I ended up with under a cup of tomato pulp.

Now I could perhaps live with that if it was concentrated like tomato puree but it is about the consistency of tomato soup. Ready to serve, not concentrated. I feel quite cheated. Somehow I had imagined myself as having whole shelves of glass jars full of jewel like preserves, a veritable bounty rather than a drop in the bucket. My mother came around to take us to the airport and having seen the bounty of tomatoes I had picked that morning would not believe just how little pulp I had been left with. I’m still not sure that she actually believes that I haven’t hidden the tomatoes somewhere.

Might I add that despite the fact that I too thought I was tempting fate by preserving in such a limited time frame that I managed to complete it successfully without any major accidents. I’m only hoping the dishes won’t still be sitting in the sink when I get back…

Now I did have a minor brainwave this morning and figure out how to down load the egg pictures. Marvel in their glory...

B is for boiled, C is for coddled - of course

You may be able to see that the coddled egg is somewhat less cooked? Otherwise just use your imagination.

Puffed egg going into the "steamer"for the last 3 minutes and after the 3 minutes but before the yolk falls off

The Husband 'enjoying' his puffed egg. Note the yolky swirly bits all over the plate - oops.