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DON’T THROW AWAY THOSE GREEN TOMATOES!!!!
In this newsletter we will highlight:


HOW TO RIPEN GREEN TOMATOES
SUN DRIED TOMATOES
SHAKEABLE TOMATO POWDER
RECONSTITUTED TOMATO PASTE
TOMATO SOUP
CANCER FIGHTERS


Can you sing that song One Ton Tomato? It’s been on my mind lately because I’ll bet like a lot of you; the tomato plants are popping out green tomatoes like a gumball machine at a dimestore or a 12 year old kid with a full pez dispenser or for the later crowd, 100 dollar bills out of your pocket for the latest i pod. Sorry, I got carried away. One thing is true if you are below Colorado you’ve got green tomatoes and maybe some red ones.

Ok folks, we are on a mission to make passionate, skilled dried food experts out of you. You have an oven or drier you have some tomatoes that might be red or if you still have some plants in the ground……green tomatoes, there’s just too many, you can only do 2 things right? Fry them or let them rot, right? NO!!! We have a great way to ripen them and further on, to make your own dried tomatoes.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO USE YOUR PRESERVED TOMATOES. WE CHOSE JUST A FEW TO REVEAL TO YOU IN OUR ONGOING EFFORT TO HELP YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HARVEST, PERSONAL STORES AND YOUR DEHYDRATOR OR PERSONAL OVEN.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER WE HAVE INCLUDED A NEW FEATURE GUARANTEED TO GIVE YOU VALUE AND INSIGHT. READ ON!

RIPENING GREEN TOMATOES
There is a way to save the remainder of your unripe crop. Pick your large or largest mature tomatoes, which will be showing stages of ripening; pale green or showing some blush. Pick the best fruit, the ones without cracks or blemishes. Use the others for relishes or fried tomatoes, or whatever you prefer. Take the candidates you have chosen and spread newspaper out on a surface where they will not be in the way. The surface and room should be cool but not cold. Place the fruit blossom side down and cover with a piece of newspaper. Continue the process and layer them like this between sheets of newspaper. As they ripen pull them out and use them as you wish. Your green tomatoes will last a while this way. Leave them on the vine as long as possible but be careful to save them from the frost.

“SUN DRIED” TOMATOES

Honestly, they are not sun dried. However your dehydrator or oven can do a job that will give you a product that is as good as and much cheaper than buying them at the market. In all likelihood the store bought sun dried tomatoes are not at all but commercially done the way you are doing them.
Taken from “Preserve It Naturally II”: High acid, full flavored tomatoes like San Marzano and Royal Chico are best for drying; low acid ones turn black when dehydrated. Use only dark red tomatoes with meaty walls. (Pink and yellow skinned tomatoes are normally very low acid)
1. Wash the tomatoes and remove the stems.
2. To remove the skins, dip the tomatoes in boiling, then immediately in cold water. The skins should just slip off.
3. Cut larger tomatoes ¼” slices and halve the cherry variety.. If you have an excess of low acid tomatoes that you’d like to dry, puree them in a blender and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to each quart.
4. Dry at 145 F until leathery or brittle. For puree, line trays with teflex, kitchen parchment paper or plastic wrap before pouring.
Note: Chop dehydrated tomatoes for chili, soups, stews and vegetable dishes. The dry puree can be powdered and converted into tomato paste or sauce; this is a good way to make use of leather that has turned too thin and brittle.

TOMATO POWDER

Place dried slices or leather into a blender, coffee grinder or food processor and blend into a fine pwder. This will keep in a sealed jar for months. Use it in dishes from soups to salads to meatloaf.
RECONSTITUTE – ( TO 1 CUP OF DRIED TOMATO POWDER ADD THE FOLLOWING)
Paste: 13/4 cup water and ½ teaspoon sugar.
Sauce: 3 cups water and ½ teaspoon sugar.
Juice: 3-5 cups water to desired thickness.
Soup: ¾ cup water, ½ cup dry milk. Season to taste.

CANCER FIGHTERS

(Taken from whfoods.com) “In the area of food and phytonutrient research, nothing has been hotter in the last 5 years than studies on the lycopene in tomatoes. This carotene found in tomatoes (and everything made from them) has extensively been studied for its antioxidant and cancer fighting properties. The antioxidant function of lycopene – its ability to protect cells and other structures in the body from oxygen damage – has been linked in human research to the protection of DNA inside of white blood cells. Prevention of heart disease has been shown to be another antioxidant role played by lycopene.
In contrast to many other food phytonutrients, whose effects have only been studied in animals, lycopene from tomatoes has been repeatedly studied in humans and found to be protective against a growing list of cancers. These cancers now include colorectal, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.”

SOMETHING YOU CAN REALLY USE

In each newsletter we will be comparing for you the price of store bought products verses what you have made. All in an effort to help in any way we can.
A medium large tomato weighs ½ to ¾ of one pound. 5 pounds of tomatoes makes approximately 4 ounces of dried chopped tomatoes.
Dried chopped tomatoes cost $5.99 for 4 ounces at Whole Foods Market. We had a hard time finding them anywhere else except for the bottled shakable brands which cost at least $2.99 for a small bottle weighing ½ to ¾ of 1 ounce at a variety of stores.
Trader Joes and Ralph’s (in CA) carry sun dried tomatoes in bags or in oil. At both locations packed either way the cost per pound is $6.00.
We cannot put a price per pound on what your home grown tomatoes have cost but you have them and that is a head start. There will be little additional expenditure to make these products yourself. You can add herbs to the powders to add your own touch Dry chilis and grind them with the tomatoes, or garlic, any combination can be tried. You can place your sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and store. All of these will be exorbitantly priced at the store – if you can find them! Even if you buy the raw tomatoes and make the products mentioned, we calculate you will still be ahead or at least even – but with ingredients and taste you control.

And of course, the love and passion of home made goodness.

Thank you and stay tuned for the next newsletters; Dried apples, Venison Jerky, Potpourri, Dried Cranberries and Dried and Roasted Nuts


 


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