Amish Tomato Recipes
The tomato is a native plant to South America. It is in the nightshade family of plants, being a cousin to potatoes, eggplants and chili peppers. At one point tomatoes where considered to be poisonous but luckily for tomato lovers everywhere this thought changed in the 18th century.
There are thousands of different cultivars of tomatoes ranging from the tiny cherry tomatoes up to the huge beefsteak tomatoes. In addition to the familiar tomato red color, tomatoes can come in almost every color from purple, yellow, green, pink, orange, white, black or multicolored. If you plan on canning tomatoes the best ones to choose are the plum tomatoes which do not have as much water as the other types of tomatoes.
These hot, humid summer days are making the tomato plants grow rapidly. Much like any gardener, the Amish will reap a bounty soon of red, ripe tomatoes. Most people find they have way more tomatoes than they could possibly eat fresh. Who wants to let them go to waste? No one and the Amish have some very good recipes to make use of this bounty and to store up some summer goodness for wintertime cooking. Here are a few recipes that to get you started in preserving your crop.
Amish Tomato Ketchup
6 celery ribs, diced
2 medium onions, diced
1/4 cup water
3 pounds tomatoes
5 tbsp. white vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tbsp. allspice berries
1/2 tbsp. whole cloves
1/2 tbsp.celery seeds
1 tsp. ground mace
1/2 tsp. salt
Place the celery, onions, and water in a heavy, medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook and stir occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 25 minutes.
Quarter the tomatoes and place into a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat partially covered, until they are very soft and almost a puree, about 25 minutes. Place cooked celery and onion in with the tomatoes and continue to cook for 15 more minutes. The vegetables should be completely softened after this final cooking.
Strain tomato mixture in small batches through a sieve into a large saucepan, pressing down firmly to extract all of the liquid. Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, allspice, cloves, celery seeds, mace, and salt. Place the pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring often to be sure that the ketchup is not sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens somewhat, 15 to 20 minutes.
Allow ketchup to cool, then ladle into jars. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 months. Or ladle the boiling-hot ketchup into hot sterilized canning jars. Seal according to the lid manufacturer’s instructions.
Amish Tomato Juice
3 1/2 pounds tomatoes
Salt
Sugar (optional)
Use ripe, firm, blemish free tomatoes for this recipe. Wash, dry, remove blossom ends and the core. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and place into a large pot. Place pot on stove on medium low and simmer until the tomatoes are soft, making sure to stir to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and run tomcats through a sieve or strainer to extract juice. Return to pot and bring to a boil. To preserve pour juice into hot pint or quart jars to within 1/4 inch of the tops. Add 1 teaspoon salt or 2 teaspoons salt sugar mixture (1 part salt to 2 parts sugar) to each quart, if desired. Wipe tops and threads of jars with a damp clean cloth. Put on lids and screw bands as manufacturer directs. Process in a pressure cooker at 5 lbs. 10 minutes for pints, 15 minutes for quarts.
Use some of your tomato juice to make some delicious, creamy cream of tomato soup.
Amish Cream of Tomato Soup
2 c. tomato juice
½ tsp. baking soda
1 quart milk
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
Place tomato juice into a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Add baking soda and stir quickly. The mixture will foam so stir rapidly to prevent it from overflowing. Remove from heat. In another heavy saucepan heat the milk until very warm. Add salt and butter. Add hot milk mixture to tomato mixture and stir. Soup will be ready at this time. Can add pepper to season the soup.
