Gauteng Smallholder March 2016 | Page 41

IN THE KITCHEN What to do with a tomato bounty T he late summer bounty of tomatoes brings joy, but often there is too much to use at once, so why not preserve some of it for use in winter? People often prefer to work with skinned tomatoes, which is quick and easy to do. Cut a small slot in the bottom of each tomato and drop them into a pot of boiling water.. From page 37 Drying, freezing, bottling, paste or powder ... amount of time to dry. Cut them in half or in quarters if just some of your alternatives for storing they are large and use a your surplus You will notice that the skins begin to split once the water starts to boil. When this happens, just remove them from the boiling water and drop them in cold water to stop them from cooking any further. The skins will simply slide off. Drying tomatoes can be done very simply in an oven or it can be done in a dehydrator. For oven-dried tomatoes, try to get similar sized fruit so that they will take the same PRESERVING preventive by avoiding skin damage and not storing damaged roots. Alternatively you can individually wrap the sweet potatoes in sheets of newsprint or in brown paper bags. Newspaper and brown paper bags are both fairly breathable, providing just enough air circulation to prevent the sweet potatoes from rotting too quickly. Store the individually-wrapped sweet potatoes in a cardboard box, wooden box, or wooden basket. Do not use an airtight storage container. Place an apple in the box, as it is thought that the apple will help prevent the sweet potatoes from budding. 39 www.sasmallholder.co.za paper towel to wipe-dry the cut surface. You may remove the seeds if you wish. Brush the cut surface with olive oil and sprinkle the top with some salt. Place the tomatoes Continued on page 40