Even though we only had four tomato plants this year, we ended up with way more tomatoes than we could possibly eat fresh (and I’ve been making it a point to incorporate tomatoes into nearly every meal since they started ripening in our garden).
Ed made a couple of small batches of tomato sauce and we’ve also dried some tomatoes (although not a whole lot); but, we still had loads of ripe tomatoes left over that I had to preserve.
One of my favorite methods to preserve garden harvest is quickly becoming fermentation. There are a couple of reasons for that: 1) it is extremely easy, 2) the probiotics of fermented foods are very good for gut health, 3) fermented foods last a good long time (at least up to one year from what I’ve been able to ascertain), 4) no stove required (=> no heating up the kitchen in the hot summer days), 5) no cost of processing other than the initial investment in jars and lids (and weights if you decide to go the purchase route versus trying to find the right sized rocks, etc.) and 6) batch size is easily variable.
My plan for the fermented tomatoes is to use them in either raw tomato sauce for pasta or pizza, in chili, and in uncooked tomato salsa (cooking fermented tomatoes gets rid of the fermented food gut health benefit). I also plan on eating them right out of the jar individually; taste testing my earlier season ferments has proven that the fermented tomatoes are delightfully tasty.
Following are some of the basics of fermenting in general that I’ve been able to piece together:
1. Use pure or filtered water (no chlorine or other chemicals). Distilled water, rain water, or well water work fine.
2. Use salt that has not been iodized or that contains chemicals that will interfere with proper fermentation. I used Redmond’s natural salt from (Redmond’s is a US family company that mines ancient sea salt from underground), but any good quality sea salt will do.
3. Use a food-grade fermenting vessel (glass jars or ceramic containers) but not a plastic or metal container.
4. Start with clean tomatoes (I just ran mine under the tap) and clean jars (however, you don’t have to sterilize the jars / vessels like you do for canning).
5. Use some method to keep the tomatoes underneath the liquid level at all times. This can be a fermenting weight, a small plate, packing the jar in a way that the food cannot rise, or simply filling with liquid to the brim. Then cap and watch the liquid level closely. I used glass pickling weights that I have purchased for both regular mouth canning jars and wide mouth canning jars.
6. Cover your fermenting vessel such that fruit flies and dust are kept out, but that still allows gasses to escape. A plastic storage lid on a jar (NOT airtight) will work. A lid with an airlock will work, so will any other loose-fitting lid. If you do use a lid without an airlock, just burp your regularly capped jar (open it slightly without fully opening it) if you notice gas buildup. I myself go the silicone mason top “airlock” method which I hold in place with the canning jar lid ring.
7. During the initial fermentation period, keep the ferment in a dark place (a temperature in the 70 degree range would be ideal; your ferment will ferment quicker in warmer temperatures and slower in cooler temps). Move your ferment to cool storage after the initial ferment (about 3 weeks for medium-sized tomatoes in a medium temperature kitchen); this could be a refrigerator, but a cool, dark cabinet, cellar, or basement work as well. Because we do not really have dark spots in our kitchen / house, I just covered the ferment jars with kitchen towels to keep the sunlight out.
In my tomato fermenting, I’ve used both quart jars as well as half gallon jars. I’ve added things to some of the ferments as I had them (ex: garlic, onions, herbs) but didn’t necessarily do this all of the time. I stuffed my jars with whole tomatoes (although a couple of times I had to cut some of the larger ones to get them in the jar). Then I mixed 3 heaping tablespoons of salt with 1 quart of water in a separate jar and poured the water over the tomatoes. I covered with my glass pickling weight (making sure that all contents were submerged and with water coming to the brim of the jar), then put my silicone mason top on, and then I screwed on my canning jar metal ring. I covered with a kitchen towel and stored on my kitchen counter. After about 3 weeks or so (maybe a little longer sometimes), I took off the mason top and metal ring and screwed on a plastic lid. Had I not been using the self-burping mason tops, I would have had to manually burp the jars once or twice a day.
We're still eating our way through what appears to be the last of our fresh tomato harvest; however, soon, it will be time to start using the ferments... Can't wait!
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