Terrific Tomato Sauce
Over the centuries, cooks and gardeners have used acids, sugars, salt and alcohol to preserve foods for out-of-season enjoyment.
Pickling is one of the oldest forms of preserving and has been traced back more than 4500 years to Mesopotamia.
Vegetables are usually salted first or placed in brine to draw out excess moisture to prevent the pickle from fermenting.
Vinegar is also a preservative, inhibiting the growth of micro-organisms which cause foods to spoil. However, to be effective, ensure the vinegar you choose has a minimum of 5 per cent acetic acid. Most commercially prepared cooking vinegars do.
With fruit pickles, sugar is mostly used as a preservative, along with vinegar and spices.
Originating in India, chutneys were always intended to be eaten raw. However, as demand in the Western world grew for these spicy condiments, so did the idea of preserving them.
Piccalilli must still be one of the most popular relishes and the Oxford English Dictionary traces the word to the middle of the 18th century when Hannah Glasse described how to make Paco-Lilla, or Indian Pickle.
Kiwis love their tomato sauce and one report claims we consume, on average, three times our bodyweight of this saucy delight every year. I think perhaps that's pouring it on a bit thick, but there are some advantages. The American Cancer Society says that the lycopene (a cancer resisting ingredient) in tomato sauce is more easily absorbed than that in raw tomatoes.
The term "tomato sauce" can be confusing - Americans have known it as ketchup since the 1830s. Interestingly, Italian tomato sauce (pasta sauce) contains no vinegar at all.
RECIPES
TERRIFIC TOMATO SAUCE
3.5kg ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic chopped
Bouquet garni (parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme tied with string)
3 & 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp salt
2 & 1/2 cups cider vinegar
Place all ingredients in a very large saucepan or preserving pan. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Boil for 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours, until thick. Remove bouquet garni.
Put sauce through a mouli or puree in a food processor and pass through a sieve. Return sauce to heat and simmer until hot and thick. Pour into hot sterilised bottles. Seal when cold. Makes about 10 cups.
PEACH & CHILLI CHUTNEY
Don't taste test a chutney during cooking - it is far too vinegary to evaluate the finished flavour.
1 tbsp rice bran oil
1 white onion, sliced
1kg reasonably-firm peaches, peeled, stoned and diced
2 long red chillies, sliced
3cm knob root ginger, peeled and julienned
1 tbsp each: whole cumin seeds, yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
200g light brown sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan. Saute onion, until softened but not brown. Add remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Pour into sterilised jars and seal. Makes 4 cups.
PERFECT PICCALILLI
3 cups tiny cauliflorets
1 cup sliced green beans
2 each: medium carrots, greenish tomatoes, celery stalks
1 medium green-skinned cucumber
250g pickling-sized onions
1 cup plain salt
5 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp each: turmeric, mustard powder, grated root ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 small red chillies, chopped
1/4 cup each: flour or cornflour, extra white vinegar
Place cauliflorets and beans in a large ceramic or glass bowl. Dice carrots, tomatoes, celery and cucumber. Quarter onions. Combine them with cauliflorets and beans and sprinkle with the salt. Stand overnight.
Next day, rinse vegetables under cold water. Drain and pat them dry.
Combine vinegar, sugar, spices, garlic and chillies in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Add vegetables and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are just tender - about 20 minutes.
Mix flour and extra vinegar and stir into vegetables. Cook until the mixture thickens. Pour into hot, sterilised jars. Seal when cold.
Makes about 12 cups.
PICKLED APRICOTS
1kg apricots
1/2 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 cups water
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp whole cloves
2 star anise
Halve apricots, remove stones.
Bring sugar and water to boil in a large saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Add vinegar and spices and simmer 5 minutes.
Add apricots and poach, until cooked. Pack into sterilised jars and top with strained boiling syrup. Seal with vacuum seals.
Great served with beef, lamb, pork, poultry or fish.
Makes 1 litre.