Preserves

It's that time of year in her Australia, the time when home gardeners have a sudden glut of tomatoes and maybe a zucchini or two that has gotten overly large. You know what I mean, one day the zucchini are lovely and finger-sized and then seemingly overnight they grown into something resembling a club that any self-resepcting caveman would be happy to carry. Don't get me started about the whole tomato thing. It seems that there is a conspiracy among the tomoto plants in the garden. Even though flowers and eventually tiny green fruits appear at varying times and you think 'good, looks like I will get a continuous supply of tomatoes for several weeks', the plants hold a meeting and agree on a date to ripen the fruit. So what you end up with is nearly every tomato plant in the garden, no matter what size the fruits are, with lovely red ripe tomatoes, all at the same time. Even if you aren't a gardener, or aren't the recipient of garden donations from well intentioned friends and family, you might just not be able to resist the seasonal bargains on fruit on veg and find yourself with an over abundance of tomatoes ('Did I really buy that many?'). Well, I have a solution. I have made both of these recipes dozens of times, and they are always a hit.


Spiced Tomato Relish
Makes about 6 - #20 fowlers jars or 4 #27s

3 kg ripe tomatoes
500g onions
4 Tbsp salt
6 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
6 tsp mustard powder
4 cups vinegar
4 cups sugar

Skin tomatoes and cut into chunks and place in large saucepan. Peel onions and chop finely and add to saucepan with tomatoes. Mix in salt. Mix curry powder, chilli powder and mustard powder with a little of the vinegar to make a smooth paste. Stir vinegar into tomato mixture along with spice paste. Mix thoroughly. Bring to the boil and boil for about an hour or so to reduce by about 1/3. Add the sugar and continue to boil, being careful not to burn it, until it is thick. Bottle and process.

Note: Use mild or hot curry powder depending on how hot you like it. I use mild because that suits my family's tastes.



Zucchini Relish
Makes 7 - #20 Vacola Jars

12 cups coarsely ground zucchini, unpeeled (3 very large)
5 medium onions
1 red capsicum
5 tablespoons salt
4 cups sugar
4 cups white vinegar
3 tablespoons cornflour
2 teaspoon mustard seed
2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons celery seeds

Coarsely grind the onions and peppers. Stir in zucchini and salt. Cover and allow to sit for 3 hours. Drain and rinse well. Combine the remaining ingredients to make a syrup, boiling until sugar dissolves and mixture has thickened. Add to vegetables and cook for 20 minutes. Bottle and process.

Note: If you don't have overgrown zucchini, just use more normal sized ones. I'm not sure how many you would need, but if you try it and can share that information, I would appreciate it.

I have have not given instructions for the actual preseving process or how to clean the jars, etc. I am not an expert in preserving, just someone who loves to make yummy things and be able to store them. You will need to refer to the instructions that came with your preserver for that information. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do.