I'm Feeling Pressed

This past Saturday my husband went out to the garden and did a bit of harvesting. He came back with over 13 pounds of tomatoes. I have something like 14+ tomato plants (a bit excessive I know), but they grow so well  here and I always find uses for them. As an alternative to canning, I use a tomato press and bag the tomatoes in quart size freezer bags. The press separates the pulp and juice from the seeds and skins.  I really enjoy this method as there is very little work involved, no risk of botulism and the end result is a super fresh tomato product that I can use all year long in soups, chili, pasta and pizza sauces. Here is what this process entails:

I use this Italian Velox tomato press. My mom first found one a few years ago and she found me this one at a hardware store not long ago. You may be able to find them at a local hardware or kitchen store for around $30, you can also Google Velox Tomato Press and find some for around $40.

Here is the explanation of the press found on the box.

And here is the little bit of direction they give for using the press to can tomatoes. I'm sure it would work well, but I am trying to avoid canning here, so I skip this entirely and just press the tomatoes and freeze them!

Step 1: Wash tomatoes

Step 2: Remove the stems and slice tomatoes, cutting the slices in half would make the pressing a bit easier.

Step 3: Assemble tomato press. The newer presses I have seen are white and come with a tray to hold the pressed tomato, but an 8x8 pan works well if you have a press like mine. A small or medium sized bowl will work well for the seeds/skins.

Step 4: Time to press! As you can see the seeds/skin are on the right side of the picture and the pulp/juice is on the left. If you have a partner in crime, they can feed the press more tomatoes while you turn the handle but you can easily do it yourself.

Above are the skins/seeds after one press, I usually put this back through the press a second and third time...

(Ready to press for the 2nd time)

See how much more pulp/juice you get by re-pressing the seeds/skin!

Step 5: Bag juice/pulp. I usually pour the juice/pulp from the 8x8 pan into a liquid measuring bowl with a spout. If you are pressing by yourself you may want to shove the freezer bag into a tall glass and turn the edges under to hold it in place, this holds the bag for you so you can begin to fill it with the juice/pulp. I fill the bags to about 2/3 full. Then carefully close and try to get out any air from bag.

The 13 'Golden Jubilee' tomatoes (pictured in step 1 above) yielded 6 cups of juice/pulp which made two bags for freezing.

Step 6: Into the freezer! Lay flat for easy storage.

I really do love the results. The taste of fresh summer tomatoes in the middle of winter is absolutely divine! I use two bags to make one batch of sauce for a pizza. Just simmer for a good long time, adding garlic, fresh basil, oregano, salt, pepper and mushrooms, olives etc. as desired. Tomatoes are mostly water, so it will take time to boil down, if you are short on time you can add tomato paste to thicken it, but I think for the freshest taste all it needs is time. Hope you find a press of your own, you won't be disappointed!-Kim

Comments

[Alicia P.]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[Marci]

You are so clever. I am hunting the web for my own to do my surplus of tomatoes this summer. Good tip woman!

[Trinity]

Kim- You explain this process very well! When I have a garden (hopefully next year), I will have to remember this! Thanks!

[Sara]

Just going to use my tomato press for the first time. As to scald something means to put it in boiling water, how do you scald the tomatoes without water? Does it mean just to cook them with nothing added? The French instructions say bruler which means to burn.Looking firward with excitement following your helpful comments.

[Jeanine]

yes please help with the scald without water idea...I thought you needed water..But thank you for your very clear and helpful instructions because I am just about to use mine for the first time and it gave very little info on the box...