Homemade tomato paste is a great preparation for the winter. It is not only a delicious food supplement, but also a source of nutrients, because processed tomatoes do not lose their nutritional value. Modern kitchen appliances, such as a blender and a multicooker, greatly facilitate the task of cooks and help cook tomato paste for the winter quickly and easily.
Interesting facts about tomato paste
- Tomato paste is a traditional snack in Italy. According to statistics, every inhabitant of the country, on average, eats 25 kg of product per year.
- Tomato paste contains the same nutrients as raw tomatoes. When fully ripe vegetables are heat treated, the level of lycopene, an antioxidant that protects the body from cancer and some eye diseases, increases by one and a half times.
- The tomato paste produced on the day of harvest is especially valuable. This product contains more lycopene and, if consumed regularly, can slow down aging.
- Tomato paste is an excellent antidepressant! This is due to the content in the product of the so-called happiness hormone - serotonin.
Homemade tomato paste for the winter: quality assurance
Tomato paste is essentially a thick boiled puree without seeds and skin. When storing the workpiece in the cold in a sterile container, no additives are needed. It is permissible to use coarsely ground edible salt; a small amount of sugar so that the taste of the product is balanced; 6% or 9% vinegar.
To properly prepare homemade tomato paste for the winter means not only to completely process the crop, save on store products, but also to be sure: there are no harmful components in the preparation. For the best result, it is important to carefully select and prepare the raw materials.
As a rule, for the preparation of tomato paste at home, fully ripe and even overripe fruits are used, including those with soft areas, but not sick and moldy! It is necessary to thoroughly rinse the raw materials under running water, remove dents, stalks and cut the tomatoes into slices.
Tomato paste in a blender
The blank is done in three stages:
- grinding of raw materials;
- removal of seeds and skins;
- boiling down.
The blender helps to prepare tomato paste for the winter quickly and easily, as it simplifies the process of grinding tomatoes. It is enough to scroll the prepared raw materials in mashed potatoes, pass the resulting mass through a sieve to remove seeds and skin, and you can boil the tomato paste in a saucepan over medium heat. After boiling the mass, the fire must be reduced.
Patience will be needed at the stage of boiling with regular stirring: the thicker the product, the more valuable it is. When the tomato paste thickens and acquires a rich color from reddish-red to burgundy, it should be placed hot in a sterilized glass container and rolled up. Banks are installed upside down, covered with a blanket until they cool completely.
Tomato paste in a slow cooker
The process of boiling the mass from tomatoes can be shortened if there is a multicooker in the house. For spiciness, onion and garlic are added to the preparation. You need to wash, peel and cut into slices vegetables: a pound of tomatoes, 200 g of onions and 3-4 garlic cloves. Pre-cut the tomatoes in a crosswise manner at the bottom, scald with boiling water and, pulling on the skin, peel.
Next, you should scroll the pieces of vegetables in a blender, pour two tablespoons of vegetable oil into the multicooker bowl, put the vegetable mass and a teaspoon of coarse salt there. In a multicooker, you can really cook tomato paste for the winter quickly and easily: just bring the puree to a boil, close the lid and turn on the "Stew" mode for 35-40 minutes. In this case, there is no need to be afraid that the workpiece will burn without stirring.
Immediately after cooking, it is permissible to pour hot tomato paste from a multicooker into a sterilized container and roll it up. If you want to make the workpiece thicker and without seeds, you should filter it through a sieve and evaporate excess moisture on the stove in a saucepan.
