Posted by shiny on March 08, 2020 at 22:17 and edited at March 10, 2020 at 00:54

The Island Bay tomato plants have been finally turning red. I only got 5 seeds last year, and these sprouted into three plants. - which are now giving huge fruit.

I made some tomato sauce out of these. They're great raw but they are definitely good for sauce too. I used the "fast/slow cooker" in sautee mode, because it's a huge pot that can boil for an hour. I put a metal colander on top to let the steam through without the sauce splashing out.

The result is one bottle of sauce from 1kg of tomatoes.

Also I've saved yet more seeds. I'll probably have about 500 seeds from these tomatoes - which means much more of these heirlooms for next year.

This is the recipe i used https://www.annabel-langbein.com/recipes/tomato-relish/3167/

2kg ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped (you don't need to peel them)
2 large onions, chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
1 cup white wine or malt vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp cold water

Place tomatoes and onions in a non-corrosive stainless-steel or plastic container and sprinkle with salt. Leave to stand for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours. Strain off and discard the liquid produced. Place drained tomatoes and onions in a large preserving pan with curry powder, mustard powder, chilli powder, if using, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and boil about 15 minutes. Stir in sugar until dissolved, then continue to boil gently for another 1 hour 15 minutes.

Mix cornflour to a paste with cold water. Stir into the boiling sauce until very slightly thickened (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat, pour into sterilised jars or bottles and seal with lids.

Tomato Relish will last for months in sealed bottles or jars.