Tomato Sauce for Keeping I is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic sauce of pulped tomatoes preserved with vinegar and flavoured with soy sauce and anchovy sauce that can be stored for several months. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Tomato Sauce for Keeping I.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook. In essence this is a tomato ketchup like sauce but with the umami flavour dialled up to 11 with the addition of soy sauce and anchovy sauce.
Original Recipe
TOMATO SAUCE FOR KEEPING (Excellent).
I.
530. INGREDIENTS.—To every quart of tomato-pulp allow 1 pint of cayenne vinegar (No. 386), 3/4 oz. of shalots, 3/4 oz. of garlic, peeled and cut in slices; salt to taste. To every six quarts of liquor, 1 pint of soy, 1 pint of anchovy sauce.
Mode.—Gather the tomatoes quite ripe; bake them in a slow oven till tender; rub them through a sieve, and to every quart of pulp add cayenne vinegar, shalots, garlic, and salt, in the above proportion; boil the whole together till the garlic and shalots are quite soft; then rub it through a sieve, put it again into a saucepan, and, to every six quarts of the liquor, add 1 pint of soy and the same quantity of anchovy sauce, and boil altogether for about 20 minutes; bottle off for use, and carefully seal or resin the corks. This will keep good for 2 or 3 years, but will be fit for use in a week. A useful and less expensive sauce may be made by omitting the anchovy and soy.
Time.—Altogether 1 hour.
Seasonable.—Make this from the middle of September to the end of October.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
3kg tomatoes (very ripe)
For every 1l Tomato Pulp:
600ml cayenne vinegar
22.5g shallots, peeled and sliced
22.5g garlic, peeled and sliced
salt, to taste
For every 1l of Tomato Puree:
100ml soy sauce
100ml anchovy sauce
Method:
Place the tomatoes in a greased baking tin then bake in an oven pre-heated to 180°C for about 40 minutes, or until soft. Rub through a fine-meshed sieve to extract the pulp.
Pour the pulp into a large pan and for each 1l of pulp add 600ml cayenne vinegar, 22.5g shallots and 22.5g garlic. Season to taste with salt then bring to a boil and continue boiling for about 20 minutes, or until the garlic and shallots are very soft. Rub the resultant mixture through a sieve with the back of a wooden spoon.
Return to the tomato puróe to a pan and for every 1l of liquid add 100ml soy sauce and 100ml anchovy sauce. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 20 minutes. After this time, take off the heat and pour into sterilized bottles or jars. Seal securely with vinegar-proof stoppers or lid and set aside until needed.
