Tomato Sauce for Keeping III is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic sauce of tomatoes softened in the oven that are pulped, boiled with chilli vinegar, vegetables and spices before being combined with lemon juice and bottled for storage. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Tomato Sauce for Keeping III.
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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.
Original Recipe
TOMATO SAUCE FOR KEEPING (Excellent).
III.
532. INGREDIENTS.—3 dozen tomatoes; to every pound of tomato-pulp allow 1 pint of Chili vinegar, 1 oz. of garlic, 1 oz. of shalot, 2 oz. of salt, 1 large green capsicum, 1/2 teaspoonful of cayenne, 2 pickled gherkins, 6 pickled onions, 1 pint of common vinegar, and the juice of 6 lemons.
Mode.—Choose the tomatoes when quite ripe and red; put them in a jar with a cover to it, and bake them till tender. The better way is to put them in the oven overnight, when it will not be too hot, and examine them in the morning to see if they are tender. Do not allow them to remain in the oven long enough to break them; but they should be sufficiently soft to skin nicely and rub through the sieve. Measure the pulp, and to each pound of pulp, add the above proportion of vinegar and other ingredients, taking care to chop very fine the garlic, shalot, capsicum, onion, and gherkins. Boil the whole together till everything is tender; then again rub it through a sieve, and add the lemon-juice. Now boil the whole again till it becomes as thick as cream, and keep continually stirring; bottle it when quite cold, cork well, and seal the corks. If the flavour of garlic and shalot is very much disliked, diminish the quantities.
Time.—Bake the tomatoes in a cool oven all night.
Seasonable from the middle of September to the end of October.
Note.—A quantity of liquor will flow from the tomatoes, which must be put through the sieve with the rest. Keep it well stirred while on the fire, and use a wooden spoon.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
36 tomatoes (must be red and ripe)
For Every 500g Tomato Pulp:
660ml chilli vinegar
33g garlic, peeled and sliced
33g shallots, peeled and sliced
66g salt
1 large green bell pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 pickled gherkins
6 pickled onions
660ml malt vinegar
juice of 6 lemons
Method:
Place the tomatoes in an earthenware casserole dish cover with the lid then set in an oven pre-heated to 60°C and bake slowly over night. By the following day the tomatoes should be very soft (but the skins should not be broken). Remove the skins (they should peel off easily) then rub the tomatoes through a fine-meshed sieve to puróe.
Weight the resultant pulp and for each 500g add 660ml chilli vinegar, 33g garlic, 33g shallots, 66g salt, 1 large bell pepper, chopped, 2 pickled gherkins, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more, to taste), 6 pickled onions and 660ml malt vinegar.
Bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling for about 35 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely tender. Take off the heat and rub through a fine-meshed sieve with the back of a spoon. Pour the resultant liquid into a pan and add the lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of double cream.
Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Turn into cleaned and sterilized bottles whilst still hot and seal well with air-tight lids and set aside in a cool, dark, cupboard until needed.
