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Preserve

Tomatoes.

A method for preserving ripe tomatoes in jars by scalding, removing skins, packing, adding salt and sugar, and sterilizing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,667 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Tomatoes.

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the tomatoes

  1. Scald the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them for 2-3 minutes until the skins can be removed.

  2. Remove the skins and stem ends, then cut the tomatoes into slices or leave them whole.

Pack the jars

  1. Pack the tomatoes tightly into jars, pressing them with the back of a spoon.

  2. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt and ½ teaspoon of sugar to each pint jar.

  3. Do not add any liquid; the tomatoes will release their own juice.

  4. Place the rubbers and lids on the jars, screw down slightly, or adjust the wire clamp on spring-top jars without fastening.

Sterilize

  1. Pack the jars in a boiler and sterilize for 30 to 45 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Tomato + sugartop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,667 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ripe tomatoes
Provide the fruit that softens and releases its own juice during preserving.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the tomatoes and helps draw out juice and preserve flavour.
Sugar
Balances the acidity and adds a touch of sweetness to the tomatoes.

The step that matters

Packing the jars without added liquid. Tomatoes must be packed tightly so they release enough of their own juice to cover the fruit. Pressing out air pockets helps prevent spoilage and keeps the contents submerged during sterilizing.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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