Passata/Pesto - can you bottle/can your own?

craig777

champys wrote: »

Every year, I make a passata-style substance by roasting my glut of tomatoes

Very good idea!! I didn't think of that. Roasting tomatoes really brings out loads of flavour. Might try doing some of that myself.

champys

craig777 wrote: »

Very good idea!! I didn't think of that. Roasting tomatoes really brings out loads of flavour. Might try doing some of that myself.

Really, this works a treat, and tastes great. And if you add a little lemon juice (i.e. citric acid) and salt before canning, you cover the botulism angle. Can give you the recommended amounts to add if you want.

daska

I used to roast tomatos, it does wonders for the flavour so I love the idea of making this. I can't get to grips with my oven here - it's a gas one but the fan in it cools the oven down too quickly! Obviously I need more practice...

What kind of bottles do you can in? Can I use old pesto/pasta sauce bottles etc like I do for jam making?

I'd still like to find a way to store pesto without freezing it - we eat such huge quantities!

harib0uk

I quickly scanned the thread so sorry if it's been mentioned before, but with pesto as long as you keep a layer of oil on the to of it it will keep for ages in a jar stored in the fridge. Make sure you top up with olive oil to keep the top covered

daska

I've been trying to think laterally about the Pesto problem...! I'm not 100% sure about keeping it refrigerated for extended periods - surely the protein in the cheese would degrade? And as my youngest is only 20months I'm a bit nervous of food poisoning.

I think the most sensible (not quite what I hoped for but still a kind of ) solution I've thought of is: to chop the basil as I harvest it and have one large bag to freeze the basil on it's own. The volume will be far less than if I add the nuts/cheese and I'll be able to take out just as much as I need if it's not stuck together with oil etc.

craig777

You could always simply space apart your planting of the basil, sow the seeds maybe one or two weeks apart so you get a constant supply throughout the year, then you can always make/eat your pesto fresh without the worry of having to bottle up loads all at once.

With regards to freezing the basil, this works ok, I do it myself, but the basil isn't quite as good once it's frozen as it is when picked freshly off a plant - perfectly good enough for using in sauces, but I don't think I'd use it to make pesto... no harm in trying though, you could do a trial run with some from a shop to see if you like the results or not.