AN ABUNDANCE OF TOMATOES 2

I wrote an earlier post about what I did with an abundance of red tomatoes, one of the summer crops grown by the farmers of the Granite Belt, who generously give me boxes of ripe fruit. I also commented that I usually only grow cherry tomatoes in my organic garden. About fifteen years ago I purchased a packet of golden ripple cherry tomato seed from the Diggers Seed Club and since then I’ve never needed to purchase more seed, nor do I save the seed. Every autumn at Das Helwig Haus B&B, about a month before the frosts arrive, a flock of Satin Bower birds return from the rain forests to overwinter in our garden. They are a fruit eating bird and quickly turn their attention to the fruits of my garden, clearing any remaining figs, picking at the half ripe persimmons and enjoying the cherry tomatoes. The fertile seed of the tomatoes pass through the bird and is deposited throughout the garden. Thus it is that these tomatoes have now become one of my most prevalent weeds. They are easily recognized and transplanted or pulled if found in inappropriate positions. This particular tomato has a tendency to climb or ramble, and would be useful grown in hanging baskets on patios. The photo below shows how one tomato bush has rambled over the tops of roses and up the trellis of the gazebo railing.

Cherry tomato bush in the rose garden.

To give you some perspective of the height of this bush, here is a photo of garden visitors standing in the gazebo last November.

Gazebo in the rose garden

Nor is this the only such tomato bush growing wild in my garden. The views below shows one that has crawled up and over the veranda on the southern side of the house and another that has used the Cottoneaster hedge for support.

Tomato vine

Tomato growing over the Cottoneaster hedge

Clearly with such an abundance of cherry tomatoes I had to discover a special use. Although it is considerable work, I harvest these little tomatoes, scald them to enable me to remove the pulp from the skins and then convert them into the most delicious Tomato and Lemon marmalade.

TOMATO & LEMON MARMALADE.
2 kg of ripe tomatoes
2 kg of sugar
3 lemons
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes. When scalded drain off the water and using your fingers pop the flesh from the skins. Discard the skins. Add the sugar to the fruit and allow to dissolve.
Meanwhile pare the skin thinly from the lemons. Simmer the skin in a small amount of boiling water until the skin is soft. Drain. Slice the skin in narrow strips. Add lemon juice and the lemon skin to the tomatoes and sugar.
Boil rapidly until the mixture thickens. Take care to stir frequently to avoid seeds sticking and burning on the base of the jam pot.

My guests frequently mistake this jam by its appearance, thinking the fruit must be gooseberry. It is delicious spread on toast.

Hints for marmalade and jam makers. The skin of citrus should always be cut thinly. Fruit should be simmered in water prior to the inclusion of sugar in the jam or marmalade. Fruit should not be boiled hard prior to the inclusion of sugar, as boiling will destroy the pectin. Once the fruit is tender and sugar is then added the sugar prevents any further loss of pectin. The mixture should then be boiled rapidly to ensure it maintains a good color. A slow, long period of cooking will darken the jam or marmalade.

Golden ripple cherry tomatoes

Das Helwig Haus B&B is situated at Glen Aplin, near Stanthorpe on the Granite Belt of southern Queensland, Australia.

This is a region noted for summer stone-fruit, autumn apples,  Christmas in July, wildflowers, wilderness and wine.

Technorati Tags: Abundance, apples, cherry tomatoes, Christmas in July, citrus, Das Helwig Haus B&B, figs, garden, gazebo, Glen Aplin, gooseberry, granite belt, jam, lemon, marmalade, organic garden, persimmon, stanthorpe, Wildflowers wilderness and wine

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