Comments on: Essence of Tomato – ‘Strattu, Estratto, Conserva

By: Tomato Clay « Cornell Gourmet Club

Tomato Clay « Cornell Gourmet Club — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:43:56 +0000

[...] the most tomatoey taste of tomatoes you’ve ever encountered. That’s pretty much what estratto is. It’s really not hard to make provided you have enough tomatoes and time and it will be [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:16:51 +0000

So, after trying Bertolli’s and Keller’s “precious tomatoes” (every fancy chef has a version, always too much work), our standard preservation technique is to skin 20 lbs of tomatoes in boiling water, halve, place in a dehydrator with salt till “gooshy” or half dry. Vacuum pack, into the freezer till needed. Haven’t opened a can in years. Good in Italian, Indian cooking, anywhere one would use a tomato.

One also can make pastes using e.g. Nesco American Harvest Fruit Roll Sheets in their dehydrators. If you’d drink the same wine all year, by all means just make ‘strattu, but choices are nice, we make various batches. If frozen, the paste stays flexible, easy to take 1/4 of a package, fold over the rest back in the freezer for near-term future use.

From this point of view, ‘strattu is a remarkable choice for a style of paste, for all the reasons given in this blog post. Freezing remains an option, removes storage concerns.

By: Janna

Janna — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:43:14 +0000

Thanks for the great recipe inspiration! I’ve got about 20 pounds of San Marzanos from Mariquita Farms in the oven right now, down to 2 pans and will move it all to one before bed, Already its delicious and is filling the house with a very subtle sugary tomato smell. Can’t wait to enjoy this over the winter.

By: hank

hank — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:24:15 +0000

Patrick: Funny you should mention Opalka! One of my favorite varieties, I’ve had a tough time growing it without getting attacked by chronic blossom end rot. I like the Linguisa tomato, too…

And yes, I think using a food mill is faster, not for the skins but for the seeds. I hate seeds in my tomato sauce.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:36:39 +0000

Nice post, Hank, but I wonder why you think pushing all those tomatoes through a food mill is easier or quicker than peeling them after dropping them in hot water? I do the latter, and then squeeze out the seeds; it’s a pretty painless process.
Lots of gardeners feel that the Roma is our only paste tomato, but it’s a pretty small one. Opalka is a larger and sweeter paste tomato; I grow a variety called 1×6 that has almost no seeds and very sweet flesh.

By: we are never full

we are never full — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:03:14 +0000

great post. i never thought of fall as using it to regret on things not done, but maybe that’s why i get a bit depressed at the beginning of fall? i need to psycho-analyze myself. i do love fall though. as for this strattu – who knew – tomato leaves! i absolutely LOVE the scent of tomato leaves so why not utilize them. i wish i lived in a big place so i could try my hand at this but, alas, i’ll have to wait till i leave the city.

By: allisen

allisen — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:20:38 +0000

I’m off the market for paste tomatoes. You’ve triggered my gathering/hoarding instincts yet again.

By: sportingdaysgirl

sportingdaysgirl — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:22:21 +0000

I love this for the patience it asks of us(okay, you). I love the slowness of the cooking and the simplicty of the telling. It’s more like a tomato story than a recipe. Also – Bertolli is in your top 10 within arm’s reach in the kitchen. have you ever told us what the other 9 are? Curious if I missed it in a previous post…

By: adele

adele — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:19:35 +0000

I’ve often heard that uncooked tomatoes shouldn’t be refrigerated, but I never knew why. Sugar to starch, of course. Makes perfect sense.

The ‘strattu looks spectacular.