Remember all those tomatoes............?

Well we gave up weighing them, there were just so many !!  We have satisfied ourselves that they are definitely worth growing again.  Especially the giant tree tomato variety.  Conservatively, we estimate the yield as 10kg per plant, and we only planted seven of them.

So, what to do with all the tomatoes once the jars run out?  Well, we tentatively made enquiries about selling the excess at the local market.  We refused to see them go to waste, and we had noticed an absence of tomatoes at the markets, and they are unusual varieties.  We were thoroughly surprised and encouraged by the response from the market organisers "oh yes, a couple of boxes of tomatoes would sell really well, and you must have other things you could sell, if you are good at growing tomatoes..."

In the end we rolled up to the Blue Knob Market with four boxes of tomatoes, jars of homemade tomato chutney, tomato seedlings (which Michelle had readied for a summer crop) and bunches of rainbow chard.  Ian's words, just prior to trading, were sensitively spoken "now you won't be upset if we don't sell anything.."  "No, I guess not, but I really would like to move the tomatoes, even if we don't sell anything else." was the reply.

We needn't have been concerned, we sold all four boxes plus about 1/3 of the chutney and several seedlings and bunches of chard.  And even better, we had a fun time doing it, chatting to the locals, exchanging tomato lore, by the end of the morning Michelle had become known as the 'tomato lady'.  At the start of the morning our first sale was a jar of chutney to a lady selling samosas, who needed an accompaniment.  Later in the morning we had people coming to buy the chutney they had just eaten with the samosas !!

We thought the chutney was pretty good ourselves, but since there are now third party endorsements, we've included the recipe below.  Enjoy !!

Tomato Chutney

2kg tomatoes - finely chopped
500g onions, finely chopped
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tblsp salt
2 tsp mustard powder
3 tsp curry powder
500g sugar
3 cups white vinegar
2 tblsp cornflour
1/4 cup vinegar, extra

Place all ingredients except cornflour and extra vinegar into a large saucepan.  Bring to the boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved and continue to boil until reduced by approximately half (at least 2 hours).  Stir occasionally to ensure it does not catch.

Mix cornflour to a paste with extra vinegar, add to tomato mixture and stir until thickened.

Pour into sterilised* jars and seal immediately.  Eat at once or store in a cool, dry and dark place for up to 1 year.

* to sterilise jars, ensure they are clean and dry; place cold jars into a cold oven, heat to 100 degrees Celsius for approx. 10 minutes.  Bottle hot chutney into hot jars and seal immediately.