Canning/bottling/preserving

Mark, have you tried freezing tomatoes to skin them? if you freeze them, then hold them under cold running water, the skins just slide off.

Mark, have you tried freezing tomatoes to skin them? if you freeze them, then hold them under cold running water, the skins just slide off.

I couldn't be doing freezing lots of tomatoes. As long as they're fully ripe, alicante, orange banana and delicious varieties skin easy enough if softened up in microwave. So I microwave, skin then transfer to pan to boil.

Maybe a passata machine would do the job - but it costs money!! https://seedsofitaly.com/passata-machine...c-18-9-23/

Mark, have you tried freezing tomatoes to skin them? if you freeze them, then hold them under cold running water, the skins just slide off.

I couldn't be doing freezing lots of tomatoes. As long as they're fully ripe, alicante, orange banana and delicious varieties skin easy enough if softened up in microwave. So I microwave, skin then transfer to pan to boil.

  You only have to put them in a poly bag and sling them in the freezer overnight.

What do you think about this, SC? Posting it because I don't want you to miss it!

"Homemade powdered milk. I bought a gallon of milk, boiled it slowly until it reduced down to the consistency of Play-Doh. Then I mushed it flat onto cookie sheets and put it in the oven on low until it gets bone dry. After that, I ground it in the blender until it was dust. It'll keep for months in a sealed mason jar."

If you were in the middle of nowhere with a glut of milk but no access to fresh milk in the future, it might be worth it. But I can't see the point really. I'd rather try making butter with excess whole milk, but that's not likely either You do wonder where some of these ideas come from.

Stage 1 - go out and buy a gallon of milk
Stage 2 - boil it slowly until its reduced to Play doh. How long does it take to reduce a gallon of milk? If I tried it the milk would boil over, burn and stink the house out.
Stage 3 - put the "play doh" in the oven and cook it until it dries out.
Stage 4 - put it in the blender and pulverise it.
Stage 5 - put it in a jar in the back of the cupboard and forget it.

Even if someone gave me a free gallon of milk I wouldn't go to all that effort to store it.

What do you think about this, SC? Posting it because I don't want you to miss it!

"Homemade powdered milk. I bought a gallon of milk, boiled it slowly until it reduced down to the consistency of Play-Doh. Then I mushed it flat onto cookie sheets and put it in the oven on low until it gets bone dry. After that, I ground it in the blender until it was dust. It'll keep for months in a sealed mason jar."

    .

just one question. Were they American? 

Good question, SC, because, as we all know, the US Gallon is smaller than the UK Gallon.

"In the Americas, a gallon is equivalent to 128 fluid ounces or 3.785 liters (American spelling). But in the UK, it's 160 fluid ounces or 4.546 litres (British spelling). "

Couldn't you just freeze it? Or buy powdered milk? I doubt they've saved much money by making it themselves, considering how much time and energy it would take to get all of the water out of milk.