Okay, so picture this: it’s mid-August, the farmer’s market smells like sunshine, basil, and… tomatoes screaming for attention. You buy one basket, then another, then suddenly you’re that person hauling 15 kilos home because “it was a good deal.”
Now you’re staring at the mountain on your counter like: What now, queen?
Here’s how I turned my tomato chaos into pure winter magic.
Step 1: The Prep Party 🎉
- Wash your tomatoes like they’ve been out clubbing.
- Cut off stems and bad spots.
- Blanch them (30–60 sec in boiling water, ice bath, peel).
- Yes, peeling is annoying, but your future self will thank you when you’re not chewing random tomato skin bits in January.
Step 2: Tomato Juice – The Cozy Season Sipper 🥤
What you need:
- 5 kg tomatoes
- Pinch of salt & sugar
Glow-up process:
- Slice ‘em up, run through juicer or blender (strain if you don’t like seeds).
- Heat gently for 10–15 min.
- Salt/sugar to taste.
- Pour hot into clean jars, seal.
- Flip upside down under a towel like a little juice sauna.
When it’s snowing and you’re sipping this with grilled cheese? You’ll cry happy tears.
Step 3: Sauce That Slaps 🍝
What you need:
- 4 kg tomatoes
- 2 onions, garlic, herbs, olive oil, salt, sugar
The vibe:
- Sauté onions & garlic in olive oil.
- Add chopped tomatoes + salt, sugar, herbs.
- Simmer low and slow until thick.
- Blend for smoothness (optional).
- Jar it hot, seal it tight.
Serve over pasta, on pizza, or straight from the jar at midnight (no judgment).
Step 4: Sun-Dried… But Make It Oven 🍅✨
How to:
- Halve Roma/cherry tomatoes.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake at 95°C (200°F) for 5–7 hrs.
- Cool, pack into jars with olive oil + garlic + herbs.
They’re basically little flavor bombs. Warning: they might not last till winter.
Step 5: Tomato Paste – The Concentrated Bestie ❤️
Why: You can toss a cube into any soup or stew for instant depth.
How:
- Cook chopped tomatoes until soft.
- Strain out skins/seeds.
- Simmer until thick-thick (like ketchup’s older, wiser cousin).
- Jar or freeze in ice cube trays.
My Pro-Tip
Do not — I repeat, DO NOT — try to do all this in one day. Spread it over the month.
- Week 1: juice.
- Week 2: sauce.
- Week 3: dried tomatoes.
- Week 4: paste.
Your sanity will remain intact, and you’ll still feel like a domestic goddess come January.
🍅 AUGUST TOMATO PROCESSING BINGO 🎯
| 🍅 | TASK | STATUS ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| 🥤 | Made tomato juice without splattering it on the ceiling | ⬜ |
| 🍝 | Cooked pasta sauce and “taste tested” half the batch | ⬜ |
| 🧄 | Added way too much garlic and had zero regrets | ⬜ |
| 🧊 | Froze tomato paste in ice cube trays like a meal-prep influencer | ⬜ |
| 🌞 | Oven-dried tomatoes for 5 hours and stalked them like Netflix episodes | ⬜ |
| 🧴 | Successfully sterilized jars without burning yourself | ⬜ |
| 🍽️ | Ate an entire jar of sauce before winter even started | ⬜ |
| 📸 | Took a “candid” Insta pic of your tomato haul | ⬜ |
| 🛒 | Bought more tomatoes than your fridge could handle | ⬜ |
| 💤 | Fell asleep mid-simmer and woke up to mysterious thick sauce | ⬜ |
Final thought: August tomatoes are nature’s love letter to your future self. Put in the work now, and come winter, you’ll be serving warm, summery goodness while everyone else is stuck with sad store-bought sauce.