by johnny71 on Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:54 am
Well I've been busy but today I have something to report!
After 2 weeks I cracked open the 3 litre fido jar. There was a lot of pressure but surprisingly, the contents didn't move. The tomato solids were in the top 1/3 of the jar, then the rest of the jar was a yellow brine and then an inch or so of red sediment on the bottom.
At first I was surprised there was no mold or yeast or anything on top of the tomato solids. I wonder if it was the acidity, salinity, the jar or all 3 that kept it clean? It smelled like concentrated tomatoes. I grabbed a big spoon and started scooping the solid layer off. I got about 90% of it before I started hitting the brine level. The tomato solids were essentially tomato paste! It had a wonderful concentrated tomato flavor, although a tad salty. I think I will try salting at a lower concentration next time. I can't believe how much energy I have wasted in the past, cooking down tomatoes and stirring them for hours.
I added a little brine to the tomato solids, some garlic powder, ground cloves and raw honey to taste. The consistency reminds me of an old style Heinz glass bottle sitting on a restaurant table waiting to be patted.
Now to see how long this will store in the fridge. I imagine with the 5% salt, the acids of the tomato and fermentation, plus the raw honey should keep this good for a long time in the fridge.