Tomatoes. The taste of summer and an essential ingredient in
Italian cooking. Traditionally in Italian culture, communities get together as
Summer draws to a close and tomatoes are ripe and abundant and make passata, summer in a bottle, to see them
through the Winter months.
Not having any kind of cultural attachment to communities who have these traditions, I wannabe-ed myself amongst it with a bunch of strangers. Well, almost strangers. Rohan and Kate were my 'in' after the self-sufficiency workshop last August. http://lyttelfishbigpond.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/low-and-slow.html City girl once again grabbing sound-bytes of authentic experience.
It was a big day. There were a lot of tomatoes. The tomatoes are softened in big pots of hot water then passed through a tomato press, twice. Then bottled, capped and put into big drums of hot water over a fire for the final heating and sterilising. I spent most of my time on the tomato press. I have a blister and a tired arm. And I also have 12 Asahi bottles of passata.
Passata Day isn’t just about making tomato sauce. It’s about bringing people together, sharing and talking and working and laughing. And it’s about the moment, maybe months later when you open a bottle of passata, and you get to taste Summer again.
Not having any kind of cultural attachment to communities who have these traditions, I wannabe-ed myself amongst it with a bunch of strangers. Well, almost strangers. Rohan and Kate were my 'in' after the self-sufficiency workshop last August. http://lyttelfishbigpond.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/low-and-slow.html City girl once again grabbing sound-bytes of authentic experience.
It was a big day. There were a lot of tomatoes. The tomatoes are softened in big pots of hot water then passed through a tomato press, twice. Then bottled, capped and put into big drums of hot water over a fire for the final heating and sterilising. I spent most of my time on the tomato press. I have a blister and a tired arm. And I also have 12 Asahi bottles of passata.
Passata Day isn’t just about making tomato sauce. It’s about bringing people together, sharing and talking and working and laughing. And it’s about the moment, maybe months later when you open a bottle of passata, and you get to taste Summer again.
Looks like a great day and experience Jo, maybe one day we can grow enough toms ourselves to bottle up enough to get us all the way through winter, I reckon I'd get through those 12 bottles pretty quick! Love reading your blog as always!
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