FERMENTING Tomatoes | Full Preservation Process

Fermenting tomatoes is a great way of using up a glut of tomatoes.
It's an ancient method of preserving food and uses no heat, power or electricity.
It makes a great base for stews, soups and any dish where you might use canned tomatoes.
Here in Portugal, we grow lots of different varieties of tomatoes 🍅 to save for Winter.
Bottled or jarred, this can sit on the shelf in your larder or pantry for about a year.
If you’d like to see us cooking with fermented tomatoes and other fermented food, try this video
• FERMENTING Tomatoes | ...
Or Fermented Green Chilli Sauce • Green Chillies make DE...
Give it a go and let us know in the comments how you got on.
See you soon. :-)
#homesteading

[@JMeixsell]

Oh my goodness! Who ever thought of fermenting tomatoes? I love it! Thanks!

[@NearbyVeggies]

It’s a great way to preserve tomatoes. Hope you enjoy and thank you 😊

[@Thallishman]

I have to try this! The start is just so convenient: just squeeze or do some crushing into a jar. Then do the wild/self-fermenting. Maybe i like it how it is then: hopefully chunky and rich of flavour ;) I think this ferment works because the tomatoe is already quite acidic

[@mesutozsen903]

eline emeğine sağlık bu güzel vlog için kolay gelsin hayırlı işler....👍👍👍👍

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you, Mesut. 👍

[@atnoahshouse]

Ok we did the ferment. Did have some mold, we removed when it appeared. Burped and stirred it every day. It’s bottled up now about 3 days. Should I lock the cap and place in the fridge? Do you have any recipe suggestions/recommendations? Thanks for this process. Great channel…….

[@NearbyVeggies]

Putting it in the fridge will slow down any further fermenting and is absolutely fine to do if you prefer. As for recipes, add to anything that would need a kick of tomato flavour and remember that this contains a lot of salt so don’t add salt to your meals as you prepare them.

[@NearbyVeggies]

We have a link to a meal we made in the description. 👍

[@SendItForward]

I am just now finding your video and am FASCINATED!! My question is about capping the bottle, will you ever secure the cap down or is it always to be left "unhinged"? When I ferment veggies I put salt in from the start while you ferment without salt till the end. I am guessing you must go by flavor during the process to signal when to halt the fermentation. I will try this process on a small scale and see if I can replicate your results. Thank you.

[@NearbyVeggies]

We keep it closed but unclipped unhinged until it’s stopped fermenting so it doesn’t ooze. In big jars we we lock the cap. This is one of the few fermented vegetables that we don’t start with salt. We got the idea from a book about preserving food without freezing or canning. We’ve been doing tomatoes this way for several years and it’s been a great way to preserve them. 👍

[@ORom89]

@@NearbyVeggiesthe book you mentioned, is it by Sandors Kurtz?

[@NearbyVeggies]

@ORom89 Sandor Katz 👍

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

@@NearbyVeggies Got mine. I am fascinated about self fermentation. WOW.

[@cathymurray8119]

Thank you for the oil tip.

[@NearbyVeggies]

👍

[@owenp65]

A great short and timed perfectly for my last load of Toms. One question I have is at what point do you finally seal the bottle?

[@NearbyVeggies]

We leave it about a week or so to settle.

[@owenp65]

Brilliant, thanks. Off I go, fermentin "without the g" 😆

[@NearbyVeggies]

While I’m editin, the next video 😉

[@starcrawler77]

"hopefully i'm not gonna make a mess" camera pans down on the mess.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Every time 😂

[@naturalman4185]

This is excellent, thank you so much for giving us this magical tool. Can you tell us if you wanted to make this into ketchup would you say that this is the consistency that you would use or do you have another video that shows this? Would you say that the taste is similar to that ketchup in this video? I’m looking at different ways of making ketchup using fermentation instead of boiling as all of the videos I’ve seen use boiling. Thank you so much.

[@NearbyVeggies]

It doesn’t taste like ketchup and is more liquid. We use it in other meals and please remember it’s salty as well. Here’s a video where we use it in a meal. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioa2o6eQmp1oq9Usi=fgNF3Xg2X2024noy

[@naturalman4185]

Thank you very much for your response. Do you ever make ketchup with any of this goodness?

[@NearbyVeggies]

@naturalman4185 We don’t because we don’t use ketchup. 👍

[@bezalelhome]

I already saw my answer on your description! :)

[@NearbyVeggies]

Great 👍 thanks for the subscribe. 😊

[@VideoDotGoogleDotCom]

I just subscribed because I am (we are) VERY seriously thinking about moving to Portugal in a year or two. Perhaps these videos will give me some insight - although it won't be a rural place.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you for watching and subscribing. All the very best with your plans to move to Portugal. We hope you continue to enjoy our videos while you think about your new location. 😊

[@kssh6303]

Thank you!

[@NearbyVeggies]

You're welcome!

[@greenthumb6241]

Is it ready to be used after you seal it ? Or do you have to wait longer? That is a interesting method . Thanks for sharing

[@NearbyVeggies]

Ready to use. Make sure the lid is on and give it a good shake.

[@monalingan9523]

I’ve seen this method of preserving tomatoes. 😁

[@NearbyVeggies]

It's so good!

[@Btrsrock]

Please make more video like this one maybe fermented pickle or cabbage perhaps carrot . Thank you 🙏 I’m addictive to your channel you two are awesome ❤

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you. We’ll make some later in the year. Thank you 😊

[@thisisoff-grid2504]

Have you ever gotten sick or food poisoning from eating fermented food? Sorry if this sounds like a noob question but I very much would like to try this but I have anxiety and it makes me nervous that I may get sick from it. Thanks a lot.

[@NearbyVeggies]

We have never been ill from eating fermented food. I would suggest that if you’re worried, read a bit more about the process. Sandor Katz has a great book on the subject. 😊All the best if you plan to try it sometime . 👍

[@zooom4462]

Hi, thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! I'm wondering once you bottle the sauce, does the sauce stop fermenting, or do I have to keep check the bottle with air pressure building up?

[@NearbyVeggies]

It will continue to ferment slowly. The cooler it’s stored, the slower the process. The salt also slows down fermenting.

[@zooom4462]

@@NearbyVeggies Thanks so much for answering! Have a nice day!

[@michaelparsons3951]

That would be interesting to use as a base for making your own V-8 Juice.

[@NearbyVeggies]

That would be interesting 😊

[@ecowarrior1888]

Amazing variety colours on those tomatoes was great now does colour affect the flavour? We have a beautiful variety in our country as well we have small round sweet cherry tomatoes, awesome for salads and then a good stewing tomatoe we call a jam tomatoe, and then we have a standard round tomatoe slightly more acidic, have not tried fermenting them, thanks interesting vlog.🍅😉

[@NearbyVeggies]

As you say, some tomatoes are good in salads, others in sauces etc. The colour and shape doesn't really seem to determine the use or flavour. That's down to the variety and the growing conditions. I love the colour range on the plate - it's so summery to have all the shades in a simple salad. Every year, I grow at least a couple of different tomatoes so I can try and see what does best. I always save the seeds of my favourite to grow on. Tomato seeds can be kept for years, One heirloom variety I grew this year, (a yellow pear) I've had for over 10 years, because I lost the container, and it was already 3 years out of date when a friend gave them to me. In all fairness, they weren't the best, but this year the seeds will have adapted to this intensely hot climate and could possibly be amazing next year. What part of the world are you living?

[@ecowarrior1888]

@@NearbyVeggies South Africa we have good soil and summer rains so tomatoes grow really well here. Problem is monkeys raid eat the harvest 🐒😁 only thing don't eat are onions.

[@NearbyVeggies]

That made me chuckle 🙊. Every place has its own little rascals when plants are growing.

[@ecowarrior1888]

@@NearbyVeggies Little Rascals indeed THEY so brazen they come into my kitchen steal bannanas and naartjies, (clementine) and we discovered their absolute favourite a whole pkt of Hot cross buns, which had lead to family inquisition as to who ate them, until Mr Monkey was seen sitting on fence looking mighty satisfied with empty pkt lying on grass below him😂😂😂🐵🍊🍌

[@NearbyVeggies]

I can’t help laughing 😂

[@julianastar8764]

I am not quite sure, do you put salt in the brine or is it not necessary?

[@NearbyVeggies]

You don’t need salt to ferment but we add salt to help preserve the tomatoes as shown. We didn’t make a brine (salted water) the liquid came out of the tomatoes. 😊

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

@@NearbyVeggies Fascinating. You have my attention 😀

[@cathymurray8119]

Once you use it, do you keep adding the oil to tr-seal?

[@NearbyVeggies]

We don’t, but you can if you prefer.

[@bezalelhome]

New subscriber! How long is the shelf life? Do you suggest keeping it in the refrigerator? Sorry such a noob!

[@NearbyVeggies]

Always good to ask questions. Thank you 😊 for letting us know you found it in the description.

[@goblinobz]

Could you blend the tomatoes instead of squeezing them to have a thicker sauce product?

[@NearbyVeggies]

It was the part where we removed all the skins and seeds that makes it thin. You can blend them with all the bits if you prefer.

[@MissJasmin7]

I remove skins from tomatoes. I blend them with hot peppers (this year I grew Jamaican Scotch Bonnets ) in my blender. Then I add salt, coriander seeds, and 1-2 table spoons of the starter from my previously fermented tomatoes.

[@flowersflowers473]

Does the sauce taste funky? Like overripe tomatoes?

[@NearbyVeggies]

Not alcoholic, more rich and salty.

[@catejordan7244]

This looks more like juice in the end do you ever leave the pulp, skins and seeds in so that it is more like a sauce.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Yes we do. In fact we used a fermented tomato sauce in a recent video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioa2o6eQmp1oq9U

[@zachwalker0]

What would you give in terms of an expiration date to this type of ferment?

[@NearbyVeggies]

About a year, although it’s a matter of tasting as you go. Thank you for your question. 😊

[@Maaithaa.]

Do i need to keep it in the fridge every day for 8 days since we live in hot climate

[@NearbyVeggies]

We also live in a hot climate. Keep it in a cool part of your house. The fridge will be too cold.

[@jrmr6282]

Instead of straining the tomato's, can you put them in the blender then jar them?

[@NearbyVeggies]

I guess so. You can give it a go. 👍

[@lsophial]

Do you can fermented tomato? Does the bottle fermented tomato taste and smell like vinegar?

[@NearbyVeggies]

We ferment instead of canning as it takes less time and uses no fuel. The flavour is slightly tangy and tomato. Definitely not vinegar. 👍

[@nataliaghidirim1655]

Mr hilarious

[@NearbyVeggies]

👍

[@coby6417]

🌟👏👍🍀💐

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊 👍

[@clarewalters5189]

I thought salt was needed to preserve it?

[@NearbyVeggies]

Yes, salt is used to halt the ferment.

[@heathmerz4760]

You should use salt. I would suggest 3% salt to prevent mold and other bacteria. The lactic-acid bacteria will survive and ferment the produce. I'm guessing that this recipe cultivated a lot of yeast and maybe that tastes okay but I don't know how safe it is though.

[@maryhauser6523]

Will you also be making your own wine !!!!!!!!!!!

[@NearbyVeggies]

We certainly hope to, but not this year.

question when the fermentation happens is there alcohol released? so is this a boozy bloody mary?

[@NearbyVeggies]

This is not alcohol. It’s a lacto acidic fermentation.

[@MissJasmin7]

Actually, Ukrainians ferment tomatoes just like you showed it in your video. The difference is that they add salt. Then they keep the jars with fermented tomatoes in their cool root cellars. In the winter they cook Borscht with it.

[@NearbyVeggies]

We add salt too.

[@MissJasmin7]

@@NearbyVeggies I meant they add salt at the beginning of the process. Ukrainians sprinkle salt on the top of crushed tomatoes to prevent mold growth.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Acidity from the lacto bacillus formed during fermentation prevents the bad bacteria forming. Salt acts to preserve and slow down the fermentation process.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Different methods practiced all around the world. It’s a very old way to preserve food. Thank you for sharing 😊

[@mistyqqq]

I thought you needed salt ?

[@NearbyVeggies]

We add the salt later as shown. Because the tomatoes are in liquid and an appropriate jar they can ferment safely and easily. The salt slows the fermentation down and helps preserve the vegetables. It’s the highly acidic lacto bacillus from the fermentation process that stops bad bacteria from forming.

[@danielm0rk]

Salt doesn't help the fermentation per se, but it does make it nearly impossible for botulinum toxins to occur. I would always recommend using at least 2% salt, for any kind of lacto fermentation.

[@ReasonablySpeaking9808]

@@NearbyVeggiestomato is fruit. 😊

[@NearbyVeggies]

It is.