Tomatoes

Long subject to debate over whether they are a fruit or a vegetable, not to mention countless arguments over pronunciation. But whether you are in the "tomayto" or "tomahto" camp, you'll no doubt agree that the tomato is a very versatile plant, playing double agent as a fruit or vegetable depending on your culinary mood. When tended properly, tomatoes will give you a bounty of fruits to fill  up your freezer and shelves - they can be dried, bottled, made into a variety of sauces, turned into jams and cooked up into chutneys, giving you a taste of sunshine through our bad Irish summers and into the winter months. Tomatoes are also very nutritious. With only 37 calories, 55% of your RDA of vitamin C, 21% of your RDA of vitamin A, 8% of your daily fibery goodness as well as plenty of the anti-oxidant lycopene (which gives the tomato its lovely red colour), as well as all-round goodness, it is no wonder dieticans and doctors recommend tomatoes for weight loss plans and low-cholesterol diets. Lycopene is important as it helps prevent against damage from ultra-violet rays, which can lead to skin cancer, one of the most common cancers in Ireland. One small glass of tomato juice can provide you with your daily dose of lycopene. To grow your own tomatoes, fill a large sturdy pot with good quality compost and plant a tomato seedling in he middle. Tomatoes need support while growing so make sure you plant a sturdy stake next to your tomato as well. Water daily and as it grows, tie the plant to the stake by looping string around the stem, across the ends over each other and looping around the stake in a figure of 8 pattern. As the plant grows, you will need to remove smaller branches growing from the main branches to prevent the plant getting bushy. If it does get bushy, the plant will produce less flowers and therefore less fruit. All tomatoes should be harvested before the first frost.

Tomato Tips
To skin a tomato easily, dip in a saucepan of boiling water for 30 seconds, remove and make a nick in the skin, which should then come away easily.
When frying, add a bit of caster sugar to bring out the flavour.
To ripen green tomatoes, place in a brown paper bag with a ripe apple.

Green Tomatoes
To make fried green tomatoes, slice them and mix with a little oatmeal. Fry in oil and use as an alternative to the traditional tomato in your full Irish or grilled breakfast, or as a snack while you watch the film ;)

To make green tomato jam, roughly chop 1kg tomatoes, place in a bowl, toss in 1kg of sugar and the juice of one lemon then leave overnight in the fridge. Keep the lemon halves.
The next day, pour the mix into a saucepan, add 125ml of water and the lemon halves and boil over a low heat. Allow to boil for 10  minutes, then remove from the heat and discard the lemon halves. Set aside until cool. Once again bring to the boil, continue to boil, checking to see if it has set* every few minutes. Once set has been achieved, remove from the heat and bottle.

*set-chill a saucer, take a clean spoon and place some jam on the saucer. Wait a few seconds and them press. If a skin is forming this means set has been achieved, otherwise you need to boil for another 5 minutes and test again.

Tomato Ketchup
I think most people are like me and love homemade chips with ketchup. I absolutely love homemade ketchup, it tastes far better plus you know exactly what's in it. Even better if you have grown the ingredients yourself. For 2 litres, follow the below recipe.

• 4 chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• 1 head of celery, washed and chopped
• 500g carrots, grated
• 3kg ripe tomatoes
• 125g unbleached white sugar
• 250ml cider vinegar
• few sprigs oregano
• small bunch parsley
• 3 level spoons salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• pinch black pepper

Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil in a saucepan and when quite soft, add the chopped celery and the grated carrots. Turn the heat down and let simmer for 10 minutes.

While they simmer, skin the tomatoes (see above) and chop them into quarters. Add them to the saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the remaining ingredients and simmer for a further half hour. Remove from the heat, mash well and leave it cool a bit before blending (or pushing through a sieve). If the mixture is too thick add some water. Return to the heat, bring to the boil and then take it off the heat. Once cool, pour into wide-necked bottles and seal. Store in the fridge.