All people love various delicacies, and their shortage is especially acute in winter, when fresh vegetables are quite expensive. To pamper yourself with a pleasant addition to your meal, you can prepare your own pickled tomatoes during the summer. In this case, we are not talking about the classic preparation of pickles from pure tomatoes, but with the addition of an ingredient such as plum. In this case, we should consider in detail how tomatoes and plums are prepared for the winter, as well as the simplest, but at the same time, popular recipes.
Choosing a variety of tomatoes and plums
When choosing these ingredients, you should pay special attention to the taste of tomatoes, since most plums have a rich sweetness. The tomatoes should not be the same, otherwise the marinade will turn out cloying and sweet.
Let's look at the main points that you should pay attention to when preparing tomatoes and plums for the winter:
- The size and thickness of the skin of the fruit (it is recommended to select thick-skinned tomatoes, and not large-skinned plums).
- Taste qualities (here everyone chooses for themselves, since some like everything sweeter, while others like it the other way around).
- Fruit shape (especially large and round tomatoes are quite difficult to get out of the jar, so it is better to give preference to smaller, oblong varieties).
- As mentioned earlier, it is not recommended to choose large varieties of plums, otherwise you will end up with a product that is not a tomato with plums, but vice versa.
- Recipe that will be used to prepare pickled vegetables with additions.
- What additional things are planned to be used when preparing fruits for the winter (greens, vinegar, zucchini or other additions).
Based on these parameters, everyone chooses for themselves which varieties of tomatoes and plums to use to prepare a pleasant addition to the winter meal.
Preparing the ingredients
All recipes use their own ingredients, but each case is characterized by the following actions with tomato fruits, as well as plums and additional preparations, namely:
- tomatoes must be pre-rinsed and then thoroughly dried before preservation;
- plums are also thoroughly washed and then dried at room conditions;
- greens or other additions are used to taste; in addition, they are also thoroughly washed and dried;
- when preparing tomatoes with plums for the winter, you will need table vinegar with a low strength (9 percent is enough);
- any other vegetable additions are also thoroughly washed and then dried;
- Almost any recipe requires garlic, everyone adds it to taste, but a couple of heads is enough for a jar of pickles.
Additionally, the required amount of salt is prepared in advance. After preparing everything, it is necessary to properly steam the jars for salting.
Depending on the quantity of the upcoming workpiece, a suitable amount of ingredients is prepared.
How to cook tomatoes and plums for the winter
There are a sufficient number of recipes to prepare delicious preparations for the winter.
Everyone has their own preferences, so we should describe only some of them that are most popular:
- classic preparation recipe;
- pickled tomatoes with plums;
- delicious recipe with herbs;
- using prunes instead of fresh plums;
- canned tomatoes with cherry plum;
- pickling recipe without using vinegar.
Each option for preparing pickling needs to be considered separately, since the preparation procedure is different, as are the ingredients used.
Classic pickling recipe
To make it you will need the required amount of tomatoes, plums, horseradish leaves, cherries, and peppercorns. Additionally, you need to prepare 10 liters of spring water, two glasses of salt and a glass of sugar.
The preparation is as follows:
- jars are washed thoroughly;
- tomatoes and plums are mixed inside;
- The water must be salted and covered with sugar, stirred;
- the jars are filled with water, and greens are placed on top;
- Cover with plastic lids and infuse for a day.
After a day of infusion in the room, the jars need to be rolled up under metal lids and lowered into the cellar; after 2 months you can eat the pickles.
Tomatoes marinated with plums
To prepare, you will need a kilogram of tomato and half a kilogram of plums, as well as an onion, allspice and any greens. You also need to prepare 2 liters of water, 3 tablespoons of salt, 7 tablespoons of sugar and 50 ml. vinegar.
The pickle is prepared as follows:
- chopped onions are placed in clean jars;
- add herbs and garlic if desired;
- everything is poured with boiling water and left for 20 minutes;
- everything is poured into a saucepan, spices are added, and the mixture boils for 2 minutes;
- Tomatoes and plums are placed in jars, and then the contents are filled with marinade.
The jar is rolled under a metal lid and then sent to cool.
Herb Recipe
To prepare, you will need a kilogram of tomatoes, half a kilogram of plums, onions, several garlic, herbs, as well as bay leaves and 100 grams of vinegar.
The recipe is prepared as follows:
- Place the greens, as well as onions and garlic, in a clean jar;
- the jar is filled with tomatoes and plums;
- a little onion is also placed in the middle;
- pour boiled water into a jar and then drain;
- then re-fill with boiled water and leave for 10 minutes;
- the water is poured into a pan and filled with vinegar, salted and sugar added;
- everything is poured into a jar and rolled up with a lid.
Afterwards, the jar is cooled under a warm blanket for 24 hours, then stored in a cool place.
With prunes
As in the case of marinated tomatoes with plums, this recipe has a similar preparation, except for the fact that prunes are added to the marinade instead of ripe plums.
Additionally, you may need to add sugar for flavor if the marinade is too salty.
Canned tomatoes with cherry plum
To prepare, you need half a kilo of tomato, 100 grams of cherry plum, half an onion, allspice to taste, bay leaf, and other herbs. The recipe is prepared as follows:
- All spices are placed in washed and dried jars;
- tomatoes are placed on the bottom, and cherry plum and onions are placed on top;
- then the jar is filled to the top with tomatoes;
- The marinade is prepared, three tablespoons of salt and the same amount of sugar are added to the water, as well as vinegar in the amount of 50 grams;
- after the jar is filled with marinade and left for 10 minutes.
As soon as the pickle is infused, preservation continues by rolling the jars under a metal lid.
Without vinegar
Any recipe is suitable for preparation, just so that the brine does not turn out to be sour, vinegar is not added, which is why the tomatoes turn out sweeter and harder.
But you should take into account the fact that for some recipes it is unacceptable to omit vinegar, because otherwise the composition may turn out cloying and sweet.
Rules for storing workpieces
To keep pickles for a long time, you need to follow some rules:
- there should be high humidity in the room;
- low temperature required;
- lack of penetrating sunlight and daylight;
- sterile atmosphere.
If all these conditions are observed in the storage, then the preparations for the winter will be stored for a long period of time.
