Country Tomato Soup

For each gallon of tomato puree:

Chop 3 large onions
2 green (colored are even better) peppers

Simmer them in a tiny big of water until tender. Add to the pureed tomatoes in a LARGE kettle.

Blend together ¾ cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons salt and ½ cup cornstarch. Blend into 3 tablespoons basil vinegar (or white vinegar if the basil isn’t available… it adds a piquant, sweet touch that’s really nice, though)

Add a bit of water or tomato puree if necessary to make a smooth paste. Pour slowly into the pureed soup, stirring constantly. Heat to boiling, and stir until the liquid clears. For canning, pack hot.

Leave ½” headspace for pints, 1” headspace for quarts. PRESSURE process at 10# pressure for 20 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts

For 5 gallons of puree:

15 large onions
10 bell peppers

3 ¾ cups sugar
1 cup salt
2 ½ cups cornstarch
1 cup vinegar

For 4 gallons:

12 large onions
8 bell peppers
3 cups sugar
¾ cup salt
2 cups cornstarch
¾ cup vinegar

(note- folks who have Squeezo or Victorio type strainers/food mills have said they run the cooked onions and peppers through the food mill when they do their tomatoes. I haven't tried it, but if you don't lose too much fiber from the vegetables (not having tried running onions or peppers through the mill, that's my major concern) it should work, and would save the chopping step. I have a large food processor, so even for the largest recipes (I usually make 15 gallons of this soup every year) it's not an onerous task)

Summerthyme