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Tomato Paste

Cut the ripe, peeled tomatoes in halves and discard as many seeds as possible; set to cook in a white-lined saucepan over a slow fire; let cook until reduced to a paste, stirring occasionally. A "waterless cooker," a cooker with a separate bottom fitted with two or three asbestos pads, is good for this purpose. Press the tomatoes through a sieve fine enough to keep back any seeds remaining; add a teaspoonful of salt to each quart of material, mix, and use to fill half-pint, sterilized jars; adjust the rubber rings and covers; set the cans into a cooker, or boiler, and let boil one hour; tighten the covers and store as usual. It will take between two and three quarts of tomatoes to make enough paste to fill a half-pint jar. Without a waterless cooker, let cook on an asbestos mat. As the tomatoes are less liable to burn after straining, it is best to strain them as soon as they are softened throughout. This paste is used in mayonnaise dressing and for sauces, soups, etc.

A little goes a long way.