Homemade Fermented Tomato Sauce

Photo credit to Sarah

As time goes by we are learning more and more about the benefits of fermented foods in our diets. They are full of nutrients and the essential good bacteria for keeping our gut in the correct balance by providing the appropriate probiotics.

This homemade healthy probiotic Tomato Sauce is sweetened with honey, and fragrantly flavoured with wonderful aromatic spices.

Enjoy an easy to make, far healthier alternative to the chemical enhanced tomato sauce or ketchup you currently purchase from the store.

450g Tomato Paste

5 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons Basic Whey

2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

¼ teaspoon Mustard Powder

¼ teaspoon Ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1/8 teaspoon All-spice

½ teaspoon Fine-grain sea salt

1/3 cup Honey

Whisk all the ingredients together well in a bowl until nice and smooth. Transfer the mixture to an air-tight jar and store at room temperature for 2 days. Leave a good 3 cm of space below the top of the jar so as to allow room for the sauce to ferment. This fermentation process can be rather violent depending on the temperature but is generally very short lived.

After 2 days of fermenting, place and store your sauce in the fridge. This Ketchup will last for many weeks providing it is kept refrigerated.

When you are getting low, simply start your next fresh batch of this delicious homemade fermented tomato sauce to delight your family and friends.

Excellent served with grilled or barbecued meats hot off the grill.

Mix equal parts of sauce and homemade mayonnaise to make an excellent dressing for salads, seafood or an awesome addition to those homemade burgers.

Basic Whey

If you do not make your own cheese from which whey is a by-product then you can easily make your own whey for using in Lacto Fermentation.

2 cups plain yoghurt

Put 2 cups of yoghurt in a cheese cloth or stocking and hang it somewhere to drip into a large mouthed glass jar or bowl. A broom handle across two chairs in the corner of the kitchen is great for doing this.

Let this hang and drip for a good 24 hours. Secure a piece of muslin cloth over the top of the jar or bowl to prevent fruit flies and other nasties from taking a swim in your collecting whey.

 Photo Credit to Jedidja Bourgeois

After 24 hours you should be left with around 1 cup of beautiful semi clear whey. Transfer to a jar if you used a bowl for the collection process. Seal the jar and store the jar in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Notes:

Whey will last for several weeks in the fridge. If you make your own cheese then you can freeze the whey where it will keep for several months.

If using whey from homemade cheese making, allow the whey to stand in a warm place, covered for 2 to 3 days to allow the good bacteria’s to start growing before using.

© KB Barnes 2001 - 2016