Winchester letter carrier keeps annual canned tomato tradition going

If it’s August, it’s tomato season. And when it’s tomato season, it’s time for one Winchester letter carrier to fire up his propane tanks.

Steve’s annual roasted tomatoes production is a sight to behold, complete with several 10-gallon pots, cases of Ball jars, crates of tomatoes, several portable burners with propane tanks to roast the tomatoes and later to boil the Ball jars containing the tomatoes (with some basil), to sealing them shut.

The 20-year-plus tradition, with which Steve’s cousin Laina assists, begins with a trip to the Produce Center in Chelsea, where another cousin sells him 300 pounds of Roma tomatoes (the closest thing we have to Italy’s Marzanos), which are best for canning.

Next, he puts in for a few days of PTO and gets to work. (A different kind of work from his day job.)

Now…. the process, if you choose to have a go at it. First, core the tomato stems. (In other words, cut out the stems and the leaves from the top of the tomato.) Next, place the tomatoes in boiling water until the skin blisters and splits, at which point you can take them out of the boiling water and place them in a chafing dish to cool.

The liquid has been extracted from the tomatoes during this process, which hastens their cooling. This is important because the next step is to peel off the skin — easily done after the boiling process.

Next, place the peeled tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle them with kosher salt. Put about five basil leaves into each of your Ball jars, and then stuff each jar with as many tomatoes that will fit.

Top that off with the rest of the remaining liquid. And finally, put on the covers and boil the jars for 20 minutes. Pull out the jars and tighten the lids. At this point, the tomatoes are ready for consumption.

This year, I, Karen Lynch, an advertising art director (and neighbor who also happens to be on Steve’s delivery route), offered to design labels to personalize the sauce.

“Are these long arduous hours worth it, Steve?” I asked him.

To which he responded, “There is nothing you can buy in a store that matches the texture and the consistency and the taste of these tomatoes. It keeps me in sauce for 18 to 24 months!”