Evaporator uses in the off season: tomato sauce?

[Sunny]

I have a new block arch with three flat pans. Now that the season is coming to an end, I'm wondering if anyone uses their set-up to cook down tomatoes for sauce.
What else do people do with their evaporators in the off season?

[johnpma]

"catch all" for wrenches hammers motorcycle helmets gardening tools oh and to leash the dog to when we work outside :lol::lol::lol:

[Sunny]

Yup, johnpma!
My evapoator is set up right next to the garden. I have a feeling it will become a catch-all for all things garden- related.
Until the tomatoes come on...

[ennismaple]

We've joked about cremating pets for people during the off-season. All our tanks and pans only get used for maple.

[Cedar Eater]

I thought about using my electrified kitchen sink for steaming corn for a family reunion, but there are easier ways to do that. I could boil lobsters or crawfish in it. Or steam brats over beer and water.

[Sue @ Battel's Sugar Bush]

No! I wouldn't recommend using your pan for something as strong-tasting as tomatoes ... unless you like tomato-flavored maple syrup. Certain flavors can give your syrup an off taste real quick. It is advised not to can into jars that have held tomatoes or pickles so I would assume boiling in the same pan wouldn't be recommended either.


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[wnybassman]

My wife and I toyed around with the idea of having a custom 18x60 pan made to do all our water bath canning at once. lol

[Sunny]

True, ennismaple!
That was one of the first remarks that was made when the arch was built. " it looks like a crypt!"
Sure would save on vet bills...

[Sunny]

Good to know, Sue! Thanks for the advice.

[wbreitbarth]

I use my pans for all kinds of my garden canning sweet corn, tomato sauce, bloody mary mix. This year I am going to use it for doing crawfish. I just use it on the turkey fryer so I can control the heat. Last year I pressed apples, and almost boiled down the cider to make a apple glaze/syrup. I might do that this year just to see how it turns out.

[Russell Lampron]

My evaporator and finisher collect dust in the off season. The canner gets used as needed to restock the shelves. I know it's a lot of money just sitting there but I wouldn't want to compromise the flavor of my syrup because I decided to cook lobsters in my finisher or something.

[DrTimPerkins]

What else do people do with their evaporators in the off season?

My first response, which is probably what the equipment manufacturer would say, is, the equipment should only be employed in a fashion consistent with its "intended use", which is maple syrup production, and any other type of use is not recommended.

My second response would be....what is the construction, soldered or welded pan? If soldered....is it lead-soldered? IF THE PANS ARE LEAD-SOLDERED, THEY SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE. Tomatoes are quite acidic and would leach lead out of the solder very rapidly, resulting in a fairly high dose of lead in the sauce.

In addition, if you have lead-soldered pans or other lead-containing equipment, you should check lead level of your syrup periodically.

This is how the entire issue of lead in maple equipment began. Somebody stored cider in a maple canning unit. Apple cider, like tomato sauce, is fairly acidic. It leached out the lead in the solder and resulted in this person's children getting lead-poisoning.