Bottled Tomatas, or Tomata Catsup

Ingredients

• 1/2 peck ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 lb salt
• 3 dozen small capsicums (chili peppers)
• 1/2 lb eschalots (shallots)

Instructions

1. Cut half a peck of ripe tomatoes into quarters and lay them on dishes.
2. Sprinkle half a pound of salt over the tomatoes and leave overnight.
3. The next day, drain the juice from the tomatoes through a hair-sieve into a stewpan.
4. Boil the drained juice for half an hour with three dozen small capsicums and half a pound of eschalots.
5. Pulp the tomatoes through a strainer and add them to the boiling liquid.
6. Boil the entire mixture for thirty minutes longer.
7. Keep clean wide-necked bottles warm by the fire.
8. Fill the warm bottles with the catsup while it is quite hot.
9. Cork the bottles and dip the necks into melted bottle-resin or cement to seal.