“I have two things I care about – love and work.
And to me they are very Italian and very enduring themes.”
– Adriana Trigiani, The Italian American Podcast, Episode 7
And then late August comes, full of its heat and humidity, and we know it’s time to pull out the wide steel drums, the plastic crates stacked full of clean Mason jars, the old bed sheets and blankets, and the comically large wooden spoons, because it’s time to jar the tomatoes. Clear your schedule for the day, and come on over. We’re starting at 6 am, and we won’t be done until the late afternoon. It’s a lot of work, a lot of sweat, a lot of lifting and stirring, boiling and hot glass, but for some reason, even still, you want to be there….
Of the many traditions I was fortunate to grow up with, the jarring of tomatoes remains the most dear, not just to me, but to many of the Italian Americans I know, including my cousins, siblings, and even the next generation of nieces and nephews. Italian Americans have never been afraid of hard work, but the fact that this particular work is something everyone actually looks forward to is revealing: It’s the ardor for community and la famiglia that makes it so.
Once a year, or, – depending on how many bushels of tomatoes you get and how many pots of sauce you make throughout the months to come – once every two years, your family and friends (who might as well be family) have a reason to get together, to work together, to enjoy the day together. And, of course, to joke and laugh together.
That is the true heart of jarring tomatoes. That is why it’s such a beloved ritual that even teenagers and small children want to be a part of.
It captures the heart of the Italian-American ethos: Love and work.
The tradition is a precious part of my life and the life of my family. So much so that since Anthony and I first started the podcast back in November, making an episode out of “doing the tomatoes,” as we say, has always been on our radar. We were waiting for this time of year to come around to do so. Yet, as the day approached, I started to feel something I haven’t felt before in the course of producing our shows – I didn’t want to make an episode out of it.
At first I couldn’t put my finger on the resistance, but as I thought more about it, I realized it was because of this very preciousness that I no longer felt the desire to create an episode. Like anything precious, I wanted to handle it carefully and with respect.
Today, Sunday, the day this post is published, my family will be jarring our tomatoes, and I don’t want to be separate from them, holding a microphone, asking them questions, thinking on how to capture the best footage so that you, our beloved listener, could experience a terrific episode, as well as be entertained. To tell you the truth, I just want to be a part of it, the way I’ve always been a part of it. I want to be with my family, not watching them. I want to participate in the tradition, not analyze it.
Even more so, this year, there is a solemnity to doing the tomatoes, because it’s the first year we are doing them without my aunt, Josephine, who recently passed away (we talk about her in Episode 5). This is a painful marker, which feels similar to the pain we experience celebrating a first Christmas or a birthday after the death of a loved one.
I guess some things do still remain sacred, it seems, even in this day and age.
So while it breaks my heart to think of those of you who only remember this tradition from your childhood because you no longer participate in it, or those of you who never had a chance to experience it, and as much as I want to give that gift to you, I’m hoping that my choice to keep it semi-private gives you an inkling of how powerful this tradition is.
With that in mind, I’ll be creating a step-by-step video from footage gathered today on how to jar tomatoes, with the hope that you’ll start the tradition yourself, with your own family and friends. But we’ll only be sharing this video with a select group – our newsletter subscribers. If you’ve already joined us, keep an eye out in your inbox in the coming week for the video. If you haven’t already subscribed, and would like to be a part of our community, click here to do so.
I’ve always been my family’s documentarian, so I’ll still be gathering bits of audio and video, the way I would film and record any family gathering. But if you want to be a part of the day in real time and fully, you’re going to have to come over in your old clothes you’re not afraid to ruin, your hair tied up in a hat or bandana, and spend the day with us, working and laughing. And of course, at the end of it all, enjoying a meal of pasta with sauce cooked from freshly picked tomatoes. The best kind of meal – with family, after a day of good, honest, hard work.
– Dolores Alfieri
Ciao Dolores, thank you for sharing this. As we know there is part of ritual of our lineage and it gives us more than we can imagine. It touches us at a very deep place of belonging, loving our roots so that we can embrace our truth. It’s so much about gathering and sharing and bonding through food brought to us from nature and nurturing us physically and emotionally. I hope that all can experience such connection, it breaks open the heart to transform for the future.
You speak as an American and I am Canadian, so irrelevant of where we find ourselves geographically we all long for connection and this ritual definitely provides it. Much Love – Rosemary, Tersigni – Toronto
Rosemary, what a beautiful note this is. It does give us so much more than we can imagine, and as you phrase it, helps us to embrace our truth. I find so much power and confidence in being a part of these rituals and traditions; they strengthen me. Wonderful to hear from you. Grazie mille…
Rosemary, what a beautiful note this is. It does give us so much more than we can imagine, and as you phrase it, helps us to embrace our truth. I find so much power and confidence in being a part of these rituals and traditions; they strengthen me. Wonderful to hear from you. Grazie mille…
Ciao Dolores! Unfortunately for us we didn’t have a community of Italian speaking people when we came to the US. It was just us — but I learned so much from my folks. They were hard workers, never asked for anything, and if the were given something they returned 100 fold back to the gift giver. Mamma loved to cook and she was fantastic at it. When she passed away it was such a loss. It’s great that you can document all this. I have nothing from my childhood in Italy — nor relatives to ask.
Marisa, the more we do the podcast the more I hear stories like yours. The traditional idea is of Italians gathering enclaves when they arrived here, so we don’t often think of isolated Italian Americans; I was fortunate enough to grow up in an enclave. I feel very blessed for it. The jarring of tomatoes is really an example of that, as so many of the Italians I grew up around come over to help, both blood relatives and non relatives. We’re putting together a how-to video if you want to resurrect the tradition in your family! Thanks for writing!
We grow tomatoes every year and place the crop into zip bags to place in the freezer. It’s an easy and quick way of storing fresh tomatoes for the next “suogo ” time.. And no more “mufa” with the jars….
Ah, yes, a much more efficient way to do it! Ha ha. Love the ingenuity! Thanks for sharing!
Remember doing this with my Nonna and Zia. I always ate tomatoes while we were canning. Great memories! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ah, that’s a sweet memory for sure. Glad you shared it. 🙂
Jarring tomatoes is such an old-school tradition I’m amazed so many families still get together and do it. This was a big tradition at my grandmother’s house when I was young, we used the tomatoes she grew in the garden by her house along with zucchini and basil. It really does bring families together, I can understand why you didn’t want to make a big event out of documenting it.
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It is kind of amazing how much the tradition has endured, Robert! I appreciate your writing and sharing your own memories. And I took a look at your blog; thanks for linking to our homepage! Stay connected please!
Thank you! My blog is a component of a blogging class I am enrolled in this semester, and it updates twice weekly.. hope you like it!
Our family in NJ took this tradition with them from Puglia in the late 50’s, early 60’s. Two years ago my mother said it was becoming too much work for her with her arthritis. I said let me have the ‘equipment’ and we’ll do them down the shore where we spend our summers. My father was skeptical we would do them, but we bought the tomatoes from the local produce stand where my son works and spent a great day together ‘doing the tomatoes’. Another way to get my parents down the shore for the day! Like you said, it’s one of the cherished traditons from our youth, and something that makes us feel special and proud of our heritage. I hope to continue to make Jersey Shore ‘gravy’ for years to come!
Ah! I LOVE this story!! What an absolutely terrific idea!! Bravo for carrying on the tradition and finding a way to keep it going; it’s all about adapting while maintaining at the same time. Thank you for sharing this, Daniel!