Sunshine in wintertime

Canning tomatoes

Tomatoes are a good mid level canning project--post jam/relish and pre canned tuna.  Tomatoes are very acidic so you can preserve them without using a pressure canner and they are just so darn useful!  At our house we use canned tomatoes at least twice a week.  In winter our usage ramps up, because of the use in stews and chili.

Canned tomatoes are also very forgiving.  You can mush 'em and mash 'em and no one cares. 

You can also pre-process them into salsas (as we've already seen), sauces and pastes.  With all of those changes, however, you may need to change your canning technique.  Particularly with a marinara sauce there can be a loss of acidity than will doom the canning to failure.

Certain tomato varieties are more acidic than others.  If you have any questions about the acidity of your tomatoes add lemon juice, 1 t per pint. 

To can tomatoes, you will need:

Tomatoes

Not the prettiest, a mixed bag of end of season fruit.

(and sterilized jars, rings, lids, a non reactive pot and a canning pot...)


Wash and pick over the tomatoes, discarding any mushy or cracked fruit.  Peel the tomatoes, core and quarter them. 

To peel tomatoes you will need a pot of boiling water, and a bowl of ice water (the ice water will need to be changed/replenished several time during a session). 

Ow!  This is hot!

Dammit!  I told you this was hot!  Now I'm cracked!

...And now this crazy lady has skinned me!  And so easily too!

Dropped washed tomatoes into boiling water and cook ~45sec or until the skin cracks.  Remove and immediately place in ice water bath.  Core the tomato and the skin will "slip" off. 







This works by cooking the tomato immediately under the skin and therefore breaking the seal between the skin and the meat.  The ice bath prevents the tomato from cooking further and preventing loss of flavor.





Heat the prepared fruit in non reactive pot until boiling.  Ladle tomatoes and juice into jars (I use pints).  Add 1 t lemon juice per pint if necessary (I'm a coward, I use it every time).  You can also add  1/2 t kosher salt per pint.  Wipe rims and place lids and rings and tighten gently.

Process 10 minutes (15 for me) in a boiling water bath.

Now you have a glorious reminder of summer when the weather goes south.

Delicious!