How To: Can Tomatoes

The other day I was down at my grandma’s and she made a comment that really kind of stuck with me. As you know I started a garden this year. This is my second attempt but first successful attempt at a garden. That’s cool, right? I planted green beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers (assorted), and carrots. At my house, we really don’t eat many raw tomatoes, so I called my grandma up and asked her to help me can them. She agreed. So what exactly did she say that stuck with me? That she was proud of me for learning how to do this because it is becoming a lost art. Wow! It was one of those things I thought of but never really made note of.

How to: Can Tomatoes

The first thing you want to do is decide what you think you’ll use these tomatoes for. I told her I was going to use these for tomato sauce or pasta sauce eventually. Keep that in mind when trying this method!

I have a mixture of Beefsteak and Roma tomatoes in my bucket.

The first thing you want to do is remove the skin on the stem and skin off the tomatoes. To accomplish this, place in boiling hot water for 30 seconds then immediately submerge them to ice cold water. Cut out the stem and the skin will also come right off.

Once the skin has been removed, we used a couple smaller tomatoes to make a tomato puree for them to bake in. We did add a small amount of water, like maybe a quarter of a cup to a half cup. Not much. Then we let the tomatoes come up to a boil. They boiled for 3-5 minutes to kind of cook them down frequently stirring them.

Then we grabbed a jar, a canning funnel, and a large spoon to scoop the tomatoes into the jars. Along with the semi-cooked tomatoes we added 1/2-1 tsp canning salt (if you don’t have canning salt, use Kosher salt).

Fill the cans up to the bottom of the rings on the neck, then place a new seal and lid on the tomatoes. The tomatoes are hot enough that they will go ahead and suction the seal down and you won’t have to drag out your canner. Let them sit 24 hours so that the seal gets a good hold, then move to your pantry to enjoy year round.

Instructions

1. The first thing you want to do is remove the skin on the stem and skin off the tomatoes. To accomplish this, place in boiling hot water for 30 seconds then immediately submerge them to ice cold water. Cut out the stem and the skin will also come right off.
2.  

    

   Once the skin has been removed, use a couple smaller or underripe tomatoes to make a tomato puree for them to bake in. Depending on the amount of liquid, add a 1/4-1/2 cup water.

3. Then we let the tomatoes and liquid come up to a boil, boil 3-5 minutes to cook them down, frequently stirring them.
4.  

    

   Now grab a sterilized jar, new seal, and ring. Scoop the tomatoes into the jars filling to the bottom rim of the tomatoes. Add 1/2-1tsp canning salt (or Kosher salt), then place the seal and ring on the jar. Hand tighten.

5. The tomatoes are hot enough that they will go ahead and suction the seal down. Let them sit 24 hours so that the seal gets a good hold, then move to your pantry to enjoy year round.