Some of the tomatoes have been on the vine too long and are starting to go bad, so it’s time to pick and “put them up.” I’m having to throw quite a few in the compost and the tomatoes in the kitchen are starting to draw fruit flies. So between getting a kid to a soccer scrimmage, and another one to violin tuning, buying groceries, and hitting the farmer markets, it was time to can tomatoes.
Although the tomato skins don’t usually bother me, I remove them for canning. You boil water and then drop the tomatoes in for a minute to get the skin to crack, then move them to cold water or a colander where you rinse with cold. The boiling water also helps clean them off a bit more. If some of the smaller ones don’t crack their skin after a minute, I put a slit in it with a knife to get it started. The skins usually peel off easily in two or three pieces using the side of a knife.
You can see I have a wide variety of tomatoes, heirloom and hybrid, and some of them are more acidic, but I still added a tablespoon of lemon juice to each jar just to make sure the acidity is in a safe range. Usually I make a batch of salsa and a batch of pasta sauce, but this year I did straight tomatoes in a dozen jars. I use ripe but firm tomatoes and chop them up small enough so they’ll work in recipes that call for diced or crushed tomatoes. Cut out any bad spots and if there’s anything funky about the tomato, don’t use it for canning.
I do not bother seeding the tomatoes; chopping them all up is time-consuming enough. My cute canning book from 1952 does not say to seed them, although it doesn’t say to add lemon juice either, but tomatoes are not generally super acidic. I have a picture of the little book below, and check out what the mom wears to make waffles! If you make sauce with other ingredients like onions, garlic, and basil, it’s even less acidic. I reuse the same jars and screw tops every year, just run them through the dishwasher first, but I buy new caps with the wax ring. After you pry them off, the edge is a bit bent and it’s not worth risking getting a poor seal. The caps are only a few bucks at Ace hardware store.
Now that I’m done canning, I read the directions on the box of lids, and they say to simmer them while you’re preparing the produce. It makes sense that they’d want you to warm the wax ring a bit plus make sure it’s sanitized, but I’ve never done that step and I’ve never had a jar not seal correctly. Still, best to follow the directions.
Now you will have beautiful, fresh tomatoes all winter and they will make all of your recipes a world improved in flavor compared to fake, winter tomatoes or canned.
Canning Tomatoes
Skin the tomatoes and chop to the size you like
Clean your jars and add a tablespoon of lemon juice to each pint jar
Bring the tomatoes to a boil
Spoon them into the jars with ½” of room to spare
Wipe the jar edges clean and put on the lids and screw tops
Boil water in a pot at least an inch deeper than the jars. The pot will only need to be about 1/3 full because the jars displace a lot of water. Keep a teapot of boiling water handy in case you need more to cover the jars with 1-2 inches of water.
Boil 35 minutes.
Remove the jars and set on a clean dry towel or folded tablecloth. You’ll hear the caps pop as the jars cool and form a tight seal. You can remove the screw tops and dry them off so they don’t rust – you don’t need them anymore.
Label the jars with the contents and date.
