Canning Tomatoes = Summertime all Year Long!

In late summer I try to set aside a Saturday morning to can a dozen or so pint jars of tomatoes. Canning tomatoes does not require a lot of fancy equipment and for one morning's worth of work, you'll have plenty of jars of this beautiful fruit all through the winter.

Step 1: The tomatoes!

I am lucky to have a wonderful Farmer's Market in my neighborhood, and if you have one in your area, that is the best place to purchase the tomatoes. You can be sure that they'll be local, fresh, and often organic - and you can usually get them for a much better price than at the supermarket.

In my geographic area, tomatoes do not really come into their full bounty until mid August. And when they do, I connect with a local seller, place my order, work out a price and then plan to pick them up the following week. I usually buy a basket of tomatoes which I think is about a half bushel. Always look for fresh, unblemished, and fully ripe tomatoes.

The best canning tomatoes are Roma tomatoes. The are small, oblong and firm-fleshed. As a result, they hold up very well in the canning process.

Once you have picked them up you should plan to can them as soon as possible. My Farmer's Market is on a Friday and I always plan to can the tomatoes the next morning.  No need to refrigerate them - they'll be fine on your kitchen counter overnite.

No matter how many times I have done this I always follow the Ball Blue Book Canning Guide step by step. I encourage you to do the same thing.

Comments

[tcalderón1]

We grow our own tomatoes and wait every summer for that perfect flavor. Now I can enjoy them all year thanks to this post.
Question, I don't have a canner if that's the right name for it. That metal piece you have in the pot. Is it necessary? Do you know of any ways around it?

[kathleenhenri]

Hi,
Yes, homegrown tomatoes are the best. The metal thing is a basket. My best guess is that it keeps the jars from resting directly on the bottom of the canner. The other thing is that you can use it to lower and lift the jars from the canning bath.
Hot water bath canners are not very expensive and are perfectly sized for holding either quart or pint jars. I would recommend investing in one just for the shear convenience.
Good luck!

[paxamont]

Nice post! here in Spain, my girlfriend's grandma first hot the bottles and after a while put the lids and fills the pot of water over the bottles, like you say. This may be because first scapes the air, and then there is only hot gased water. After all the process when the bottles gets cold, the gas make the vacuum. In Spanish the cooking process of hot bottles in a pot of water without boiling is called "baño María" that means "Maria's bath", but I don't know why :)

[bowow0807]

food spoilage is caused by bacteria breaking down the structure of food or volatile oils in the food cause the breakdown and oxidizing. if you can avoid these three food spoilers then the food can be stored indefinitely

[vgavrich]

Great instructable! I have always been really afraid of canning, but I think I might try it! You got my vote!

[kathleenhenri]

Thanks! Good luck!

[sunshiine]

Nice ible! Thanks for sharing! I love your pic! Very sweet.

[Tim Temple]

This book is only avaIlable from the Canadian owned company, Jarden Corporation. They own the Ball jars and accessories -- including this book. I have the 100 year anniversary edition of 2009.

[kathleenhenri]

Another good place to shop for the book is on ebay. Several editions are listed there. And anyone of them would be a good addition to your kitchen.

[deki]

if you make a tiny cross slit in the butt of each tomato before par boiling them they peel easier. Also we always dump them in ice water to before peeling. We usually can 60 to 70 lbs a year.

[kathleenhenri]

Good tip!

[Tim Temple]

I bought a hot water bath canner from an antiques store. I had to clean the holes with alcohol. When it was dry, I used JB Weld epoxy to seal the areas with a thin layer.

[masoon]

In step 6 you show putting lemon juice and salt on the tomatoes w/o mixing, and no water added. Did you accidentally leave out topping it off with water? thanks.

[kathleenhenri]

Thanks. I have clarified Step 6.

[lnxusr]

There are two methods for canning tomatoes. One calls for adding water, and one not. With liquid, a 45 minute water bath is recommended, without, an 85 minute water bath is recommended.

The extra time without liquid is to be sure all the fruit gets to a high enough temperature to kill any bacteria that may be present.

[kathleenhenri]

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[lnxusr]

This is correct if canning tomatoes in liquid, however, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, tomatoes canned without liquid should be water processed for 85 minutes regardless of quart or pint.

I made my original comment with your original omission of adding water during filling in mind.

[kathleenhenri]

(removed by author or community request)

[masoon]

cool, thanks for the clarification!

[tim_n]

I've never seen this sort of lid for canning - are they reuseable? In the UK we only seem to have solid lids or kilner jars.

The last water bath tutorial I read (and I may have got this wrong so don't follow this advice) was only to use 1-2" of water in the bottom of the water bath and to leave the lids on but not tight, bring it up to a boil then tighten the lids afterwards. Seemed sensible to me because if you boil a tin of beans, the steam would make it explode! I assume your lids have some sort of steam release?

[kathleenhenri]

I did a quick Google for Kilner jars and the lid seems to be a combination of the bands and lids used in the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilner_jar
The lids (flat part) are not reusable, but the bands can be re-used if they are in good shape.

Here is a link to the USDA guidelines for food preservation. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html

[TygerCub]

Do the jars need to be washed by hand? Would washing the jars in a dishwasher work to ensure they are clean? Or is dish washing detergent bad for the process?

[kathleenhenri]

I think a dishwasher would be fine. Just be sure afterwards to keep them submerged in very hot water until you are ready to can. The jars should be washed just before you start. That way they are as clean as they can be. For example, I would not wash them the night before and leave them out on the counter overnite.

[bahi]

I always wrap some old towels between the jars, some jars may explode when the water boils because of the vibrations, the jars could bump slightly between each other.

[kathleenhenri]

Good idea.

[bahi]

Good instructable btw. :)

[luisazmouz]

Awesome! But were can you find the Mason jars?

[kathleenhenri]

Usually I can purchase the canning jars either in the supermarket or at a hardware store. They should also be available at places like Walmart.
Or even on line:
http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_011W111327110001P?vName=For%20the%20Home&cName=Cookware&Gadgets&sName=Canning&sid=KDx20070926x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=011W111327110001P.

They are usually sold in cases. If you buy the case, I think the lids and bands are included.

[neilh]

Most hardware stores sell them in summertime. If you live in California, try OSH (Orchard Supply HW). But any decent HW store should have them.

[palinuro]

Well done. This is still common practice in central and southern Italy. Here, before starting the boiling process, as a precaution we place old newspapers or some old cloth between the jars as it is not uncommon that, however gently you let the water boil, jars may hit each other and crack. Buon appetito!

[kathleenhenri]

This is a great idea! I have never had a jar break, but they do wobble a bit while they are processing.

[susanrm]

Love it! I was looking for this exact thing. I will be having a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, unless the critters get to them first, and I wanted to learn to can them. Thank you!

[kathleenhenri]

Good luck!