With all the sun we’re having those tomatoes are finally getting ripe! If you don’t have a bunch in your garden then right now prices are pretty low so it’s a great time to buy some and do canning. A fellow participant in the Rainier Community Kitchen joined in with a group buying direct from Tonnemaker Farms and was able to get organic canning tomatoes for one dollar a pound. Here’s how we canned them:
Here’s a ten pound box ready to be peeled.
To make peeling easier put the tomatoes into boiling water for a minute or so then put them in a sink full of cold water. The skins should then slip right off.
Monica slipping peels off.
Once they are peeled quarter them. You can either pack them like this or heat and crush them further before packing them in the jars.
Sterilizing jars works well in the dishwasher.
Put 1/2 teaspoon citric acid in each clean quart jar. The citric acid is important to acidify the brining solution and prevent botulism.
Once you have put your tomatoes in jars you need to process them in a boiling water bath canner. The amount of time varies according to your elevation and how you have prepared your fruit. Here is a chart that can help you figure out how long they should be processed. Even though it’s a bit of a pain, don’t skip this step as it it important to make sure that your canned product will be safe to eat. If you have a tomato canning recipe you like, we’d love to hear about it!
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