Just about every recipe I use in the winter seems to include a can of tomatoes. Since taking our locavore pledge on January 1 the only canned food I’ve purchased, and by the case I might add, is tomatoes. Tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Granted they are organic tomatoes but I don’t know a thing about where they are grown or the condition of the soil (if any since many winter produce is grown in water with liquid fertilizer boosters.)
The whole point of this experiment is to improve our nutritional intake by ensuring our food is grown in real dirt with real nutrients, and that I steward that dirt by returning nutrients in the form of compost.
Just because I’m crazy and we eat more tomatoes year round then any other thing (which makes no sense whatsoever in Seattle) I planted 30 tomato plants. Most of them were “saucey” so that I could can them. Last weekend I started that process.
First I scored the bottom of the tomatoes with a shallow “X”.
Then I dropped them into boiling water for about 30-60 seconds until they began to peel and put them in an ice bath to shock them.
When they were cool to the touch I peeled them. The skins should slip easily off if the tomatoes are ripe.
I cut the tomatoes in half, filled sterilized quart sized mason jars and packed them in as tightly as possible. I filled the jars up to within 1/2″ of the tops with a small amount of boiling water and sealed and processed them in a water bath for 40 minutes.
They looked beautiful on my counter but due to lack of space I had to move them downstairs into my pantry where they look equally beautiful and out of the way. And next winter they will look even more beautiful in the dead of winter as we once again eagerly await something besides the overwintered kale and collard greens to eat.
You are really inspiring me to cook at home more. I’m pretty good about it, but I could definitely be better. I’m sleepy, but no ordering and no take-out. So long… I’m off to +make+ dinner.
I love home canned tomatoes – nothing compares. My saucies are ripening and I may be able to do a canner load this weekend of tomatoes too.
Hi KitsapFG – do you have a favorite canning recipe?
Do you add salt and lemon juice to keep the acidity in the proper range?
Hi Margaret, you certainly could add lemon juice but the tomatoes I have are plenty acidic. They are heirloom tomatoes called saucey. If you know what variety you are dealing with you can probably do a web search to find out their pH. They also sell pH readers for around $100 which are handy for canning or cheesemaking. I’ve tried using pH strips before but I don’t feel comfortable with those since I can’t always get them to be consistent.
I don’t know that adding salt would affect the pH, or that it would be enough salt to inhibit bacterial growth. I think you need a really strong salt solution to do that. Lemon juice or citric acid would increase the acidity level though and are recommended when you don’t know what kind of tomatoes you are dealing with.
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