HOW TO CAN TOMATOES THE EASY WAY

 

   After reading the section in the Ball Canning book about canning whole tomatoes, I decided there had to be a better and easier way.  We seldom use whole tomatoes, so I couldn't imagine going to all the trouble they mentioned in the book.  Also, I have opened perfectly beautiful whole tomatoes to find them rotten or buggy on the inside.  Can you just imagine canning this tomato and biting into it months later?  As I sat and pondered what I really wanted, I realized the process was really quite easy.
 
   A few years ago, we received a gift of 10 bushels of fresh tomatoes!  "Wow!"  I thought to myself, until I realized all the work I had ahead of me.  Lou and I got busy.  Both of us had a job.  We washed each tomato thoroughly, placed them on clean towels to drain.  Then, we cut out the center stem.  Next, we cut them into quarters.  The very largest ones were cut into sixths or even eighths.  This was to be sure nothing was rotting or living inside.  Please note:  If you are a novice at canning and cooking, please do not cut the tomatoes in your hand.  Use a cutting board.  

   

 
   We used a VitaMix (a heavy duty blender will work), to make our  work a little lighter.  If you do not own either of these, a regular blender or possibly a food processor will do the trick. 

 
   I placed the quartered tomatoes into the blender.  As I did this, I squeezed the excess juice into the blender also.  This helped the blades turn more easily to chop the firm tomatoes.   I continued this process until the machine was full.  At this point, I just blended them until I obtained the consistency I desired.  We like bits of tomatoes in our sauce.
 
   I then took the crushed tomatoes and put them into a large pot.  Once all tomatoes were ready, I cooked them down until most of the excess liquid was gone or until it is at the right thickness for my needs.  When you do this, don't forget to skim off the foam that accumulates.  You will not want this in your sauce.  The small bowl photo below on the right shows the amount of skimmings after only a few minutes of cooking.  I cooked the tomatoes on about medium high heat to keep them at a nice rolling boil.  This keeps the seeds and pulp from sinking to the bottom of the pot and scorching.

     

 
   Once everything was cooked to my preference, I hot-water-bath preserved them.  It is best to use a Ball Canning book or other canning information as a guide.   Or, I sometimes cool down the crushed tomatoes to room temperature and place them in a freezer bag or other freezer container.   
 
   To keep accidents from happening in the freezer with leaky bags, I place all filled ones in a tray with at least one-inch high sides.  In this way, if a bag leaks, it will go in the tray and not all over the freezer.  You might consider this also with glass freezer jars;  although, I've not had much success with them.

   These tomatoes can be used for everything from sauces to soups.  They are wonderful!

   Hope this helps you save some time and energy.

Here are some other tips:

1.  Use a good knife that easily cuts tomatoes.  My favorite is a Cuisinart serrated knife.  The serrated edge has teeth much wider apart than regular steak knives.  It is very sharp and easy to work with in small areas, like cutting out stems and rotten spots.
2.  Depending on the type of tomatoes, cooking time will vary.   To test for readiness, I use a large spoon to ladle up some of the tomatoes from the bottom, stirring as I do this.  The tomatoes should look very pulpy and not watery.   
3.  I also remove the blossom or bottom end of the tomato, if it is noticeable.  Many times, this is where bugs get into the tomato.  I also remove unsightly marks so they do not go into the sauce.
4.  Remember to keep your water running to frequently rinse your tomatoes and knife, especially if you cut off a bad spot.  Many times I have saved most of the tomato when it had a rotten area, but it is good to rinse it well and do a smell test to be sure you got all the bad part off.  Rinse thoroughly.

Here are a few photos of our tomatoes from 2009 & 2010.  The large yellow and red ones are two-pounders.  The smaller red one in the far right photo is a half pounder.  An egg is next to the red tomato in the left photo to show the difference in size.  These tomatoes are German Johnson and German Queen.  Both are non-hybrids.

   

   Shalom,

   Kathie Palladino
   www.kitchen2.com