Canning Tomatoes

I grew up with a huge garden at my Memaw’s house, probably close to a full acre garden. Summer weekends were spent harvesting vegetables and preserving for year round use. We sat on the front porch breaking beans, topping strawberries, hulling peas and cutting okra. We couldn’t all fit in the kitchen, and with the canner going on the stove, it was hotter inside than out. Papaw Young wouldn’t let you turn the air conditioner on until the sun went down. That was a rule. So the front porch was where we all wanted to be.

I can remember many things about those days- except the actually canning. Memaw was always afraid the canner would blow up on me, so when the canning started, I was exiled back out to the porch. So I have always been terrified of a pressure cooker, until recently. The good news is you don’t need a pressure canner for tomatoes!

I have vowed to learn or remember all the ins and outs of preserving. It is amazing the memories that have come back to me over the last few weekends in the kitchen. Before we get into the actual canning of tomatoes, I need to share an old wives tale, which my entire family 100% believes- if a female is having her monthly period and is in the kitchen during the canning process, the tomatoes will not seal properly. I learned this the hard way when I was 15 years old, when my Memaw asked everyone in the kitchen if anyone was on their period, just to double check. I didn’t say anything…mom glared at me… and I said “me”, and I was banished from the house. I can promise you every tomato canning season from there on out, I said I was having my period, whether I was or not.

For beginners, you need to know there is a canning bible, it is actually the Ball Blue Book of Preserving/Canning. There are many updated publishings of it over the years and it contains lots of valuable info. In an effort of full disclosure, please know I have read three versions recently, dug out all my Memaw’s canning recipes, had a crash course of canning with my friend, Michael Poore, and watched hundreds of TikTok videos. In the last three weeks I have canned 58 quarts of green beans, 24 quarts of tomatoes, 28 pints of spicy bread and butter pickles and 12 pints of dill pickles. I am not an expert. I do not know everything there is about canning. But I would love to share what I know.

There is only one rule you need to know- You can’t put cold things in hot jars and vice versa. You can’t put cold jars in hot water and vice versa. Cold goes with cold. Hot goes with hot. I know this sounds like 6th grade science, but I promise you, I tested this a few days ago…it didn’t go well.

You will need supplies. I have two large dishpans, a water bath quart canner (it is not my Memaw’s, but it looks exactly like the one she had- black enamel with white specks). I also purchased a canning kit from Amazon that had a canning funnel, magnetic lid pick up stick, and several other things that have been extremely useful. And of course there are lots of canning books on the market. You will also need jars. When you purchase jars, they come with a lid and a ring. The jars and rings are reusable. The lids are recommended for one time use. So go ahead and buy some extra lids when you find them. I prefer Ball, Kerr or Golden Harvest jars. I have ran across some other brands that are less expensive but they also seem thinner.

Now, to the tomatoes. You want really ripe tomatoes. I picked up two boxes this weekend at the Delano Market. The slicing tomatoes (pretty tomatoes) were $20 a box. The canning tomatoes (not so pretty and not uniform in size) were $10 a box. You can yield around 12 quarts of tomatoes from a box. If the tomatoes are not really ripe, you can bring them home and set them on the counter for a few days to reach their peak.

The acid content in tomatoes is high, so you have your choice between several methods:

1. You can put your semi cooled tomatoes in the jars, put the lid on and water bath for 20 minutes.
2. You can put your boiling tomatoes in jars right out of boiling water, put the lid on and done (Michael Poore’s method).
3. You can put your semi cooled tomatoes in the jars, put the lid on and water bath for 40 minutes (canning bible method).

Due to the high acid content, pressure canning is not needed.

There are many controversies around canning. I am going to tell you what I do. And you do what you want to do.

Controversy #1: Sterilizing vs. Sanitizing. Some people sterilize their jars (submerge and boil them for several minutes). Some people sanitize their jars (dishwasher on sanitize cycle). When I do tomatoes, I sterilize the jars, because I want them extremely hot when I put the tomatoes in the jar to accomplish method #2. So I take the jar right out of the hot water and fill them.

Controversy #2: With the many varieties of tomatoes today, and the many different acid levels, the canning bible recommends adding citric acid or lemon juice to each jar. I don’t know if I buy into that theory, however just in case, I add 1 tsp of red wine vinegar into each jar. Red wine vinegar is fabulous with tomatoes and it couldn’t hurt.

Here are the steps I take to can crushed tomatoes in quart jars:

1. Wash the tomatoes. I dumped a box into the sink and filled it with water. You can even put a splash of vinegar in the water if you want them squeaky clean. Drain the water in the sink and then place the stopper back into sink. Leave the tomatoes in the sink.
2. Cut an X on the bottom of each tomato.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes in the sink and let them set for 5-15 minutes until the skin begins to peel off of the tomato.
4. Peel the tomatoes, core the tomatoes and cut into quarters, wedges, chunks, however you would like them.
5. Place jars into the water bath canner and fill with water, bring to a boil (if you have had water, add a splash of vinegar).
6. Place tomatoes in a large pot and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, skimming the “tomato foam” from the top and discarding. Stir often.
7. Place your lids in a small pot of water to boil.
8. You can begin to can the tomatoes at this point, or you can use an immersion blender to make crusted tomatoes, or tomato sauce.
9. Remove hot jar from the water bath canner. Insert the canning funnel into the hot jar, scoop the tomatoes into the jar, leaving approximately 1 inch of head space at the top of the jar.
10. Take a paper towel and place a splash of white distilled vinegar on the towel. Wipe the top of the jar clean.
11. Add 1 tsp canning salt or kosher salt. Just make sure your salt does not contain iodine.
12. Add 1 tsp red wine vinegar (optional).
13. Add your warm lid, add your ring and use your fingers to tighten, not your whole hand. This is referred to as “finger tight”.
14. Set the completed jar to the side and do not move or touch for 12-24 hours. You will hear them pop and seal.
15. You can press the top of each lid the next day to make sure they have sealed. If for some reason, you have a can that did not seal, store it in the fridge and use the contents in the next couple of days.
16. If you find the tomatoes and the juice separate in the jar, just tip the jar upside down and back up. This will mix the contents back up and it will usually stay mixed.

Store your canned tomatoes, in a cool, dark place. I have a finished basement, and I have some large shelves there that are perfect for storage.

I hope you enjoy canning as much as I have. I love knowing exactly what is in the food I am serving myself and my family.