It always seems like the tomatoes are all red at the same time. This year we offset our planting and planted a 2nd round of tomatoes 2 weeks later, knowing we'd get a break on all the canning. Round 1 consisted of 63 lbs. If you've never canned then you need to start. There is nothing that you can buy that even comes close!
You will need:
Mason jars
3 large pots. One for blanching, one with a rack and lid for canning and one for heating the tomatoes
Jar lifter
Jar funnel
Plastic spatula
lid wand - magnetic to pick up the tops from their bath
To get started wash all the jars in the dishwasher - you want them sterile. No nicks or cracks in the jars - throw any like this away. Start boiling water in 2 huge pots. That will take some time. Prepare an ice bath for the tomatoes in the sink or a large bowl. Select your best tomatoes. When your water is boiling place some of the tomatoes in the boiling water, just 30-60 seconds until you start to see cracks in the skin.
Then remove them immediately and place in the ice water. Continue to do batches until all the tomatoes are in the cold water. You may need to add ice or more water. You want to stop the cooking process.
Then remove the skins and cut out the core. Cut them into smaller pieces and put them into a stock pot, you want to heat them but they don't want to be boiling..just very hot.
Keep the skins and cores separate for later use. More to come on that. Once you have them all cut up and on the stove hot, you want to prepare your jars.
In each jar add:
Quarts Pints
2 T lemon juice 1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 t canning salt 1/2 t canning salt
1-2 cloves of garlic 1 clove of garlic
2 fresh basil leaves 1 fresh basil leaf
Carefully ladle tomatoes into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space. Run the plastic spatula around the inside of the jar to release any air bubbles. Wipe the rim completely. Take your lid wand and put the lid directly on the jar without touching it or having anything else come in contact with it. Screw the band on the jar evenly...just until there is a slight resistance. Do not over tighten.
Set each jar into the boiling water of the canning pot. Be sure you have enough boiling water when you start to put the jars in. The water needs to cover each jar by at least an inch. When all the jars are in place, put the lid on and start timing once the water starts to boil. 45 minutes for quarts and 40 minutes for pints.
You want the water to be a steady boil. After the processing time, turn off the heat and remove jars with your jar lifter and place on a towel in a cool location overnight. You want them 1-2 inches apart. Do not retighten the bands, they will be loose.
After the jars have cooled, check each one by pressing down on the lid. If the center is pulled down and does not flex, remove the band as you have a good seal. If there is any flex, this is not sealed and you can go ahead and use the tomatoes. But don't store them as they will rot without a proper seal.
Before storing just wash each jar and dry. Store them in a cool dark location.
When are ready to use, you will need a bottle opener to break the seal. Throw the lids away as they cannot be reused. You can keep the rings and the jars and use them over and over.
Our yield from this canning is 13 quarts and 9 pints. A good rule is that it takes about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs. of tomato's to make 1 quart.
Next we'll show how to make a amazing tomato soup from your skins and cores.
