Canning Tomatoes

Rub-a-dub-dub: Onions and garic on standby:

All tomatoes to the Hot Tub:Plunging into the the ice bath:

Ready for the boiling cauldron:

Doing their thing:

Final product:

“Recipe" courtesy of Tonopah Rob (link removed, out of business).  For quart size jars, put a clove of garlic in the bottom of each jar. Then put two small onions quartered (these onions were very small, about the size of shallots). Add Kosher salt and lemon juice for your brine and acid. Then blanch your tomatoes, put them in an ice bath, drain and fill the jars. Boil jars about 30-40 minutes.

To blanch the tomatoes, put a little cross cut at the bottom of each tomato.  Put them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Then put in an ice bath.  I filled the sink with ice and water.  The skin will peel right off.  

He said the amount of tomatoes I bought (12 pounds) should yield 6 quarts. He was spot on, 6 quarts exactly. He said he likes to add the garlic and onion because then your tomatoes are good to go for just about any recipe. Sounded good to me so that’s what I did. Of course I did a smidgeon of research and asked my good friend Mr. Google about sanitizing the jars (boil them) and how much salt (1 teaspoon per quart) and lemon juice (2 Tablespoons per quart) to use. Most of them said to use bottled lemon juice. Why would I want to buy a bottle of lemon juice when I have a lemon tree and plenty of the real deal right in my fridge? They say it’s because the acid level is more predictable with the processed variety. Bottled schmottled, call me a renegade but my lemons are plenty pungent so I used real lemon juice. Besides, a few experienced canners said they just blanch the tomatoes without adding any salt or lemon juice to the jars so somehow I think the experiment will turn out just fine. After CAREFULLY removing the jars from the boiling water (not an easy task without a jar lifter) the lids are supposed to “pop” while cooling which indicates they are sealed. I was busy and not paying attention so I missed the popping. Then I was wondering how I would know if they sealed. The experienced canners said if they don’t seal, put them in the refrigerator and use them within a few days. After a good night’s sleep a light bulb went off in my head. Remove the rings and if the lids are attached they sealed. If the lids slide right off then marinara sauce will be on my agenda. The lids were all perfectly tight! Ta-da. My first experiment with canning appears to have been successful.