Prerequisite background story and lead in photo:
I grew up in a hippy household. It wasn’t a love-beads-and-drugs-on-the-porch type of hippy house (I don’t think), it was a back-to-the-land-don’t-accidentally-get-caught-up-in-a-cult-commune type of household, where my parents, especially my mom, relished making bread, having a big garden, and doing as much as they could with what we lovingly called a two-acre “hobby farm”. That included things like raising and butchering chickens, foraging for mushrooms, and canning.
I, as a free range child at the time, don’t remember much about the process of taking tomatoes and cucumbers (which, aside from some applesauce, was the extent of what I recall Mom putting up) and sealing them up in jars, except that it was one of those activities that took over the kitchen and made the non-air conditioned house even hotter. Still, as I left home and became my own sort of back-to-the-lander (more a conservationist who wants to use all consumables to their most waste-free extent), I started toying with the idea of canning on my own. I wasn’t really an applesauce eater, and though I like pickles, I know what a badly-canned pickle tastes like (like a soft soggy pickle juice flavored sponge). Tomatoes, on the other hand, I use in an almost unimaginable amount of ways.
I visited my mom in 2016 and documented her step-by-step instructions. Then, in 2018, I picked about 20 pounds of tomatoes as part of the now-defunct Vermont Valley CSA and tried very successfully on my own to replicate the process. Therefore, I would like to put forth my own how-to below.
Before I start, a few notes. The images show us using QUART Mason jars (32 oz.). When I did my own canning, I used WIDE-MOUTH PINT JARS (16 oz.) which were a much more convenient size for me. For reference, the “big” cans from the grocery store are 28 oz., and the small are usually 14.5.
ALSO – SAFETY. If you are looking to can, most likely you already know that CANNING GONE WRONG = DEATH. There is a lot of info on the US Center for Disease control website. https://www.cdc.gov/features/homecanning/index.html My own story of caution comes from a recollection which may or may not be accurate of my mother telling me about someone who canned carrots and, when they opened them, they thought they might have not been sealed right, so they touched one to their tongue and then decided to throw them out. They ended up in the hospital with botulism poisoning, caused by the horrifying clostridium botulinum bacteria which produces botulinum toxin - THE MOST POTENT NEUROTOXIN YET KNOWN https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/11/1/34/htm
HOWEVER – botulism is rare. Also remember, even if you fail to seal one or more of your jars (i.e. if they don't 'ping), you have every right and ability to just store the unsealed jars in the fridge and use them in a few days without a problem. I will have a note about acidity later (too little = bad, too much = bad ☹ ). So take precautions, but don’t get too wacked out about it.
So YEAH! LET’S PLAY WITH DEATH!
YOU WILL NEED (for 12 pints):
- 20 pounds of tomatoes -1.5 lbs. tomatoes per pint jar – try to get ones not overripe, and not too green (you can apparently can green tomatoes, but that is not what this post is about)
- Lemon juice
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- 12 Pint jars, lids and collars
- Your favorite knife
- Three big bowls
- One big pot to boil water to dip tomatoes into
- Big soup pot or canner to fit at least a couple jars in for a water bath
- A cutting board
- Plastic scraper (small)
- A set of tongs – possibly a couple, possibly a set of jar tongs
WHAT TO DO:
In the canner, heat jars fully covered in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil (just ‘cuz you’ll run out of water). Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.
In the big pot (not the one you are using for a canner) start some water boiling
Wash off your raw tomatoes
Cut out the stem top
(Some people swear by cutting an “X” in the bottom, but I don’t find it necessary)
You need two bowls, one to dunk the boiled tomatoes in filled with cold water (I don’t find it needs to be ice) to SHOCK them that will help sluice their skin off (you may need to refresh the water).
Another to pile the skinned tomatoes into.
In the boiling water, dip the raw tomatoes (maybe 3-4 at a time) for a 10-20 second bath to help loosen their skin for peeling. Don’t try to leave the skin on for more fiber – it ends up turning into leather and floating around in the tomato juice inside the jar and tastes like your eating preserved human skin with no flavor. Just don’t.
After you have a bowl full of naked skinless tomatoes, chunk them up. If possible, cut them in quarters or eighths. Smaller ones can be cut in half. Some biggies may need to be cut even more fractionally. Also – a tip. If there are any white areas where the tomato is not yet ripe, do yourself a favor and cut them off. They won’t taste like anything and will add a weird texture to your finished product.
Also – SADLY – you should really scoop out the guts: the seeds and juice. Seed and juice just add more water to an already really watery vegetable
If you can, find a wide-mouth funnel and a scoop and start filling the jars.
You will want to fill them 7/8 full (Leave ½ inch of head space in each jar.)
With your plastic scraper, poke down the tomatoes in the jar, trying to get all the air out. (Air bubbles are bad because they can let bacteria get into the jars.)
HERE IS THAT NOTE ABOUT ACIDITY – I usually think of tomatoes as incredibly acidic. Eating too many can cause heart burn or acid reflex due to the malic acid and citric acid inherent in the fruit (oh yeah, tomatoes are fruits – botanically they are berries because they have no stone and are produced from a single flower. So, in fact, are cucumbers.) However, because of the need to be as careful as possible to avoid as much DEATH RISK as possible, we add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the top of each jar. The juice helps to prevent the tomatoes from spoiling while they are in the jars, and also helps to retain their color and flavor..
With a dry paper towel, dry the edge of the jar to insure a good connection for the seal
Pick up a heated lid with tongs
Gently place the lid on the jar. Finger-tighten (just lightly) the rings around the neck of the jar.
Gently place the lid on the jar. Finger-tighten (just lightly) the rings around the neck of the jar.
Water bath – in the images, we had a rack, but on my own, I put a flame spreader under the canner to make sure the glass jars don’t get hot spots https://www.ebay.com/bhp/heat-diffuser
SUBMERGE the jars (as many as fit w/o touching) in the simmering water bath with 1 to 2 inches of water covering them. Leave them for 40 minutes (making sure they are continually submerged).
VERY CAREFULLY remove the jar from the bath – if at all possible, using the jar tongs. Have a calm, gentle towel set on the counter, and set each jar onto that.
CONGRATULATIONS! Crack a beer pour the wine and listen for the “ping” of the seals! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfIEZziOI4k You are done. You have canned!! As stated before, if any jars DON’T seal, please, just put the puppies in the fridge and eat them like any already-opened tomatoes. Enjoy!!
