Preserving Tomatoes: Enjoy your Harvest all Year Long
Now is the time of year when I’m preserving the harvest of my urban vegetable garden. I’m not only canning tomatoes but also making pickles, and freezing zucchini and jalapeno peppers. I’m canning carrots and beets as well.
But today we are going to talk about preserving tomatoes!
For years I canned my tomatoes in a water bath. Now I use a pressure canner. It saves a lot of time and I feel like I’ve had fewer issues with my jars of goodness.
Who doesn’t just love that fresh-from-the-garden tomato flavor over pasta, in sauces, chili, and soups in the cold months?
Canned Whole Tomatoes
Equipment
- 12 pint jars
Ingredients
- 18 lbs fresh tomatoes approximately
- 12 tsp kosher salt
- 12 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Prepping Jars and Lids
- Take the rings and lids off of your Ball jars and wash the jars in the dishwasher. My dishwasher takes a few hours so I do this the day before.
- Preheat oven to 250°. Place the jars open side up on a baking sheet and put in oven for 20 minutes. Then I turn the oven off. Take out cans as needed. Don't forget to use hot pads
- While the jars are sterilizing in the oven, boil water in a saucepan. Add the lids and rings to the boiling water. Turn the heat off and again only take out the lids and rings as you need them.
Prepping the Tomatoes
- Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil
- Wash the tomatoes and core them. Put the prepared tomatoes into the boiling water in the stock pot. About 4 or 5 at a time. When the skin starts to peel, away take them out with large tongs and put them into a bowl. (This is called Blanching)
Filling the Jars
- Once the tomatoes are cool enough to work with, peel the skin off the tomato. Slice the tomato into quarters or halve depending on size and put into clean, sterilized jars. using a chop stick or wooden spoon handle make sure to get the bubbles out of the jar and that the are packed well. Leave about 1/2" at the top. Add (1) tsp of kosher salt and (1) tbsp., of lemon juice. Clean off the top of the jar rim then put the lid on the jar and tighten the ring (finger tip tight). Continue until all jars are filledYou can watch the video below of me peeling the tomatoes and filling the jars.
Processing the Jars
- If you are using a water bath or pressure canner, follow your manufacterers instructions for your canner. Make sure you make any recommended adjustments for your altitude. Once your jars are processed, let cool on a rack or cutting board. It may take up to 12 hours for your lids to seal. Once sealed, I take the ring off the jar, was off any hard water residue and store in my pantry.
Nutrition
What Else Can You To With Your Garden Tomatoes?
Tomato Sauce
I grow San Marzano tomatoes and they are perfect for Italian Pasta Sauce. It’s a pretty simple process. You wash your tomatoes. Cut the top off and then cut into quarters. Put them into your food processor with the knife attachment process until smooth.
Then I put this mixture into a large stock pot with garlic, fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme), and some salt and pepper. You could also saute some onions and add to the sauce. I cook this down until it’s a nice somewhat thick consistency.
Then you can fill jars and process them for storage using the directions above or freeze them in freezer bags. I’ve done both.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
I have never done this before but I’m going to try it this year. I’ll forgo using the sun and use my oven to slowly dry them and then pack them in olive oil. I’ll share that process with you soon.
Salsa
You can also make salsa with your tomatoes and can that for a fresh taste in the winter months.
I love pasta and you will find many recipes on the blog for ways to use canned tomatoes. They are something that I use in my cooking all year long. They make great gifts as people love to get garden fresh tomatoes in the winter months.
If you don’t want to go through the process of canning, you can honestly just freeze your blanched tomatoes in freezer bags if you have enough freezer space.
Cheers to garden tomatoes in the dead of winter!
Enjoy!
Meet Me
Created by Lynn Vogeler, Small House Kitchen is a celebration of the joy found in mostly from-scratch cooking and the magic that happens when great ingredients meet limitless imagination. In our small house, we turn simple ingredients into extraordinary meals with big flavors.
You can find out about all of my other passions; decorating, entertaining, organizing, and gardening over at livinglargeinasmallhouse.com
A great way to remember this recipe is to save it to your Pinterest boards. You can find the pin button when you hover over the photo below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest
Lynn, keep writing these blogs…they are so uplifting especially in these times! Great ideas, and you definitely have a knack for it!❤
Thanks Dawn for being my #1 fan.
Lynn, Don’t forget to make some herb butters. They freeze well, too. Nothing like it on bagels or special breads. Delightful on those frozen veggies in the dead of winter.
Hi Sheri – I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me. I will definitely make some before the end of the season. We like to put a chunk on the top of our steaks. So yummy!