Get my Cookbooks! Canned Tomatoes
These homemade canned tomatoes are the best way to keep your garden tomatoes fresh and ready to eat and cook with all year long!
So, my husband’s garden is gargantuan, and yesterday afternoon I decided to take a quaint little stroll to the garden for a tomato or two. Nothing like a fresh summer salad, right? Well apparently I haven’t glanced at the garden in a few days because I was almost blinded by all the red- it looked like a crime scene from a distance. Dang, so much for a tomato or two, I needed a dump truck. (A good problem to have though, I admit.)
Of course I tried to carry the tomatoes all in one load and almost fell flat on my face like 65 times doing it. (I’m one of those that’d rather die than make 2 trips carrying groceries in… same goes with tomatoes I guess.) I managed to haul 15 tomatoes into the house and figured that I’d have to get canning. My canning jars had actually just arrived from Amazon that afternoon too- it was like a sign. And now, I would be happy to show you how to can tomatoes at home!
Tomato recipe ideas:
Canned Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 30 large tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons canning salt
- 24 fresh basil leaves, optional
- ¾ cup lemon juice, optional, helps with preservation
Instructions
- Sterilize all cans prior to use.
- Prepare a large bowl of ice water & set aside.
- Boil the tomatoes in batches, (1-2 minutes for each batch.)
- You’ll notice the skin begin to split- this makes for easy pealing!
- Toss each batch into ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cool enough to handle, peel the skin off of the tomatoes and set aside.
- Position a strainer over a large bowl, and halve the tomatoes over the strainer so that the excess juices are caught in the bowl. Remove the stems with a knife as well. Set the halved tomatoes on a large plate for now.
- Once all of the tomatoes are halved, you may want to let them drain a little more if necessary (we’ll be adding this juice back to the cans)
- Let the flat lids of the cans boil lightly, as they need to be hot when you screw them on.
- Place a teaspoon of salt, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 basil leaves on the bottom of each can. Use a spoon to drop in the tomatoes, (sliced side down if you can). (I added more basil leaves at the top, for visual appeal and more flavor, this isn’t necessary.) Use a knife to remove any air bubbles or excess space.
- Pour the tomato juice into each can and leave ½ inch of space from the rim. Place a warm lid on the top and seal shut.
- Transfer the jars into a large pot of warm water, so that the contents is mostly submerged with just the lids poking up at the top. Bring the water to a gentle boil for 85 minutes, covered. Remove them from the water and let them cool for 24 hours. Check the lids to make sure they're sealed, then store until ready for use! 🙂
Nutrition
Recipe Source: Martha Stewart
Thank you, for this is a nice staple to fall back on when it’s not etched into the brain, but I am a flavor guy and simplicity as well guy, so I will be adding all fresh from the farms in Michigan, garlic, a smashed clove each jar, celery a must and onions, grn pepper, and or variety of other mild fresh peppers, and I do tend to dab a splash of worscheshire,each as I use mine mainly for goulash, soup with sausage and cabbage, chili, spaghetti sauce, enjoy😁