We are almost at the end of tomato season here in Iowa, which makes me sad because I do really love to eat fresh tomatoes. I've never canned anything...so this year I asked Mom if I could help and learn how to can tomatoes.
So I headed on out to my parent's house.....
First you have to start out with a lot of these...
yummy, fresh off the tomato plant...
You also need a lot of mason jars....
Mom warms the stove to 250 degrees and puts in the mason jars to heat up...you can't put hot tomatoes in a cold jar....
Next you boil water and add the whole tomatoes for about 30 seconds to speed up the peeling process....
then add them to a cold water bath....
then you hand them to mom to peel, core, and cut into chunks....
Next, you add them to a large pot to cook on the stove....
until they look something like this....
Finally, you are ready to add them to the jars....but first you have to add a teaspoon of salt and lemon juice to each jar.....
Now you are ready to start filling jars....
The lids and rings also have to be heated to ensure a proper seal...
After the jars are filled you set them out to cool... not too close to one another...and wait for the 'ping' sound. The 'ping' is the sound that each jar makes when the vacuum is formed.
I ended up with 17 quarts of canned tomatoes...ready to make great soups and chili on our many cold winter nights ahead.
My mom and I have been doing the same thing!!
ReplyDeleteThat's it? No pressure canner or hot water canner? I never knew it could be done this way! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletei should preface by saying this is how my mom has canned for years...she said this isn't the way ISU extension recommends canning....they do recommend a water bath or more steps...so can at your own risk!?! :)
ReplyDelete