Canned Tomatoes

This is the third year in a row that I've canned my own tomatoes.  Usually I would just rely on my mom and grandma for a few jars every year, but I seriously kind of hoard them so I needed to start building up my own supply.  I love all tomatoes but these are one of my favorites - they're great in recipes, like Stewed Tomatoes, or by themselves, or tossed with pasta, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

There isn't really a recipe for this, it's more of a step-by-step process, so here it goes!

You will need:
1/2 bushel of tomatoes
Canning salt
12 pint-sized canning jars with lids and rims

1. Purchase tomatoes at the farmer's market.  The vendors usually have some marked specifically for canning - they're not as pretty-looking as the ones that they display on their tables.  Usually they're sold by the half bushel.  I picked up a half bushel of tomatoes for $12.  A half bushel will fill a brown paper grocery bag about 3/4 full.

2. Sterilize your canning jars.  A half bushel of tomatoes will yield about 5 to 6 quarts, which is about 10 to 12 pints.  I prefer to use the pint jars for canning since I usually use them in recipes for just two people.  To sterilize the jars, fill a 6 qt or 8 qt pot with water and bring to a boil.  Submerge 3 or 4 jars in the pot and boil for 10 minutes.  Place jars on a clean towel to dry.  I use silicone-tipped tongs to do this, as well as rubber dishwashing gloves, so that I don't get burned by the boiling water.  Once the jars have cooled, I flip them upside down so that any remaining water can drain out.

3. Fill one side of your kitchen sink (assuming you have a double sink) with cold water and ice cubes.  Keep the water boiling in your pot and drop in about a dozen tomatoes.  Let them sit for about one minute.  Use the tongs to grab them from the pot and place them in the ice water.  Continue this process until all of your tomatoes have gone through the boiling process and are now in the ice water.  If the sink water gets warm, just add more ice cubes as needed.  Don't worry if your tomatoes have bruises or dark spots on them - we'll take care of that in the next step.

4. Peel and cut up your tomatoes.  I just peel them by hand - the skins should be soft and will peel right off.  Cut each tomato into 4-8 slices (if tomatoes are small, then 4 slices is fine).  Discard the skins and the core.  I prepare my tomatoes in 4-cup increments, so I fill a 4 C measuring container with tomatoes and then add 1 tsp of canning salt.  Then I take the entire 4 C container and dump it into an empty 8 qt stock pot.  Fill the pot with the tomato/salt mixture.
 
5. Cook tomatoes on medium high heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes.  The tomatoes will be "done" when they are completely soft.

6. While tomatoes are cooking, fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil.  Add the lids and boil for 10 minutes.  Use tongs to remove the lids and place on dry towel.

7.  Fill canning jars with tomatoes, leaving about 1 inch of room at the top of each jar.  Once jars are filled, take a damp paper towel and wipe off the lips of the jars, ensuring that all tomato residue has been removed.  Place lids on jars.  Place metal rims on jars and tighten.  Let jars cool for about 4 hours.  Before storing, tighten the metal rims on the jars.  Label lids with the date.  These tomatoes will keep for at least two years.