Last Updated on July 15, 2020 by Gary Stephen
You may have wondered about how to can tomatoes. Canned tomato sauce is something that you can use with any
Required Ingredients and Equipment:
Required ingredients:
- Tomatoes: Select 35 to 45 pounds of tomato. You can make about 7 quarts sauce from them. Roma tomatoes are best for canning as they are big and yummy.
- Lemon Juice: About 1/2 cup of lemon juice. You can use both fresh and bottled juice. But, squeezing fresh juices are always better.
Required Equipment:
How to Can Tomatoes at Home (Step by Step Process)
Making canned tomato is a very easy process to do and anyone can do it. Here are the full guides of canning tomatoes at home in easy steps.
Step-1:
At first, you have to start the process of canning by removing the skin of tomatoes. This is an optional option, you may skip it. It is very safe to can the tomatoes with skin. But for some peoples, the skins may be undesirable. So, we are going to skin them. Now, blanch the tomatoes depending on the size of them. Then, wash the tomatoes and dip them in the boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. After that, remove the tomatoes from water and put those into cold water. This process will help you to slip off skins and quarter the tomatoes in a very easy way. Besides, you can use a knife or stubborn spots to remove the skin.
Step-2:
Add lemon juice or critic acid to the jars if you are canning tomatoes in the water canner. Also, add salt if desired. Now slice the skinned tomatoes in half or quarters. Besides, you can also put the whole tomatoes. Your jars should be warm at the time of working with tomatoes. So, you should be careful at that time. Now, loose up the bubbles by run a spoon around the edge of the rim. Add boiled water if needed.
Step-3:
Now put the squeezed tomatoes into a drainer. It will help you to drain off most of the water. But you can skip this process if you want to save the liquids. For this, pass the tomato juice through a cheesecloth or strainer to have fresh tomato juice. After this process, you will end up with a thicker tomato sauce.
Step-4:
Now combine all the tomatoes in a big pot. After that, we will need to boil the water to drive off the extra water from the sauce. Heat until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. But don’t overcook the sauce. After boiling, the tomatoes will become sauce without need the need for pulp.
Step-5:
Now we will fill the jars with sauce. Fill 80% of the jar with sauce. Then, add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice in every jar. The lemon juice will help you reduce spoilage and keep the color and taste. After that, make sure that you fill every jar with 1/4 inch of the top with tomato sauce.
Step-6:
Now, screw the top of the jar to secure, but not too tight. After that, wipe the rim of the jar with a clean kitchen towel or tissue to remove the tomato from the rim. Because anything left on the rim can ruin your tomatoes. After that, place the lid on the top of the jar and screw the rings in place. Be sure that the top of the jars and underside of the ring are clean to a good seal.
Step-7:
Now put all in the jar in a canner and cover them with at last 1 inch of the water. Then, start boiling the water and let the water boil for 30 to 40 minutes. Be careful when adjusting time if you are at a different altitude other than sea level.
Step-8:
Now, lift out the jar out of the water. Then, let them cool down in a draft-free place without touching them. After cooling down you can touch them and check them as well. You can check them whether they’re sealed or not by pressing in the center with your finger. If the center pops up and down, the jar is not sealed. You can still use it by putting the jar in the refrigerator.
The process discussed above is one of the easiest processes of canning tomatoes. People are using this process for many generations. I hope, this article will help you how to can tomatoes at home with these easy steps.
