Canning Tomatoes

I have always been intimidated by canning. I felt that it was not something that I could ever hope to accomplish. Well, a few weeks back a friend of my husband's kept giving him tomatoes every day out of his garden until we had a whole bunch of tomatoes. We tried to eat them all fresh, but I can only eat so many tomato sandwiches at one time! So I decided to try my hand at canning. Let me tell you, it was not hard and I actually had fun doing it! I found the step-by-step instructions on the internet at http://www.pickyourown.org/canning_tomatoes.htm

I used quart canning jars, a large pot for boiling the tomatoes and a large pot for sterilizing the jars, lids, and rings.

I put the tomatoes in a large pot and covered them with water. I turned the heat on high and let the water come to a boil. I let them boil for about 1 minute, then I poured them into a cold bowl of water. Once the tomatoes had cooled off a little, I removed the skins, the tough part of the stem and any bruised parts. I then cut the tomatoes up into chunks. I held the tomatoes over a bowl while I cut them up which allowed me to have the tomato juice too. I removed the jars from the boiling water and filled each jar with the tomatoes. I added a little lemon juice to each jar. My tomatoes had enough juice that I did not have to use boiling water or tomato juice to finish filling up the jar. I wiped each jar rim to make sure the lids would seal. Then put the lids and rings on each jar. Make sure the lids are snug, but not too tight. Place the filled jars in a large pot and cover with water at least 1 inch above the jars. Keep the water boiling for 45 minutes for quart jars. (40 minutes for pints) After 45 minutes, remove the jars from the boiling water. Let them cool. You will hear each jar when it seals because it will make a popping sound. You can check each jar by pressing in the center of the lid. If it will pop up and down, then it is not sealed.

The website that I mentioned above has a list of frequently asked questions. It is very helpful for first-time canners like me!