Canning Tomatoes

​You’ll need to be at home for around 3 hours to complete this process. But it’s well worth it if you make things in the winter months using canned tomatoes. This process can get messy!
 
What you’ll need:

• Canning jars with new lids (you can only use the seal once)
  
•  A canning pot or pot large enough to submerge your filled jars with 1 inch of water over the top of them.
  
• Another large pot to peel the tomatoes. A small pot to simmer the jar lids 
• Tomatoes
• Bottled lemon juice
• Salt

What to do:
1. Sterilize your jars in the dishwasher or by boiling in a hot water bath in the canner. Place new lids in a saucepan and simmer at around 180 degrees, but do not boil. Leave in warm water until you’re ready for them.
 
2. Boil a large pot of water. Submerge whole tomatoes and boil for 30—60 seconds, until skins crack. Remove and place in cold water, peel. Cut off stems and core.
 
3. Remove jars from hot water or dishwasher. 
Quart jars: Add 2 T. bottled lemon juice and 1tsp salt to each jar.  Pint jars: Add 1 T. lemon juice and 1/2 tsp salt.
 
4. Pack tomatoes into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space. Juice should squish out of tomatoes and fill air spaces in jar. Pack them in there really tight. Helps to have a little funnel for this.  
 
5. Wipe off the rims of the jars to make sure you get a good seal. Take the lids out of the warm water with a lid wand or tongs, and place on jars. Screw bands onto jars until fingertip tight. They don't need to be too tight.
 
6. As you fill each jar, submerge it into your boiling water canning pot. Water should be simmering, and when all jars are in, there should be 1-2 inches of water above the tops of the jars.  Add more water if needed.
 
7. Boil for 55 minutes. (45 minutes at sea level, an hour and five minutes if you happen to be above 6000 feet elevation). 
 
8. Turn off the heat and remove the lid. Let cool five minutes and remove jars. Let them sit on your counter. The seals will seal as they cool. If  one of the lids isn’t sealed after 24 hours, you should use those tomatoes or store them in the fridge.