Easy Bottled Fresh Tomatoes or How to can tomatoes

2012-04-21 22:59
Mountain Standard Time

I have read a lot of recipes about lava hot concoctions or syrups.  Mine doesn't involve any of that.

Scrub and boil your bottles.  Use tongs to remove them from the water and let dry on a clean towel.
I blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes, then pull the skins off.  Sometimes they don't need to be blanched if they are super ripe it comes right off.  I use the same knife to cut them in half and remove the seeds.  I slice each half into 4 pieces (removing any bad spots as I go along). You can bottle them whole using this method too.


Needs about 24 pint sized jars for this batch.

30-40 medium sized tomatoes (de-seeded sliced or diced)
1-3 teaspoons of salt per jar
water
FDA recommends using lemon juice to raise the acid level, I don't, because we are allergic to lemons, so add in 1 teaspoon per jar if you'd like. I haven't noticed a difference without it.
1 large pot filled with water and set on high to boil.

Line jars on the counter,  fill each jar with between 12-15 pieces depending on the slice size.  (I put them in as I cut them). Sprinkle in salt into each bottle.  Fill with water to the bottom thread line on jar and screw on the lids.
Shake them till the salt dissolves.

Put the filled jars into the pot of boiling water.  Set the timer for 20 minutes.

Using tongs, remove them from the water and set on a towel to cool.  Tighten the rings carefully. (I use a dish cloth to protect my hand from burns)
Listen for the tell tale POP sound to know they are sealed.  Just leave them sit on the towel for 24 hours.