Tomato Canning 101 (because there's still time!)

For a guaranteed taste of summertime all winter long

A number of years ago, an Italian friend made a pasta dish for me that was so delicious I was dumbfounded. I asked for the recipe, was given it, repeated it myself, and then threw the recipe away because the dish I’d produced tasted so banal I knew I’d never bother repeating it. Puzzling. Why such a gulf between the two?

Well, I later learned that my friend had used her mother’s home-canned tomatoes to make her pasta dish, not the store-bought tomatoes from a tin that I’d used when I’d made mine. That was the only difference, but it made all the difference in the world.

Ingredients are everything when it comes to cooking. Well, just about. Experience in the kitchen helps, too, but the fact is that you barely need any skills beyond being able to slice and drizzle if your ingredients are tip-top. Once I’d tasted the dramatic difference between home-canned tomatoes and bought tinned ones, there was no going back. I had to learn how to do it.

The first time was with savvy friends, which made it all a bit of a game. The next year I was on my own, so that was a challenge, but in a good way because it boosted my confidence. And on went the annual tradition. Ever since the taste of that memorable pasta dish, I’ve set aside an entire day every September, so I can can, I can, oh yes I can. And so can you, because I’m about to give you my complete, printable, step-by-step guide. Afterwards, we’ll sit down for a little chat about the process. Ready?

Yes, canning tomatoes is physical work and requires organization, but once you’ve set up your stations, you can get into a routine that’s really quite engaging and relaxing. (Ignore that previous high-speed video. Trust me, I putter.) If you team up with a couple of friends, you can make fairly swift work of the job, though I also do it alone with pleasure. And, I’ll tell you, there’s nothing more satisfying at the end of a day like that than standing back beaming at your stash of summertime that’s going to last all winter.

I can two bushels of tomatoes a year, which makes about 50 1 quart/1 litre jars — way more than I need. What can I say, I’m a generous spirit. I use them in soups, stews, pasta sauces, rice, and, very usefully, as hostess gifts.

TOMATO CANNING 101

For 25 quarts/litres of canned tomatoes, you will need:

Ingredients:

1 large bushel (about 23 kg/50 lbs) ripe San Marzano or Roma tomatoes

A 4 cup/1-litre bottle lemon juice (you won’t need all of it)

Kosher salt

Equipment:

25 1-quart/1 litre mason jars

A large pot for blanching

A canning pot (or two) with an internal basket, high enough to accommodate the jars with a good 2-inches/5-cm headroom

3 medium to large stainless-steel bowls

A large colander

A metal spider

A wooden spoon

A serrated paring knife or two

Measuring spoons

Tea towels

Paper Towel

A pair of rubber oven mitts

METHOD:

Sterilize all the jars and lids

The easiest method is to run the jars and lids through the dishwasher. Alternately, set already clean jars on a tea towel on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 225°F/110°C for 20 minutes. Put the lids in a metal bowl, pour over boiling water, and leave until you’re ready to use them.

Prepare the tomatoes

Pick through the tomatoes, discarding any with serious blemishes. Rinse off the tomatoes, either at the kitchen sink or outside using a hose.

Blanch and skin the tomatoes

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Fill a sink with ice-cold water. Working in batches, cut an X in the top of each tomato with a serrated paring knife and put them in a metal bowl.  Spill about 12 to 15 at a time to the simmering blanching water, and wait for the skin to split, about 45 seconds. Using the spider, fish the tomatoes back out into the metal bowl, then immediately spill them into the sink of ice-cold water. Peel off and discard the skins. Plunk the skinless tomatoes into another large bowl and head over to your jars.

Prepare the jars

Again, working in batches, line up some sterilized jars on the counter. Into each, put a tablespoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of salt. Pack with as many peeled tomatoes as you can, cutting them in half as you go, pressing down on them with your fingers, and eventually running a wooden spoon down the sides of each jar, once its full, to remove any air gaps. Leave a ½-inch/1 cm head at the top of each jar. Wipe clean around the top of each jar with paper towel. Screw the sterilized lids on tightly.

Can the tomatoes

Have a canning pot about two-thirds full of simmering water on the stovetop. Arrange as many jars in the metal basket as will fit, then lower it in, making sure the water comes over the top of the jars. If it doesn’t, top it up with boiling water from a kettle. Once the jars are in, slap on the lid, bring back to a simmer, and let bubble gently for 45 minutes. Remove the basket of jars from the water and transfer to the counter to cool. As the jars cool, you will hear the lids pop, which means the canning has been successful and the jars are safely sealed. 

Store the tomatoes

Before putting canned tomatoes away, I always check the seal on each jar. In the centre of each mason-jar lid should be a thumb-sized indentation. If on any jar it happens still to be protruding slightly, give it a tap. It should go down and stay down. If it pops back up again on any jars, which almost never happens, you’ll have to can those jars again using the same procedure. (Or, just eat them within the week.) If everything’s shipshape, simply store in a cool, dark place until you’re ready to use them. No refrigeration is required until after a jar has been opened.

ET VOILA! YOU’VE DONE IT!

Tomato Canning 101

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A FRIENDLY WARNING…

As with any of the good things in life, once you’ve been given a taste of them, they’ll raise your standards. The day you become a tomato canner, you risk becoming an addict for life, but worse things could happen to you.

Here’s a wrap up on tomato canning 2023: