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Canning Tomatoes
Preparing Jars and Lids to Can Tomatoes
Canning tomatoes is extremely easy ! One of the things that makes the canning process itself simple is that you can use the water bath method of canning. The reason for this is because tomatoes are a high acid fruit. When it comes to canning there are high acid and low acid fruits and vegetables. Low acid fruits and vegetables are not safe to can using the water bath method. The water bath will not kill the bacteria within the jar.
Prior to canning you want to have your lids and jars prepared for canning. To do this you can either put your jars through the dishwasher, or you can boil them for 10 minutes. For the lids you want to boil them for only 5 minutes, but you want to do it right before you're planning on canning your tomatoes and once they're done boiling leave them in the hot water.
Tomatoes in Water Bath
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How to Can Tomatoes Using Water Bath
Any tomatoes can be canned, just make sure there are no soft or dark spots on your tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes can be canned, but tend to be very watery after canning.
You will use one quart of lemon juice, at this stage of the canning process you can go ahead and put it in a pan and bring it to a boil.
Next, you want to put another large pan of water on to boil and also get a large boil and fill it with water and ice. Once your water comes to a boil put several tomatoes into the boiling water for about 40 seconds, than take them out with a slotted spoon and put them right into your bowl of ice water. The skins will split and make it extremely easy to peel them off, go ahead and peel the skins off of the tomatoes and remove any dark spots. Once you're done removing all the peels, put on more water or tomato juice to boil. This will be used to fill up your jars.
Cut your tomatoes into pieces, fill your jars leaving 1/4 inch space at the top, add 2 tbs. lemon juice to each jar, and fill each jar with boiling water (or tomato juice) leaving 1/2 an inch space at the top. Use a flat wooded or plastic utensil and run it around the inside of each jar, this removes any trapped air bubbles.
Use a clean cloth and rub it around each rim. Put on your lid and put on the band so there's a snug fit. Put your jars into your pot fully submerged 2-3 inches into the water. For pints, let boil for 40 minutes. For quarts, let boil for 45 minutes. Take your tomatoes out and let them cool undisturbed.