photo by Brita Olson | crumbs…
Canning fruits and vegetables is a great way to save money and eat healthier foods all year long.
Brita Olson | crumbs…
If you’ve got a free afternoon and a little extra storage space for some delicious canned food, this is the project for you. My mom always canned many different foodstuffs including jams, a variety of fruits, sauerkraut, salsa, tomatoes, tomato soup and more. It took a bit of work initially but a delicious meal or preserved treat was always waiting whenever I was ready for it.
Over the summer I decided I didn’t want to go without the luxury of having some homemade things canned and stashed in the pantry of my first apartment. I discovered that canning is a fairly simple and inexpensive way to invest in your future diet.
I suggest canning that which is easily accessible. I happen to know the owners of Deerfield Farms in Sagle, ID. They grow organic tomatoes and I was lucky enough to get free tomatoes from them. I took some “seconds” off their hands – tomatoes that have blemishes or a little mold and cannot be sold. However, that doesn’t mean they cannot be used. Usually the bad parts can be cut off and you’re left with remaining tomato ready to be canned.
To can your food you’ll need
- Canner or large pot (large enough for jars to fit inside)
- Small pot
- Jars
- Jar lids
- Jar rings
- Knife
Ingredients for canned tomatoes
- Tomatoes
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
To can tomatoes
- Begin by boiling a pot of water.
- Scald the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30-60 seconds until their skins split or are easy to slide off.
- Once out of the water let them cool before handling them.
- Put salt and lemon juice into your jars. To check quantities, I consulted the Ball Blue Book of canning. This book provides information about canning a variety of items. For tomatoes, use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt for every quart.
- When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off and cut off the stems.
- Cut the tomatoes in quarters and place in jars. Make sure to press the tomatoes down so that all of the space is filled. There will be a lot of tomato juice surrounding the fruit. Fill the jar up to the neck.
- Boil the jar lids in a small pot of water. Clean the mouth of the jar with a hot, damp rag. Make sure the top is clean or the particles that remain will interfere with the fit of the jar lid and it won’t seal.
- After the jar lids have boiled for a couple minutes, carefully remove the lids and place on clean jar tops.
- Screw jar ring tightly around the top.
- Place jars in large pot standing upright.
- Fill with water such that the water line is about an inch over the top of the jars. Heat until boiling and let boil for about 45 minutes.
- Once the jars have boiled let them cool in the water remove.
- Cool all jars to room temperature.
Note: When cooled, you can tell whether your jars have sealed properly by pressing your finger on the jar lid. If it pops down and up again, it hasn’t sealed.