Canning crushed or diced tomatoes

Probably the most popular thing that people can is tomatoes. It's a great way to extend that unbeatable homegrown tomato flavor throughout the year.

If you cook with tomatoes often and if you buy canned tomatoes, especially crushed or diced, you may find that canning your own can be a real money saver. I've seen some 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes in the grocery store selling for $1.50 per can or more. You can put up your own tomatoes, or tomatoes that you've bought from a farmer's market or roadside stand, for a fraction of that cost.

One thing that you have to make sure to do is add acid to your tomatoes, for safety. Nowadays, more low acid tomatoes are being grown and it has become necessary to acidify home canned tomatoes to make sure they're safe for storage.

To acidify your canned tomatoes, you can add citric acid (a powder, found in the canning supplies), or you can use bottled lemon juice. Be sure to use only bottled lemon juice and not fresh, because of consistency in the acid level.

Here are the amounts of lemon juice or citric acid you need to use when canning tomatoes:
2 Tbsp. lemon juice per quart -or- 1/2 tsp. citric acid per quart
1 Tbsp. lemon juice per pint -or- 1/4 tsp. citric acid per pint

To me, the most tedious part of canning tomatoes is peeling them.

There is a way to make peeling them a little easier, though.

You can dip your tomatoes in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until the skins split. I usually cut a shallow "X" into the base of each tomato before plunging them into the boiling water to help the skins peel off even easier. Then dip the tomatoes in cold water (I usually keep a big bucket of ice water beside the sink for this), slip off skins and remove the cores with a paring knife.

Once your tomatoes are peeled, then you can begin canning them.

Lots of people can tomatoes whole or in halves or quarters. I normally can crushed or diced tomatoes because, in all honesty, that's how I will be using them in recipes. It's just saving myself a step later on of removing whole tomatoes from a jar and then cutting them up. If I can the tomatoes already crushed, then all I have to do when I want to cook with them is just dump the whole jar right into the pot.

Here is how to can crushed or diced tomatoes:

Wash, peel, and core tomatoes as above and cut into quarters. (For diced tomatoes, DICE your washed, peeled, cored tomatoes instead of cutting them into quarters.)

Prepare boiling water canner for processing. Wash and rinse jars, lids, and rings. Heat jars and keep hot. Simmer lids in water but do not boil.

Heat about a pound of the tomatoes quickly in a large pot, crushing them with a non-metallic spoon or mallet when you put them into the pot. Bring tomatoes to a boil, stirring frequently to keep the tomatoes from scorching.

Once the tomatoes are boiling, gradually add the rest of the tomatoes, stirring constantly. These remaining tomatoes do not need to be crushed. They will soften on their own with heating and stirring. Continue until all the tomatoes are added. Boil for 5 minutes.

Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to hot jars:
2 Tbsp. lemon juice per quart -or- 1/2 tsp. citric acid per quart
1 Tbsp. lemon juice per pint -or- 1/4 tsp. citric acid per pint

Add 1⁄2 tsp. of canning salt to each pint jar; 1 tsp. to each quart jar, if desired. The salt is for flavor only. It doesn't help in preserving at all. If you are on a sodium restricted diet or just want to cut out salt, feel free to leave it out.

Ladle hot tomatoes into hot jars, leaving 1⁄2-inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Place on lids and bands, tightening to finger resistance.

Process in a boiling water canner:
Pints 35 minutes, Quarts 45 minutes (or as adjusted for altitude)

If you are faced with an abundance of tomatoes from your garden, don't let them go bad... can them!

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