Mariquita Farm

Easy Canning Tomato Sauce Photo Essay

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This is my standard canning tomato method. I find it's easiest. It's also possible to can whole tomatoes, but I find this method easy: in the winter I'm happy to open a jar of sauce and use whole tomatoes when they're in season in their fresh state. My method: wash tomatoes, cut in half with sharpest knife available. Cook down the tomato halves, cool somewhat, then put through a food mill. (removes many seeds, all skins, and the green tops). Then return the milled sauce to the pot, and cook down. At this point I sometimes add basil, garlic and salt, or just salt. For this batch I added garlic and basil. I sterlize the jars and lids in the dishwasher, then fill with the hot sauce, (I make sure my hot water bath is available and ready when I'm filling the jars), seal the jars, and then do the water bath! For how long for each jar, it depends on if you're doing pints or quarts, I refer to the Ball Canning book or other trusted source. voila! done and shelf ready!

tomatoes washed

 

washed mixed heirloom tomatoes. I can up whatever tomatoes are ripe and sitting in our packing shed.

tomatoes cut

 

tomatoes cut in half in cooking pot. (I had two pots going this day, they don't need to be quite so full)

 

 
tomatoes cooking

 

 

tomato halves cooked down and cooling a bit
food mill for tomatoes

 

food mill!

 

 
tomatoes in food mill

 

 

 

tomatoes getting milled
tomatoes swirled in food mill

 

tomatoed milled down

food mill to be cleaned

 

food mill ready for a hot water rinse, super easy to clean
tomatoes cooking for sauce after milled

 

 

sauce boiling down. at this point I would add chopped garlic and chopped basil and salt if I were adding any of these items
jarred sauce in water bath

 

 

jarred sauce getting a water bath
tomato sauce in jars ready for shelf

happy times! jars ready for the shelf! the big quart jar in the back didn't fit in today's water bath, so that went into the fridge for a dinner this week.

IF you want to freeze tomato sauce in jars (better than plastic in my opinion) use the freezer jars: the one on the left is straight sided all the way, it's a FREEZER jar. leave a bit more room in the jar and just put in the freezer. The jar on the right is NOT a freezer jar as the 'shoulder' could crack in freezing.

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