Canned Tomatoes Starting From Fresh

I had the most productive tomato plant ever this year. One plant produced over 35 pounds of tomatoes! I had so many tomatoes that I had to figure out things to do with them. So I decided to take a crack at making my own canned (jarred) tomatoes. To make processing simpler, I came up with a method that does not involve peeling or de-seeding the tomatoes. Every part of each tomato gets used. Some might say that effects the taste and texture of the finished sauce, but to me it turns out great. 

Note, I am not an expert canner and I am only learning from other blogs and videos. Do not try my techniques without doing your own research on what is safe or not for your situation. Now onto my technique.

Ingredients and Tools

• 10-12 lbs fresh tomatoes
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Paper towels
• High powered blender
• 7.5 quart stock pot
• 15 quart stock pot
• Steamer rack/liner for larger stock pot
• Large ladle
• 5 pint size wide mouth jars
• 1 quart size wide mouth jar
• 6 wide mouth lids and rims
• Jar tongs
• Jar funnel
• Jar lid magnet tool

Directions

• Wash and clean the tomatoes removing any stems or inedible parts.
• Process the tomatoes in batches in the blender to pulverize them - skin, seeds, and all. I start slow until they are liquified then I gradually turn the speed to high for around 30 seconds.
• Pour the tomato liquid into the smaller stock pot. By the time you're done blending all the tomatoes, it should come close to the top but still leave about 0.5-1.0 inches of room.
• Place the pot on the stover and turn to medium heat and stir routinely until a low simmer.
• Turn down the heat to medium low (3 on my stove) and let simmer for 3 hours stirring occasionally. The liquid will evaporate over this time and the sauce will thicken. The sauce should reduce by 1/3 and have the consistency of spaghetti sauce or salsa.
• Towards the end of the tomato sauce cook, begin prepping your jars.
• Add liquid to the larger stock pot just to the top of the steam rack. Add the jars upside down without the lids and cover the pot with the lid. Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes.
• Remove the jars with jar tongs and place onto a clean surface right side up. I place them on paper towels on a cutting board.
• Now follow the same steps for the lids and rims by boiling them for 5 minutes. Use the magnet tool to remove them to keep them sanitized. Try not to touch the underside of the lid.
• Once the sauce is ready, remove from heat and bring the pot to your jar area.
• Add 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of lemon juice to the bottom of each jar.
• Add the funnel to one of the jars and fill until the start of the screw top. I have an ordinary green jar funnel and the liquid happens to come up just before the funnel turns to the wider part. If you were to weigh the liquid in the jar, it should weigh 14oz.
• Move the filled jar out of the way and grab another jar. Add the funnel to the new jar and repeat the process until all 5 pint sized jars are filled.
• Wipe the rim of each jar with a paper towel dampened with the white vinegar. If the towel gets dirty from one of the jars, move to a clean part of the towel or grab a new towel dampened with vinegar.
• Now add the lids to the jars using the magnet tool making sure that the underside of the lid and the rim of the jar stay clean and you do not touch either of them. 
• Now add the rim to each jar and screw tight but not super tight.
• Add more water to your large stock pot, enough to cover the jars by one inch after fully submerged. Note, start with less water because the jars will displace water, then have extra water handy to top off. It took my stock pot about 24 cups of water to reach one inch above the jars.
• Bring the water to a boil on high and turn down the heat to medium (or just below medium) to maintain a slow boil.
• Boil for 35 minutes then remove the jars onto a counter to cool. As the jars cool, the lids will suck down to create a vacuum seal. If any do not seal properly after becoming room temp, unfortunately you won't be able to preserve it. You could stick in the the fridge and use within a week.
• Lastly, there should still be some sauce left over. You could start the process over with 2-3 more pint size jars. Or what I prefer is to pour the rest into a quart size jar and store in the fridge to use within a week.

Inspiration 

https://youtu.be/rzshqYF7obc?feature=shared